Nature’s Conscience – The life & legacy of Dereck Ratcliffe
Published by Langford Press 572 pages
Hardback £30.00 Softback £22.00
ISBN 978 1 904078 60 9
When the remark – the effective British naturalist since Darwin is written you have to sit up and read this amazing book about a man who was ‘the complete naturalist’. Not only was he an expert in most fields but a great photographer as the book has so many pictures of his from landscape to flora and lichens. The title pages of each chapter tell a story in themselves not to mention the many fine naturalists that have written them as well as extracts from some of Derek’s published work. His books often about the great uplands he loved are mentioned as well as the monographs on the Peregrine Falcon where Derek told the world of the effects of the chemical DDT not just on birds but ourselves and got it banned. I was privileged to show him along with his great friend Geoff Horne my then reserve at Geltsdale and saw him at his ‘home town’ as an ornery member of the Carlisle Natural history society. Such a large book needs a place on your book shelf.