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Reading lists

What to read if you loved Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

Great-books-to-give-dads-this-fathers-day_Main_Penguin

Great books to give dads this Father’s Day

Averting the Insect Apocalypse

Silent Earth

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
'Read this book, then look and wonder' Sunday Times 
 
*A TLS Book of the Year* 
 
We have to learn to live as part of nature, not apart from it. And the first step is to start looking after the insects, the little creatures that make our shared world go round. 
 
Insects are essential for life as we know it - without them, our world would look vastly different. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime's study, Dave Goulson reveals the long decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades and its potential consequences. 
 
Eye-opening and inspiring, Silent Earth asks for profound change at every level and a passionate argument or us to love, respect and care for our six-legged friends. 
 
'Compelling - Silent Earth is a wake-up call' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding 
 
 
'Enlightening, urgent and funny, Goulson's book is a timely call for action' New Statesman

Thoughtful, frightening and yet hugely enjoyable... This book will make you think differently about our right of dominion over the planet

It's remarkable that insect decline has gone largely unnoticed by non-specialists... Keep dreaming, Dave Goulson. We'll need more dreamers like you

If Silent Earth contains a single incontestable message it is that nature - insects, flowers, plants, trees, birds and mammals, including our species - is a single system... This powerful book tells us that we need to act as if we understand this essential truth

Compelling, penetrating, devastating - Silent Earth is a wake-up call for the world. Dave Goulson matches science with eloquence and passion to spotlight the cataclysmic loss of insect life on our planet. Rachel Carson would be proud.

Insects are the most vivid expressions of the astounding fact of life in what may be a dead universe. Read this book, then look and wonder.

Thoughtful, frightening and yet hugely enjoyable... This book will make you think differently about our right of dominion over the planet.

Studded with engaging descriptions...[and] a plenitude of practical suggestions... This is a crusading but not a preachy book... I was charmed, enthused, dismayed and grieved by Silent Earth.

His magnum opus. Silent Earth is both a heartfelt letter of love to the insect world that has captivated him from childhood, and a rousing call to arms to counter the recent catastrophic decline in insects before it is too late... Magnificent.

It's remarkable that [insect] decline has gone largely unnoticed by non-specialists... Keep dreaming, Dave Goulson. We'll need more dreamers like you.

If Silent Earth contains a single incontestable message it is that nature - insects, flowers, plants, trees, birds and mammals, including our species - is a single system... This powerful book tells us that we need to act as if we understand this essential truth.

The book's greatest strength is its insistence that change is possible, and that everyone can make it happen in small and large ways. Goulson steps seamlessly between knowledgeable professor and impassioned environmentalist, and you can't help but get on board.

An eloquent and unflinchingly honest book... intelligent and thoughtful - and yes, beautifully written.

Our collective lack of understanding and shortsightedness has brought us to the brink of ecogical disaster. We have disregarded the warnings for too long and simply cannot afford to ignore Dave Goulson's tremendously timely book.

Terrific... A thoughtful explanation of how the dramatic decline of insect species and numbers poses a dire threat to all life on earth.

[Silent Earth's] message...is important and should be heeded.

Enlightening, urgent and funny, Goulson's book is a timely call for action.

[Silent Earth] should be obligatory reading for politicians and those in power... compelling... [Goulson] draws up his case in a very readable and accessible style... an essential and timely book.

After another frame-wrecking year I can think of no better book to recommend than Dave Goulson's Silent Earth

Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*

Goulson's book deserves to be widely read. It is fact-filled and well balanced in the minefield of environmental politics.

International Journal of Environmental Studies

I’ve found Goulson’s books…incredibly helpful for shaping my understanding of what my garden can do and what non-human life it can benefit

Dave Goulson is Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex. He has published more than 300 scientific articles on the ecology and conservation of bumblebees and other insects. His books include the Sunday Times bestsellers The Garden Jungle and A Sting in the Tale, which was also shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize and has been translated into fifteen languages. He is an Ambassador for the UK Wildlife Trusts, the National Allotment Society and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2022** 
 
We have to learn to live as part of nature, not apart from it. And the first step is to start looking after the insects, the little creatures that make our shared world go round. 
 
