COMMUNITY
REVIEW:
Wild Mull: A Natural History of the Isle of Mull and its People
Kirsteen Bell If you are the sort of person who normally shies away from guidebooks, I would go as far as guaranteeing you should reconsider for Wild Mull: A Natural History of the Isle of Mull and its People. Written by Stephen Littlewood, with photography by Martin Jones, this book is a celebration of the ‘wildness, diversity and wonder’ of Mull and a rallying cry to think more deeply about the relationship humans have with the natural world. The authors have sought to give ‘an honest appraisal’ of Mull’s ecosystem. Subjects range from the geological origins of the
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The breadth of the range island and the understory is impressive in what is a of the Celtic rainforest, to relatively short book; each the alpine flora of mountain detail combines to make scree and the now-famous a compelling white-tailed whole. eagles – and The authors That said, everything in if you found between. Wild have sought to you were less Mull does not give ‘an honest interested in buy into the appraisal’ fungi you could narrative of of Mull’s skim past a ‘untouched ecosystem. section without wilderness’ detracting from that still tends the overall to sneak into enjoyment and discussion of perspectives on Highthe book. land landscapes. The wild Woven throughout is Mull’s elements of Mull’s ecosyshuman story and its links to tem do not exist alone: the the island’s biodiversity. This authors include mention of cattle and sheep, the flowers is a nature book that does in our gardens and even the not pretend that humans are separate. domestic cat.
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| WINTER 2021/22
Mull & Iona Life issue 44.indd 26
19/01/2022 17:49:11
