About John Gibbons: John Gibbons is an environmental journalist and commentator who has been speaking about climate change in Ireland for over a decade. The Lie of the Land is his first book.

John Gibbons

Dave Gibbons

About Stella Gibbons: Stella Gibbons was born in London in 1902. She went to the North London Collegiate School and studied journalism at University College, London. She then worked for ten years on various papers, including the Evening Standard. Stella Gibbons is the author of twenty-five novels, three volumes of short stories, and four volumes of poetry. Her first novel Cold Comfort Farm (1932) was an immediate success and won the Femina Vie Heureuse Prize for 1933. Among her works are Nightingale Wood (1938), The Bachelor (1944), Westwood (1946), and Starlight (1967). She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1950. Stella Gibbons died in 1989.

Stella Gibbons

Edward Gibbon

Lewis Grassic Gibbon

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Valmiki

Warrior-prince Rama is about to be crowned Young King, when he hears the devastating news that his father, King of Ayodhya, has been tricked into banishing him to the forest. His devoted wife Sita insists on accompanying him in exile, but the evil ten-headed lord Ravana has fallen deeply in love with the beautiful princess and steals her away. Aided by Hanuman, mighty captain of the monkeys, Rama sets out across the world to find her and destroy Ravana in a deadly battle. Rama the Steadfast was composed in the oral tradition in about the fifth century BC and has been retold over the generations ever since. With its fantastical characters ranging from monsters to apes, a very human hero and its profound moral purpose, it is one of the greatest of all Indian tales.

Rama the Steadfast

An Early Form of the Ramayana

James Norbury

This is the tale of a cat wise in the ways of zen who hears of a solitary ancient pine, deep in a maple forest, under which infinite wisdom may be found. 
 
So begins a journey of discovery. 
 
Along the way he meets a vivid cast of animals: from an anxious monkey and a tortoise tired of life, to a tiger struggling with anger, a confused wolf cub and a covetous crow. 
 
Each has stories to tell and lessons to share. 
 
But after a surprise encounter with a playful kitten, the cat questions everything . . .

The Cat Who Taught Zen

Sally Coulthard

From druids’ oaks to deadly yews, tempting apples to erotic peaches, humanity has long imbued trees with spiritual and superstitious meaning. 
 
Trees run deep in our folklore and mythology. Their leaves, branches, roots and fruits have all served as metaphors for human needs and desires – from strength and resilience to shelter and sustenance. Each species’ unique qualities have inspired fables, sayings and symbolism. 
 
In this new book, Sally Coulthard explores the enchanted world of tree folklore, where nature and legend intertwine. From lovers’ trysting trees and festive firs to boughs of peace and hangman’s favourites, she examines 50 of the world’s most iconic species and their myths and magical associations. Discover the chivalric allure of medieval holly, how willow became a symbol of mourning, and why blackthorn was feared as the witch’s tree. Learn why the Greeks revered the fig, the Vikings the mighty ash, and how the banyan came to embody protection and fertility. 
 
Beautifully illustrated, Tree Lore: The Myths, Folklore and Meaning of Trees is more than a guide to familiar species – it reveals the rich, often surprising ways we relate to the natural world. Blending storytelling with botanical and cultural history, it places trees firmly at the heart of the human story.

Tree Lore

The Myths, Folklore and Meaning of Trees

Gordon Grice

Consider, if you can, the case of Jacob Fowler, who heard what he thought was the sound of his own skull cracking between the jaws of a grizzly bear - only to discover that it was. 
 
Or the Arizonan jogger who ran a mile back to her car with a rabid fox clamped to her arm before driving to hospital for live-saving inoculations. Or the woman who was attacked by a hyena, dragged from her tent by her face and survived to tell of her ordeal. 
 
The dangers of the animal kingdom are the stuff of legend but the reality of man's vulnerability and of nature's savage power is far more various, improbable and chilling than even the most active imagination would fear. In this unique work of nature writing, you will encounter the most formidable predators on land and sea - as well as the most overlooked, bizarre and inventive hazards that mother nature has to offer. Meet the cougar that can leap 40 feet and clear 8-foot fences with a fully-grown deer in its jaws, the tapeworm that's been known to grow as long as 82 feet in the human gut and the elephant that single-handedly destroyed an oil tanker. 
 