Insects are essential for life as we know it - without them, our world will slowly grind to a halt. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime's study, Dave Goulson reveals the shocking decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades and the potentially catastrophic consequences. 
 
Eye-opening and inspiring, Silent Earth is a call to arms for profound change at every level and a passionate argument or us to love, respect and care for our six-legged friends. 
 
'Compelling, penetrating, devastating - Silent Earth is a wake-up call for the world.' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding 
 
'Read this book, then look and wonder' Sunday Times

A Practical Guide to Creating a Paradise for Pollinators

Gardening for Bumblebees

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Sting In The Tale comes this practical guide to creating a paradise for pollinators

'Go on, have a flutter! Take a few tips from the new book by biologist Dave Goulson and it's a safe bet that beautiful butterflies will start gathering in your garden' 
Daily Mail 
 
 
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Sting In The Tale comes this practical guide to creating a paradise for pollinators. 
 
There are twenty six different species of bumblebees to be found in the UK, of around 250 species worldwide. Bumblebees are among the most important of our insects; these superb pollinators ensure that wildflowers set seed and reappear each year, and that our vegetable and fruit crops give us bountiful harvests. With the decline in the populations of our wild bees, these beloved creatures need looking after more than ever. 
 
Gardening for Bumblebees shows you how you can provide a refuge for bumblebees to feed, breed and thrive. No matter how large or small your space is, Dave Goulson shows you how you can make a pollinator-friendly haven. In this book you will learn the best trees, shrubs and flowers for pollinators, how to create the perfect nest and breeding site, and the best ways to control pests. Gardening For Bumblebees will encourage and inspire gardeners and allotmenters alike to make their patch more bee friendly. 
 
Praise for Dave Goulson 
 
'Ideal for filling the garden with a happy hum' 
Tiffany Daneff, Country Life 
 
'Goulson reminds himself that he 'began studying bumblebees not because they are important pollinators but because they are fascinating, because they behave in interesting and mysterious ways, and because they are rather loveable' 
Hannah Rosefield, Literary Review

Ideal for filling the garden with a happy hum

Go on, have a flutter! Take a few tips from the new book by biologist Dave Goulson and it's a safe bet that beautiful butterflies will start gathering in your garden

[Goulson's] fascination with bumblebees and other pollinators is infectious... This book might open your eyes - and gardens - to the myriad mini-wonders that too often go unnoticed

Dave Goulson's beautifully presented and illustrated Gardening for Bumblebees...will tell you how to save the world. Literally. One penstemon at a time

or Gardening to Save the Planet

The Garden Jungle

The Sunday Times Bestseller - a wonderful introduction to the hundreds of small creatures with whom we live cheek-by-jowl and the myriad ways that we can encourage them to thrive

An exploration of the wondrous ecosystems in our gardens – and a call to rewild the places where we live. 
 
From window boxes to road verges, from lawns to borders, scientist and gardener Dave Goulson shows how easily any outdoor space can become a sanctuary for bees, beetles, worms and butterflies. 
 
With infectious enthusiasm, wit and scientific insight, Goulson shows how our gardens can combat biodiversity loss and climate change. Part practical guide, part environmental manifesto, part nature book, The Garden Jungle is an inspiring reminder that saving nature starts on our doorsteps. Essential reading for anyone with a garden who cares about our planet. 
 
‘Packed with remarkable details, an excellent guide to green gardening’ Guardian 
 
‘Exquisite... should be read by every gardener in the country’ Observer

[Goulson] is master of intriguing details of a world beyond our ken… The Garden Jungle is an eye-opening book… [and Goulson’s] enthusiasm is infectious. This is a man you’d just love to visit your garden and show you its invisible wonders, teach you how to nurture them.

This book will teach you a great deal about the creatures who live right outside your door and are waiting for you to get to know them. It is a constant revelation.

Like a top-notch wildlife documentary, The Garden Jungle draws us in with fascinating details of the natural world and, at the same time, delivers a wake-up call… I doubt that many will finish reading this important book without making a few changes to their gardening or way of life.

An upbeat book about the wonders of the ecosystem in every garden.

Woodlice, earthworms, earwigs: a seething Serengeti lurks in many a back garden. Apiologist Dave Goulson’s wonderful book encourages such richness by delivering solid science on garden wilding... Goulson demonstrates that the domestic nature reserve is the first step towards saving the planet.

