The Edge of Silence
In Search of the Disappearing Sounds of Nature
by Neil Ansell
£10.99
Add to BasketNature writing & gardening
Reviews
The lesson in this absorbing, lyrical book is simply to listen, to sit still, to turn off your phone, to concentrate and, above all, to rejoice in sounds
Country Life
This remarkable, moving book is the story of a journey to hear rare and elusive creatures
Bookseller Scotland Focus
Thought-provoking and eloquent, intimate and far-reaching... this is the beautifully told story of the author’s mission to listen to the disappearing sounds of nature
LoveReading
[A] poignant book
Daily Mail
Inspiring and unexpectedly uplifting
The Scotsman
A gift of a book. It reads like a swansong, beautiful but poignant knowing what is ahead... There is wonder and humility in the many thoughts shared, from an expert who understands the value of what is so casually being lost forever, both personally and more widely
Bookmunch
The Edge of Silence is a classic natural history tome, but one that also explores human edges – ageing, loss, adaptation – and how these are refracted through a landscape under its own “overwhelming challenges”
TLS
[Ansell] charts his journey throughout the UK in his excellent book The Edge of Silence... there's a strong ecological message
BBC Radio Scotland, Scotland Outdoors podcast
I’ve read all of Ansell’s nature memoirs and consider him one of the UK’s top writers on the natural world. His accounts of his low-carbon travels are entertaining, and the tug-of-war between resisting and coming to terms with his disability is heartening
Bookish Beck
About the Book
A journey like no other.
Acclaimed nature writer Neil Ansell has suffered from progressive hearing loss his whole life. As his world is becoming ever more silent, he suddenly hears something quite unexpected – the haunting call of the great northern diver. It is this extraordinary experience which makes him realise that there might still be remarkable sounds in nature within his reach – if he can only find himself in the right place at the right time.
This moving book charts Neil’s mission to hear rare and elusive creatures that he had not previously encountered. This journey takes him from the mountaintops and islands of the Scottish Highlands to the marshes of England and the hills of Wales. Many of these species are in grave danger of extinction, so the future Neil faces, devoid of their distinctive calls, is one we all must fight to prevent.
LOCATIONS AND ANIMALS:
Great northern diver (Nether Lochaber, Scottish Highlands), Ptarmigan (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Little Grebe (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Bittern (Morecambe Bay, Lancashire), Natterjack toad (The Wirral), Red-throated diver (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Corncrake (Coll), Snipe (Coll), Black grouse (North Wales), Greenshank (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Puffin (Canna and Sanday), Storm petrel (Mousa, Shetland), Whimbrel (Shetland), Red kite (Perthshire), Otter (Sunart, Scottish Highlands), Manx shearwater (Rum)
Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2025
The Author
Neil Ansell
Neil Ansell has written for The Guardian, The New Statesman and The Big Issue, and has been an award-winning journalist with the BBC. His previous books include Deep Country, Wilderness and The Circling Sky, which was shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Golden Beer and Highland Book Prize.
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