Drawing on an enormous host of true encounters between man and beast, this is the world's most authoritative compendium of animal attacks on human beings. With mordant wit and expert timing, Gordon Grice provides a gripping journey to the dark side of the animal kingdom and a celebration of its humbling, savage glory. 
 
(Originally published in hardback as The Book of Deadly Animals.)

Deadly Animals

Savage Encounters Between Man and Beast

Chris Riddell

Bears are seriously underestimated creatures when it comes to spirituality and religious feeling. For the first time, this book recognises their huge potential and offers ursine students of Buddhism everywhere the opportunity to focus their skills and follow the path to enlightenment. From the meditation to the essential concepts of Zen, all the fundamentals are set out here in a series of concise interpretations of Buddhist teaching. Wonderfully illustrated by well-known illustrator Chris Riddell, this is the perfect gift with a difference.

Buddhism For Bears

Philip Carr-Gomm

In this beautifully-written guide, Chief Druid Philip Carr-Gomm shows how the way of Druids can be followed today. He explains 
 
- The ancient history and inspiring beliefs of the ancient Druids 
- Druidic wild wisdom and their tree-, animal- and herb-lore 
- The mysteries of the Druids' seasonal celebrations 
- The Druids' use of magic and how their spirituality relates to paths such as Wicca 
 
This guide will show how the wild wisdom of the Druids can help us to connect with our spirituality, our innate creativity, the natural world and our sense of ancestry. The life-enhancing beliefs and practices of this spiritual path have much to offer our 21st-century world.

Druid Mysteries

Ancient Wisdom for the 21st Century

Mark Akins

Rooted in ancient Eastern philosophies, every part of a bonsai tree is symbolic of our life and experiences. A bonsai shedding leaves is symbolic of letting go our material possessions; tending to the roots helps support and nourish the tree, much the same as our own beliefs and values, and many more aspects of bonsai offer serene life lessons to help us enrich and enjoy our lives. 
 
The book will also delve into the philosophy and lessons to be learnt from tending to bonsai, contain a 'potted' history of the fascinating ancient culture and offer a comprehensive guide to cultivating bonsai.

Be More Bonsai

Change your life with the mindful practice of growing bonsai trees

Big Panda and Tiny Dragon have inspired readers across the world with their message of kindness, hope and resilience. Join the two friends as they continue their journey overcoming life's obstacles together. And although they often find themselves lost, the beautiful sights along the way show us that the wrong path can often lead to the right road. 
 
Writer and artist James Norbury began illustrating the adventures of Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, inspired by Buddhist philosophy, to share the ideas that helped him through difficult times, in the hope they could help others too.

The Journey

A Big Panda and Tiny Dragon Adventure

Colin Turnbull

The Forest People is an astonishingly intimate and life-enhancing account of a hunter-gatherer tribe living in harmony with nature -- and an all-time classic of anthropology. 
 
For three years, Colin Turnbull lived with an isolated group of Pygmies deep in the forest of the African Congo, experiencing their daily life first-hand. He attended their hunting parties and initiation ceremonies, witnessed their music and their rituals, observed their quarrels and love affairs. He documented them as an anthropologist but was accepted among them as a friend. 
 
A ground-breaking work in its time, The Forest People made him one of the most famous intellectuals of the 1960s and 1970s. It remains a transporting account of an earthly paradise and of a legendary and fascinating people. 
 
With a new foreword by Horatio Clare.

The Forest People

Wendy Doniger

Recorded in sacred Sanskrit texts, including the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, Hindu Myths are thought to date back as far as the tenth century BCE. Here in these seventy-five seminal myths are the many incarnations of Vishnu, who saves mankind from destruction, and the mischievous child Krishna, alongside stories of the minor gods, demons, rivers and animals including boars, buffalo, serpents and monkeys. Immensely varied and bursting with colour and life, they demonstrate the Hindu belief in the limitless possibilities of the world - from the teeming miracles of creation to the origins of the incarnation of Death who eventually touches them all.

