My natural history: the animal kingdom and how it shaped me.

London: Short Books, 2010.
Octavo, dustwrapper, 249 pp.

Simon Barnes, like a modern-day Gerald Durrell, weaves together the story of his life via the animals and natural encounters that have shaped it. From the greater horseshoe bat that transported Barnes from the dull classrooms of his youth, to the great whale which marked the moment he knew he was going to be a writer from Himalayan Kingfishers in India, to majestic lions in the Luangwa valley, each animal represents a piece in the puzzle of Barnes's life.