This is a very personal account of the author's experiences in the field of conservation. The book is divided into two distinct but related parts. In the first, he describes how some 40 years ago he acquired a bare field adjacent to his home in Cambridgeshire and transformed part of it into a private nature reserve with a wood, a large pond and rough grassland. He details his successes in trying to attract the wildlife which has subsequently colonized it as well as his failures. In his words: "many people wish to encourage wildlife on their land but do not know exactly what to do or what they...