The Edge of Silence

by Neil Ansell

The Edge of Silence

£15.99

Acclaimed nature writer Neil Ansell has suffered from progressive hearing loss his whole life. As his world has become ever more silent, the extraordinary and unexpected experience of hearing the haunting call of the great northern diver makes him realise that there might still be remarkable sounds in nature that might be within his reach – if he only he was in the right place at the right time.

This remarkable, moving book is the story of a journey to hear rare and elusive creatures that he had never previously encountered and takes him to the mountaintops and islands of the Scottish Highlands to the marshes of England and the hills of Wales. Many of the species are in grave danger of extinction, so the silence which is engulfing Neil is one that threatens to engulf us all as far as these animals are concerned.

LOCATIONS AND AND ANIMALS:

Northern diver (Scottish Highlands) * Ptarmigan (Scottish Highlands) * Little grebe (Scottish Highlands) * Bittern (Morecambe Bay, Lancashire) * Natterjack toad (The Wirral) * Snipe (North Wales) * Greenshank (Scottish Highlands) * Puffin (Coll and Canna) * Storm petrel (Shetland) * Otter (Central Scotland) * Manx shearwater (Canna)

Neil Ansell has written for The Guardian, The New Statesman and The Big Issue, and has been an award-winning journalist with the BBC. His previous books include Deep Country, Wilderness and The Circling Sky, which was shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Golden Beer and Highland Book Prize.