Hindu Myths

A Sourcebook Translated from the Sanskrit

In James Norbury’s fifth book, we are invited to take a closer look at the world around us and search for beauty in the here and now. As Big Panda and Tiny Dragon undertake their demanding expedition, they traverse dark forests, hazardous mountains and derelict ruins. But whilst the landscapes of life can seem overwhelming,  the pair slowly come to see pockets of light and beauty at every turn. As day-to-day life steadily consumes us, it is easy to to miss life's hidden treasures. Through beautiful illustrations and a simple tale inspired by Buddhist philosophy, Norbury draws our gaze back to the simple pleasures and helps us to find hope in the most unlikely places.

A Beautiful World

Fern Freud

Come along on a journey through the woods, over the fields and into the kitchen, to forage for nourishing ingredients to enjoy through the seasons. 
 
Wild Magic invites you to take a deep breath and reconnect with nature, to introduce you to the ancient art of foraging, discover the joy of seasonal eating and use the healing power of plants for self-care. 
 
From a fizzy drink of elderflower cordial to a warming bowl of mushroom noodles and melting wild garlic muffins to indulgent wild currant doughnuts, these 60 healing recipes and rituals that will make you fall in love with the wilderness that surrounds you in the city as the country, and embrace the beauty of slow living all year round.

Wild Magic

A seasonal guide to foraging with healing recipes

Alison Davies

The Celtic Year is your year-long companion to the magic and mystery of the Celts. 
 
As you follow along with the Wheel of the Year, you will discover the traditions, beliefs and rituals of these ancient people. With this beautiful book as your guide, immerse yourself in nature and harness the power of the elements as you discover everything from practices and deities, to signs, symbols and sacred sites. 
 
Learn your tree sign and discover a new festival every month. Plus, with simple creative exercises and nature-inspired rituals, this book will remind you to live more in tune with the seasons. 
 
Celebrate the magic of the Celts in every phase of the year with The Celtic Year.

The Celtic Year

Folklore, Myths and Magic

Rowan Dobson

A collection of the wonderful variety of styles, stories and personalities of our favourite Christmas companions. 
 
With a unique perspective atop the tree, Christmas Angels are the ultimate observers of the festive period. They see us when we’re sleeping (4pm comatose in front of the telly), they know when we’re awake (4am in frenzied anticipation of The Big Day), they realize when family tensions are starting to resurface, and which gifts were bought in haste. 
 
But like the snowflakes speckling our windows, each blessed angel is one of a kind; each has its own story of creation and arrival into every household. Some are antiques passed down through generations, others are homemade, some embody the spirit of Christmas, others could be more suited to Halloween. 
 
Through this unusual collection of portraits, Christmas Angels showcases the variety of styles, stories and personalities embodied by our favourite Christmas companions.

Christmas Angels

A Collection

Hafez

'Drunk or sober, king or soldier, none will be excluded' 
 
Sensual, profound, delighted, wise, Hafez's poems have enchanted their readers for more than 600 years. One of the greatest figures of world literature, he remains today the most popular poet in modern Iran. 
 
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. 
 
Rumi (1207-73). Rumi's Selected Poems is available in Penguin Classics.

The Nightingales are Drunk

'To the utterly at-one with Siva 
there's no dawn.' 
 
Meditative, deeply personal poems to the god Siva, from four major Hindu saints. 
 
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. 
 
Mahadeviyakka (10th century), Basavaa, Devara Dasimayya and Allama Prabhu (12th century).

Speaking of Siva

Discover the beautiful bestselling book about a beautiful friendship . . . 
 