Well-informed…persuasive… [and] a call to arms…Garden Jungle may be back-garden in scale, but the wider context is agricultural and horticultural practices worldwide… Twelve diverse chapters highlight what is happening and how we can contribute to positive change.

Packed with remarkable details…the book shows how anyone lucky enough to have a garden or an allotment can transform it into a refuge for threatened flora and fauna… this is an excellent guide to green gardening.

An exquisite, compelling and quietly evangelical book about how gardeners can play their part in saving the planet… We need writers such as Goulson and this is a book that should be read by every gardener in the country.

Goulson is the kind of humorous, knowledgeable and bubblingly enthusiastic teacher anyone would want… He brilliantly communicates his delight at the biological miracles right under our noses in our own back gardens… The Garden Jungle is funny, combative and full of…ideas.

You put the book down and change your habits… an essential in every garden bookshop.

An insight into the fascinating world of the wildlife that lives right under our noses.

[The Garden Jungle] brings the broader picture into focus…[and] compels the reader to care about every last creepy-crawly.

This book offers hope… the author’s humour and enthusiasm make for an inspiring read… a clear call to action…we are encouraged to get involved in saving the planet, starting outside our own back doors.

Goulson is a warrior. Through this medium, he has the ability to influence and change the course our whole society takes, from individuals to politicians, economists and industrialists.

Dave Goulson is an expert on everything that grows, buzzes, crawls or flies, and we would do well to take his advice when gardening.

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** 
 
'Exquisite...should be read by every gardener in the country' Observer 
 
The Garden Jungle is a wonderful introduction to the hundreds of small creatures with whom we live cheek-by-jowl and of the myriad ways that we can encourage them to thrive. 
 
The Garden Jungle is about the wildlife that lives right under our noses, in our gardens and parks, between the gaps in the pavement, and in the soil beneath our feet. Dave Goulson gives us an insight into the fascinating and sometimes weird lives of these creatures, taking us burrowing into the compost heap, digging under the lawn and diving into the garden pond. He explains how our lives and ultimately the fate of humankind are inextricably intertwined with that of earwigs, bees, lacewings and hoverflies, unappreciated heroes of the natural world. 
 
For anyone who has a garden, or cares about our planet, this book is essential reading.

Bee Quest

The Sunday Times bestselling author is back, this time on a quest to find the world’s rarest bees…

You’ll learn all sorts of interesting things without effort because he’s a natural storyteller with a particular gift of understatement that is often laugh-out-loud funny – which you don’t expect from a bee book… It’s warmly personal, and stuffed full of the inescapable poetry and beauty of the natural world… Going on Bee Quest with him puts the natural world within our reach – to enjoy but also to protect… This is a truly positive and empowering read – you closed it better informed, filled with poetry, pies and ready to get out there and make a difference.

This is a quest that takes us from Patagonia to Poland, from Ecuador to Essex, fueled by Dave Goulson’s extraordinary passion for the bumblebee… Goulson’s search for some of the world’s rarest bees has led him on a geographical and intellectual exploration that combines bizarre facts about bumblebees…with passionate ideas about conservation.

Dave Goulson… has perfected the art of turning the entomologist’s technical expertise into easy-reading everyman’s prose. He also laces his stories with rich helpings of wit and humour.

In this delightful book [Goulson] tells us of the discoveries he has made during his ‘bee travels’… a humorous, beautifully written tribute to these insects, and hope-filled examples of nature’s resilience.

Entomologist Dave Goulson journeyed as far as Patagonia to track down populations of the world’s rarest bumblebees. The result is this fun serial travelogue and ode to diverse countryside… In a world skewed towards saving photogenic mammals, Goulson extols the intrinsic importance of insects, rather than their economic value.

Every now and then you come across a book that changes the way you look at the world. This is one of those books. Ostensibly about bumblebees and Goulson’s quest to find some of the most endangered ones around the globe, it proves to be much more than that… Bee Quest is as much a travel guide as a bee compendium… Along the way he conjures up the history, atmosphere and landscape of his surroundings with an infectious enthusiasm and descriptive flair that more than makes up for the lack of illustrations… You may well find yourself building a bee hotel and ordering wild flower seeds long before you reach the end of the book.

