Meadow: The intimate bond between people, place and plants
By Iain Parkinson & Jim Holden, Kew Publishing, £25
Here are two reviews of this book. The first is the published one, the second is the copy I sent in. Here are some questions: do the differences make a difference? Which one do you prefer? Would you advise me to not give up the day job?
The published version
This appeared in Teach Secondary magazine in the UK.
Meadows are becoming increasingly rare. This book captures their beauty with wonderful photography on every page, and if that were all it had to offer, Meadow would make for a perfectly good coffee table book. Instead, it goes further by presenting essays from a range of experts on the different and essential roles that meadows play in the natural world – from the wildlife they support, to the many complex, unseen ways in which they shape the environment. Meadow ably ticks several boxes on the science programme of study and PSHE1 curriculum, and vividly demonstrates how much more there is to how meadows ‘work’ than meets the eye. A useful resource to have on hand for any school trying to encourage their students’ engagement in biodiversity and related topics.
My original version
Meadows are becoming increasingly rare, a tragedy because they are so alive with colour. This book captures their beauty with wonderful photographs on every page. If that were all it had to offer, ‘Meadow’ would make a nice coffee table book or birthday present but little more. However, it goes so much further by providing essays by a number of experts on different aspects of meadows and the essential roles they, and the wildlife they support, play in the environment. ‘Meadow’ ticks several boxes on the Science Programme of Study and PSHE curricula, and vividly demonstrates that there is much more to meadows than meets the eye. This would be a nice resource for a school to have if they are trying to encourage students to see the value of maintaining biodiversity, and possibly more effective than only focusing on doom and gloom.
Personal, Social and Health Education
I certainly like this editor more than the last one. Honestly, I think they were warranted in cutting the “doom and gloom” line at the end; it’s a form of editorializing that is probably a bit out of place in a review. I don’t believe I’d feel offended by these edits.
Wow, Terry - Jim and I both enjoyed both versions of your review! We prefer the published version for its omission of both ‘but little more’, and ‘doom and gloom’. Don't get me wrong - you absolutely made a great point about ‘doom and gloom’, using it to illustrate the fact that the focus of this book is not that - but we felt that having those as the last three words put things on a bit of a downer!
Thank you for approaching the magazine with your pitch to review ‘Meadow’, Terry, and for the review itself. It's not only that it's thoughtful, balanced and considered, but that it's been written by someone who clearly knows both the book and also what he is talking about!
There’s been ever such a nice to response to Jim's book since its publication, and we're really happy that your review is a part of that story. 😊🌱