'James has a way to speak to your soul. This book is nothing short of comforting and heartwarming' VEX KING 
'While the drawings have the charm of Winnie-the-Pooh, the captions have the depth of ancient proverbs' GUARDIAN 
'A beautifully illustrated book which draws on tender moments. Exquisite' DR RANGAN CHATTERJEE 
________ 
 
A guiding light in the darker months, Big Panda and Tiny Dragon is the beautifully illustrated and mindful journey of two friends through the seasons, inspired by Buddhist philosophy 
 
'Which is more important,' asked Big Panda, 'the journey or the destination?' 
'The company,' said Tiny Dragon. 
 
Friends Big Panda and Tiny Dragon journey through the seasons of the year together, day and night, in rain and in sun. Travelling through nature, they find hope and inspiration in the world around them, realising that even in the darkest of days, Spring will always return. 
 
Feel the calming influence of Big Panda, who reminds us of the bigger picture while appreciating the simplicity of small moments. 
 
Explore your surroundings with the inquisitive eye of Tiny Dragon, our friend who is big in heart if not in stature. 
 
And on their journey through the ever-changing seasons, join these two friends as they learn how to live in the moment, be at peace with uncertainty, and find the strength to overcome life's obstacles, together. 
 
Inspired by Buddhist philosophy and spirituality, the story of these whimsical characters makes the perfect gift for anyone looking for a little hope and comfort. 
________ 
 
'The two friends often find themselves lost but discover beautiful sights they never would have found if they had gone the right way. While the drawings have the charm of Winnie-the-Pooh, the captions have the depth of ancient proverbs' GUARDIAN

Big Panda and Tiny Dragon

The beautifully illustrated novel about friendship and hope

Will Parfitt

The Kabbalah is a practical system for understanding ourselves and our relationship with the world. At the heart of the Western Mystery Tradition, it is based upon a 'map' called the Tree of Life. 
 
The Complete Guide to the Kabbalah reveals the ancient mysteries of the Tree of Life in a way that is exciting, effective in its applications, and relevant to our modern everyday lives. The blend of traditional teachings coupled with state-of-the-art psychological understanding makes it an essential book for everyone interested in their own personal and spiritual development. This comprehensive book explains in straightforward terms how the Kabbalah can help us to: 
 
- Understand the connections between all the different events, ideas, and relationships we experience, and thereby make sense of life and enable us to live it to the full 
- Work from the heart as well as from the intellect and apply your insights to everyday life 
- Open yourself to the fabulous resources of your own inner wisdom

The Complete Guide To The Kabbalah

How to Apply the Ancient Mysteries of the Kabbalah to Your Everyday Life

Margrit Coates

Margrit Coates's new book is essential reading for anyone who loves animals and who wishes to improve their understanding of animal behaviour. One of the world's leading animal communicators and healers, Margrit has many years' experience working closely with species of all kinds - from horses, dogs and cats, to wild life, rare breeds and rescue animals. 
 
In Communicating with Animals, she draws upon her very special gift and amazing experiences to help us connect with animals too. Using intuition, insight and common sense, she shows how to tune into what they are really thinking and feeling, helping us bond with them at an incredibly deep level. Her powerful techniques range from communicating with the furry, feathered and scaly friends who share our homes, to larger animals such as horses and even Anne the Elephant, as well as other non-domestic creatures. Ultimately, Margrit's wish is for each one of us to be able to tune into all life around us. Besides practical exercises and handy tips, Communicating with Animals is brimming with heart-warming stories - making it a great read and a truly inspirational guide.

Communicating with Animals

How to tune into them intuitively

Vivianne Crowley

What secret power is hiding within you? 
 
There is an untamed wildness within each of us. Once found and nurtured, this wild power can lead to true and boundless freedom, creativity and purpose. 
 
In Wild Once, internationally renowned High Wiccan Priestess, Vivianne Crowley, reveals the secret riches to be found on a hidden path. This is the extraordinary and inspiring guide to a life lived magically, of adventures into the unknown and of finding spiritual nourishment. It shows what can happen when you have the courage to step into the unexplainable and live untamed. 
 
It is also an evocative, intricate account of a hidden world, a rich tour of modern magical practices, from meditation to manifestation, shamanism to spellwork. Magic is waiting to be discovered. It is here, just beneath the surface, if only you know where to look... 
 