Goulson has written his best book yet, his writing keeps getting better and his infectious enthusiasm for his furry subjects is catching. Not only is it a wonderful read, but it is a prescient warning of our meddling with the environment… If you are a fan of natural history books then this is a necessary addition.

A rather sweet take on the intricate lives of the furry pollinators… This buzzy travel companion has a light touch and inquisitive tone.

Gloriously entertaining… Goulson’s writing is strikingly elegant and very funny.

Dave Goulson is a distinguished professor of biology, but his books about the natural world possess a thrilling immediacy that’s light years from the image of academia. His passion is evident on every page of this fascinating and informative foray into the world of bees

'Warmly entertaining...an endearing account of the search for rare bees' Guardian 
 
A hunt for the world's most elusive bees leads Dave Goulson from Poland to Patagonia as well as closer to home, amongst the secret places hidden right under our noses: the abandoned industrial estates where great crested newts roam; or the rewilded estate at Knepp Castle, where, with the aid of some hairy, bluebell-eating Tamworth pigs, nightingale song has been heard for the first time in generations. 
 
 Whether he is tracking great yellow bumblebees in the Hebrides or chasing orchid bees through the Ecuadorian jungle, Dave Goulson's wit, humour and deep love of nature make him the ideal travelling companion.

A Buzz in the Meadow

A fascinating look at the insect world found in one field in France - and how important that world is to all of us.

Wonderfully entertaining… Engages the reader as much with the eloquence of its argument as with the charm of its humour

Goulson writes with infectious enthusiasm… A lively and important read.

Had me exclaiming with delight… Goulson’s book is juicy and delicious, layered with flavours and steeped in culture

Buy this book, give it as a present. It is required reading for being a human in the 21st century.

Matthew Cobb, professor of zoology at the Univerity of Manchester

A gripping account of the importance of insects to our environment…. Goulson has an easy-going style and an enthusiastic yet rigourous approach to material that could seem dry … Goulson’s patient attempts to establish a link between [bees’ colony collapse disorder and a new class of insecticide] become as gripping as any forensic thriller.

For those who think of science as being dry and boring this book will be a revelation. Goulson’s book is juicy and delicious, layered with flavours and steeped in culture.

Glorious… The real pleasure of reading this book is hearing the hum of biodiversity rising from every page.

A wonderfully entertaining one-man campaign… A blend of scientific evidence and amusing travelogue that engages the reader as much with the eloquence of its argument as with the charm of its humour.

An inspirational case for awareness and appreciation of the teeming diversity.

Will make you glad that British universities are full of slightly fruity, quietly impassioned academics devoting their life to the smallest of creatures on Earth.

Much more than a series of romantic wildlife walks… A trove of elegant and fascinating ecological tales.

Biology is beautiful, as told in these pages.

A latter-day Gerald Durrell, Goulson fairly buzzes with enthusiasm, recounting numerous hilarious wildlife encounters with great literary flair, whilst retaining a scientist’s meticulous eye for detail and a conservationist’s concern for the future of the planet.

‘[Goulson’s] heartfelt call for us to cherish the nurture of nature is as sweet as honey.

[Goulson] is a voice worth listening to. But the real pleasure of reading this book is hearing the hum of biodiversity rising from every page

Goulson fairly buzzes with enthusiasm, recounting numerous hilarious wildlife encounters with great literary flair

A Buzz in the Meadow can be seen as a manifesto that slowly creeps up on you…, but that’s to diminish…its charm, and its power

[Goulson’s] experiences will resonate with many scientists and will provide the general reader with an interesting and accessible glimpse into the life of a naturalist

Delightful book… Goulson is an important figure in the insect world and, as the future of bees and other insects is debated, his is a voice worth listening to. But the real pleasure of reading this book is hearing the hum of biodiversity rising from every page.

A fascinating look at the insect world found in one field in France - and how important that world is to all of us - from the author of the Sunday Times bestseller A Sting in the Tale 
 
 In 2003 Dave Goulson bought a derelict farm in the heart of rural France, together with 33 acres of surrounding meadow. Over the course of a decade, he created a place for his beloved bumblebees to thrive along with myriad insects of every kind. 
 
