Author Description

Skomer is a captivating island and one of Britain's most spectacular National Nature Reserves, visited by tens of thousands of people every year and receiving regular media attention from magazines, radio and television wildlife programs. It has internationally important populations of seabirds, including puffins and Manx shearwaters, and large numbers of grey seal pups are born on the island's beaches. The breathtaking displays of spring flowers, including coast-to-coast bluebells, give the island an almost unrivaled beauty, and it is also one of the best-preserved prehistoric landscapes in Britain. The author's years of meticulous research have resulted in the most complete account of the island's history and natural history ever produced, beautifully illustrated throughout with his own exquisite photographs of species and habitats. Through close cooperation with descendants of the island's former farming families, Mike Alexander has compiled a collection of important and previously unpublished photographs, which inform and enhance the historical sections. The book is written with a level of detail that would make it relevant to professional conservationists, but is presented in a style that is also accessible to amateur naturalists and anyone with an interest in the countryside - given the enormous and enduring popularity of TV programmes such as the BBC's 'Countryfile' and 'Springwatch', the potential audience for the book is huge. At the heart of this book is the relationship between people and place: how Skomer has been molded over the centuries to meet the needs of a succession of inhabitants. This is a universal theme that transcends the boundaries of this tiny fragment of land, and would be relevant to anyone who is curious about the environment we have created. Highly illustrated and full-color throughout, with hundreds of exhibition-standard photographs by the author.