 We all have wild magic within us; this book will inspire you to find it.

Wild Once

A high priestess’s guide to modern spirituality

Awaken the magic within. Unleash true power

Barbara Thiering

Barbara Thiering's previous works have been bestsellers in her native Australia, and Focus magazine said that the impact of her work '...may turn out to be as profound as that of Darwin's Origin of the Species'. This new book continues to reveal the 'real' Jesus and the history of his time by applying to the New Testament the insights and information contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The author argues that the Gospel of John was in fact written in code, by Jesus himself. She carefully analyses all the miracles and supernatural events to show that they did not happen as described. Instead, for those who understand the code, they provide a record of the development of the new religion that went on to lay the foundation of Western culture.

The Book That Jesus Wrote

John's Gospel

James Redfield

Set in the rainforests of Peru, The Celestine Prophecy contains ancient secrets that could change our world. As James Redfield defines and concisely explains each of the Nine Insights contained in his spiritual masterpiece, you will not only crystallize your perceptions of why you are where you are in life, but head into tomorrow with new energy and optimism. 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, this is the 'pocket' guide to the Nine Insights of The Celestine Prophecy.

The Celestine Prophecy: A Pocket Guide To The Nine Insights (Storycuts)

Emily Brontë

Yes, as my swift days near their goal, 
’Tis all that I implore; 
In life and death, a chainless soul, 
With courage to endure. 
 
In this new selection of Emily Brontë’s heart-rending poems, we uncover a soul unafraid to confront mortality, tragedy and the wild cruelty – and beauty – of nature. These verses capture her profound passion and indomitable spirit, plumbing the depths of the human heart and revealing the raw power of Brontë’s poetic genius.

No Coward Soul Is Mine

Robin Wall Kimmerer

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert). 
 
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings-asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass-offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

Braiding Sweetgrass

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Tish Harrison Warren

From the award-winning author and former New York Times opinion writer and columnist comes a fresh vision for navigating burnout and weariness through ancient Christian practices 
 
'Honest, wise and persistent in imagination, this is a book to refresh the seasoned spiritual traveler. A beautifully crafted weave of both resilience and wonder' Martin Shaw, author of Liturgies of the Wild 
 
How do we cultivate faith that endures? 
 
Early Christians often grappled with a reality we rarely talk about in contemporary life: that God seems to abandon the soul at times, leaving us feeling as if we are alone and left to our own resources. For centuries, times of 'aridity' were seen as necessary – prerequisites for growth and maturity. Yet in our culture fixated on speed and optimisation, we risk losing this deeper sense of the human journey and the resilience that comes with it. 
 
Drawing from her own season of exhaustion and also from the rich well of Christian tradition – particularly the earliest Christian monks – Warren explores the habits and mindsets that anchor us through doubt, difficulty and spiritual dryness. She helps us see that nothing is wasted – that, even in desert seasons, something good is growing, rooted in grace and reaching toward glory. 
 
What Grows in Weary Lands speaks to anyone longing for a life of depth in a distracted age and guides us toward lives of resilience, renewal and flourishing. 
 
Ebury Vine: The Home Of Christian Living. Drawing on the deep roots of Christianity to cultivate curious minds and inspire faith-informed growth.

What Grows in Weary Lands

On Christian Resilience

Martin Rowson

'As with dogs, so with gods - by and large, you should blame the owners.' 
 
A particular trait, common to all human civilisations, is the worship of non-human entities with followings of devotees who claim that their reverence can transport them to transcendental heights of complete and unfettered love. 
 
Do we mean God? No - we mean Dog. Dogs and other pets we've been keeping and loving since we began walking on two feet. But why do we love God - and pets - so much when their capriciousness sometimes suggests that they don't love us back? 
 
In this wise, witty and highly topical book, celebrated cartoonist and novelist Martin Rowson argues that rationally, the whole enterprise of religion is a monumental and faintly ridiculous waste of time and money. But then again, so is pet-keeping.