 In this book you will learn how a deathwatch beetle finds its mate, about the importance of houseflies, why butterflies have spots on their wings, about dragonfly sex, bed-bugs and wasps. But it is also a wake-up call, urging us to cherish and protect life on earth in all its forms. A Buzz in the Meadow is a captivating look at our natural world and a call to arms for nature-lovers everywhere. 
 
 'Glorious' The Times 
 
 'Captivating' Independent

A Sting in the Tale

My Adventures with Bumblebees

One man’s quest to save the bumblebee…

[Goulson’s] book is not only enormously informative, but also hugely entertaining: its light touch and constant humour make cutting-edge research a pleasure to read about… For anyone interested in the natural world, this is essential reading.

Goulson reminds himself that he ‘began studying bumblebees not because they are important pollinators but because they are fascinating, because they behave in interesting and mysterious ways, and because they are rather loveable.’ It’s worth reading A Sting in the Tale for the same reasons.

Goulson has plenty of wondrous biological stories to tell, as well as the tale of his own struggle to return the short-haired bumblebee to Britain.

This isn’t one of those natural science books that simply tells you things – it admits how much we don’t know.

Goulson combines enthusiasm with academic authority, addressing the amateur beekeeper and professional apiarist in well-judged proportion.

Goulson's case for the importance of bumblebees will live long in my memory for its sheer passion and scientific detail.

Entertaining and enlightening… Wholly engaging…A must for all gardeners.

A very readable introduction to the remarkable world of bees and bee conservation.

This book will make you bee-conscious. You will learn a lot, not just about bumblebees, and you will never have a dull moment… So read this book. Do it for the bees.

As relief and instruction, I haven’t read a more entertaining and endearing book on matters biological than Dave Goulson’s

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** 
 
One man's quest to save the bumblebee... 
 
Dave Goulson has always been obsessed with wildlife, from his childhood menagerie of exotic pets and dabbling in experimental taxidermy to his groundbreaking research into the mysterious ways of the bumblebee and his mission to protect our rarest bees. 
 
Once commonly found in the marshes of Kent, the short-haired bumblebee is now extinct in the UK, but still exists in the wilds of New Zealand, descended from a few queen bees shipped over in the nineteenth century. 
 
A Sting in the Tale tells the story of Goulson's passionate drive to reintroduce it to its native land and contains groundbreaking research into these curious creatures, history's relationship with the bumblebee, the disastrous effects intensive farming has had on our bee populations and the potential dangers if we are to continue down this path.

Dave Goulson

This is a brilliant guide for the ethical eater, which shows how we can all make a difference through our food choices. Our food landscape is a mess, and we desperately need scientific voices like Dave Goulson to help us navigate it

Clear, practical and accessible, a clarion call for more healthy, affordable and enjoyable diets that are better both for ourselves and for the planet

Everyone needs to read this book. Brilliantly explained, scientifically driven and yet pragmatic and personal – this is about the choices we need to make now, and every day, to secure the future we want for our children.

In this compact and highly readable book, Dave Goulson shows us how we should change diets and our use of farming land in order to build a better, more resilient world while also improving human health... An excellent primer on topics that have been surprisingly poorly covered.

Brimming with energy and…[written] with charming sincerity… it is satisfying to see Goulson lay out the case with such thoughtfulness

How to fix our toxic food system – one meal at a time

*Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing 2026* 
 
‘Everyone needs to read this book’ Isabella Tree 
 
'A clarion call' Caroline Lucas 
 
How can we eat well without harming the planet? 
 
The way we produce food today is damaging people and nature alike. Modern, intensive farming systems producing pesticide-laced, ultra-processed foods are bad for us and bad for the planet. 
 
But there is cause for hope. From supporting more sustainable farming systems and modifying what we eat to wasting less and growing more ourselves, Dave Goulson shows that change is possible and individual choices do matter – even while governments fail to act. 
 
Packed with surprising insights and practical guidance, Eat the Planet Well cuts through the information overload to help us navigate the tricky decisions we face every day, and offers an optimistic vision for a healthier future.

Dave Goulson

Books by Dave Goulson

Articles featuring Dave Goulson

What to read if you loved Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

Great books to give dads this Father’s Day

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