One Midsummer's Day: Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth

From one of our greatest nature writers: how swifts act as a window into the unity of the living world. Mark Cocker spends a single midsummer day tracing the flight of swifts - birds that connect continents, climates and species. What begins as a quiet act of observation expands into an awe-inspiring reflection on the interdependence of life on Earth. Cocker moves from the skies above Britain to the deep ocean currents, solar energy and ecosystems that sustain all living things. This is nature writing of rare insight, beauty and vision – a hymn to the marvel of movement and connection that binds our planet together. ‘A jewel of a book’ Caroline Lucas‘A beautiful, brilliant, mind-stretching and soul-flying book. Genius.’ Horatio Clare

It takes a whole universe to make one small black bird

The bestselling author of Crow Country and writer of The Guardian''s Country Diary tells the story of all life on Earth through a single day spent in the company of swifts.

''A jewel of a book'' Caroline Lucas MP

Swifts are among the most extraordinary of all birds. Their migrations span continents and their twelve-week stopover, when they pause to breed in European rooftops, is the very definition of summer. They may nest in our homes but much about their lives passes over our heads. No birds are more wreathed in mystery. Captivated, Mark Cocker sets out to capture their essence.

Over the course of one day in midsummer he devotes himself to his beloved black birds as they spiral overhead. Yet this is also a book about so much more. Swifts are a prism through which Cocker explores the profound interconnections of the whole biosphere.

From the deep-sea thermal vents where life was born to the 15 million degrees at the core of our Sun, he shows that life is a singular and glorious continuum. These birds without borders are a perfect symbol to express the unity of the living planet. But they also illuminate how no creature, least of all ourselves, can be said to be alive in isolation. We are all inextricably connected.

Drawing deeply on science, history, literature and a lifetime of close observation, One Midsummer''s Day is a dazzling and wide-ranging celebration of all life on Earth by one of our greatest nature writers.

''A nature classic for the new century'' Jim Perrin, author of Snowdon

• | Author: Mark Cocker
• | Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• | Publication Date: Jun 13, 2024
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781529921991
• | ISBN-10: 1529921996