The Dog Allusion

Gods, Pets and How to be Human

'Hate is not conquered by hate: hate is conquered by love. This is a law eternal.' 
 
Captivating aphorisms illustrating the Buddhist dhamma, or moral system. 
 
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

The Dhammapada

Neil Gaiman

A full-cast dramatisation of Neil Gaiman's magical retellings of the Norse myths, inviting us into a world of gods and monsters, tricks and trust, fiery endings and new beginnings 
 
Winner of The London Book Fair CAMEO Award 2020 for Book to Audio adaptation. 
 
'And the game begins anew…' 
 
Meet the trickster god Loki and his astonishing children – the giant wolf Fenrir, Jormungundr the snake that encircles the world, and Hel, the little girl who grows up to be Queen of the dead. Here, too, is Odin the all-father, who sacrificed his eye to see the future; Thor the thunderer, who defends Asgard with his fearsome strength and mighty hammer; and Freya the understandably angry, most beautiful of the gods and always being gambled for by unwanted suitors. 
 
From the beginning of the universe in fire and ice, to the very end of the world, Ragnarok, these enthralling tales of gods, goddesses, dwarves and giants bring the ancient myths to vigorous life. 
 
Diana Rigg, Derek Jacobi, Colin Morgan, Natalie Dormer and Neil Gaiman himself are among the stellar cast in these spellbinding stories of old betrayals – and new hope.

Norse Mythology

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Vanessa Chakour

We all come from different cultures and practice different spiritual traditions, but we have one thing in common: we are all of the earth. Vanessa Chakour, founder of the rewilding programme Sacred Warrior, takes us on a journey to deepen our relationship with ourselves and the environment. Awakening Artemis is her love letter to the earth. 
 
Sharing her personal journey of rewilding, her stories act as tools, both practical and inspirational, to encourage growth, healing and reconnection to the regenerative power of the natural world. Vanessa will help you embrace the strength and beauty in the wild, the weeds, and the unsavoury parts of yourself in order to grow and heal. By allowing yourself and the earth to flourish and awakening your inner Artemis, Chakour promises that you will find joy, peace, compassion for yourself, others, and the planet.

Awakening Artemis

Deepening Intimacy with the Living Earth and Reclaiming Our Wild Nature

Lance Richardson

**A NEW YORKER & VOGUE BEST BOOK OF 2025** 
 
'Magnificent' ROBERT MACFARLANE 
'Fascinating' KATHERINE MAY 
'Irresistible' KATHERINE BUCKNELL 
‘Perceptive and consistently readable’ CAL FLYN 
 
Discover the many lives of Peter Matthiessen – writer, naturalist, activist, CIA agent, Zen master – in this kaleidoscopic biography of an American literary giant. 
 
Author of The Snow Leopard, co-founder of the Paris Review and the only writer to have ever won the National Book Award for both fiction and nonfiction, Peter Matthiessen was a towering figure of twentieth-century American literary culture. He was also, briefly, an undercover agent for the fledgling CIA; an environmental activist; an advocate for Native American rights and California farmworkers; friends with the likes of Truman Capote and William Styron; and a daring explorer who visited every continent on Earth, scaling the Himalayas and floating through the Amazon on a balsawood raft. 
 
Across these many lives, Matthiessen was always searching for what he called his ‘true nature’ – an enlightened state of being, without ego – and this spiritual quest ultimately led him, even as he inflicted great pain on three wives and multiple children, to the highest ranks of Zen. 
 
Readers and critics have struggled to reconcile Matthiessen’s extraordinarily varied achievements and literary output, which included everything from experimental novels to advocacy journalism. Now, for the first time, drawing on rich primary sources and hundreds of interviews, acclaimed biographer Lance Richardson pulls together the seemingly disparate threads of Matthiessen’s story. With page-turning immediacy, Richardson illuminates how the writer’s uncanny gifts enabled him to sense connections between ecological decline, racism and labour exploitation – to express, eloquently and presciently, that ‘in a damaged human habitat, all problems merge’.

True Nature

The Lives of Peter Matthiessen

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