Category Archives: Writing

Review of The Storm Leopard

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Martyn Murray

  This review was published in the October 2011 edition of Primate Eye, the journal of the Primate Society of Great Britain. Could this be the start of a Stu fan club? The Storm Leopard is a factual account of … Continue reading →

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Christina and The Storm Leopard book video

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Martyn Murray

Christina came over to North Berwick a couple of months ago and worked with me to  produce a book video for The Storm Leopard which is now posted on YouTube. Chistina is an artist  with a uniquely expressive style that … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature Books, The Storm Leopard, Writing | 4 Comments

My favourite quotations from The Origin of Species

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Martyn Murray

I’ve been reading Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1st ed., 1859) whilst preparing an abbreviated edition Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species: Bite-Sized for publication. Along the way, I came across several passages which seemed especially formative, telling or charming … Continue reading →

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On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition (Sterling, 2008)

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Martyn Murray

This book has been produced on the premise that two beautiful things, when put together, make something even more beautiful, just like wine and cheese, a sail on the sea, the singer and a song, a dove on its leafy … Continue reading →

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Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1st ed., 1859)

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Martyn Murray

Almost uniquely in the written annals of science, Darwin’s Origin remains as modern, fresh and accessible to the non-specialist reader today as when first published more than 150 years ago. He thought of it as an abstract of a much … Continue reading →

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Favourite Animal Books: Part 4

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Martyn Murray

When it comes to animal books, there can be no doubt where it all begins. I received 31 recommendations for childhood reading covering a wide range from early books such as Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Catterpillar and Beatrix Potter’s … Continue reading →

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Favourite Animal Books: Part 3

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Martyn Murray

Amongst their favourites, a few people listed zoological books or books written for a general audience but with a zoological theme. I’ve listed eleven of these here. It’s an eclectic mix but reveals perhaps the influence of the pioneers in … Continue reading →

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Favourite Animal Books: Part 2

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Martyn Murray

I’ve listed 15 animal novels in this second post about our favourite animals books, ranging from classics like Williamson’s Tarka the Otter to the contemporary like Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem. As before, books highlighted by two respondents are marked with … Continue reading →

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Favourite Animal Books: Part 1

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Martyn Murray

As a child, I remember being enthralled by the stream-side world of BB’s Little Grey Men – how the gnomes fashioned fish hooks from bone, used snail shells for blackberry wine and could speak with the Kingfisher! A few years … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Nature Books, Writing | 2 Comments

Book Trailers and Videos

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Martyn Murray

Electronic books are set to rival our beloved, dog-eared shelf-mates. In 2009, Amazon sold about 2.4 million Kindles and in 2010 the figure jumped to 8 million plus. I decided I might as well embrace the change and begin thinking … Continue reading →

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