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Food for Free Hardcover – 12 Apr 2012

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Richard Mabey (Author)
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Richard Mabey (Author)
47 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Collins (12 April 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007438478
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007438471
  • Product Dimensions: 19.5 x 3.6 x 25.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 22,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

‘Food for Free is a life-enhancing classic. That it is erudite and charming as well as practical and accurate is a testament to Richard Mabey’s great gift as a biographer of our natural heritage. It remains the best possible antidote to the over-processed and the pre-packaged.’
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

‘The forager's bible continues to inspire and enthral.’
Scottish Field

‘Still a classic’
The Financial Times

‘Armed with this guide, this month you could be sampling the simple pleasures of eating a fleshy Hottentot fig straight from a Devon clifftop, making elderflower fritters gathered from the hedgerows, or frying fairy-ring champignons picked off your lawn. With its charming painted illustrations, it is a book to savour in itself.’
Devon Life

About the Author

Richard Mabey is the author of some forty books, including the bestselling Flora Britannica, Weeds and Nature Cure, which was short-listed for the Whitbread, Ondaatje and Ackerley awards. His biography Gilbert White won the Whitbread Biography Prize in 1986. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC radio, writes regularly for the Guardian, New Statesman and Granta, and has contributed a personal column to BBC Wildlife for the past 25 years. He is Patron of the John Clare Society, and Vice-President of the Open Spaces Society. He lives in Norfolk.

Inside This Book

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
The *definitive* book for beginning foraging in the UK
By Amazon Customer on 3 April 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I first bought Food for Free as a paperback about forty years ago. At that time it was to help distract our kids on walks. (And incidentally, it remains brilliant for that. Except that the "kids" in question are now our grandchiildren!) It's clear, concise and not at all stuffy or condescending--so it's perfect for somebody who's thinking of, or just beginning, foraging. Also, it's clearly based on UK flora and fungi, so it's ideally suited for the UK forager.

This time round I bought the Kindle edition. (I still have the dog-eared original, though!) This makes it even more useful, because it's completely searchable. So, for example, if you find something with "arrow-shaped leaves", it's easier to work out whether it's sorrel, or bindweed.

If there was a Desert Island Books show, like Desert Island Discs, this would definitely be a book I'd want with me.

Happy foraging!
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Absolutely Brilliant
By Mr. N. Gower on 7 Jan. 2013
Format: Hardcover
Review by my girlfriend since it's her book.

This book was a Christmas gift, and I'm really pleased with it.

First thoughts: The book is beautiful Heavy, glossy and sturdy, printed and bound to a high quality. The hard cover is lovely to look at, with the text stamped into the cover rather than merely printed. The book look impressive and is an attractive addition to my bookshelf.

Next thoughts: The interior is lovely, as well. Every food item described is illustrated with high quality, glossy photos that display the plant in its natural setting, showing leaves, fruit/flowers and stem clearly. It would be very difficult to misidentify anything with this book.

More detailed thoughts: The descriptions given for different plants are very thorough, and include smell for fragrant plants as well as appearance. The mushroom section is fantastic for newbies to mushroom foraging - the safest and most difficult to misidentify mushroom varieties are offered, and in the few cases where there are similar poisonous varieties, these are described and illustrated just as clearly, with large poison symbols to make it very clear what to avoid. There is also a very nicely arranged index at the back, where all the plants in the book are illustrated with the usual, old-fashioned colour sketches. This is great, as if you come across a plant you don't know, you can skip to the index, find a similar-looking sketch and it will refer you to the main page, where you can compare the plant to the detailed photos and descriptions more thoroughly. A very clever and very efficient way of arranging things.

I have only two criticisms.

One: This book is far too large and heavy to take out when foraging.Read more ›
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
#1 Foraging book
By Mr. A. O'Donoghue on 16 July 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Perfect for beginner or advanced. Big glossy pictures and everything you need to know. If you're learning from home there is nothing better. If you want to learn while outdoors, the food for free pocket version by collins gem is ideal. With both you have everything you need.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
very interesting reference book with clear, magnified photographs
By midge on 1 Oct. 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I was very pleased when this book arrived, as it has high quality binding and colour photographs. It was bought as a gift and is definitely the sort of present anyone who loves walking in the countryside and/or cooking would enjoy reading. There is a pocket sized version which would be much better if you need to refer to it during a ramble, but the disadvantage of the pocket sized version is the photographs are obviously a lot smaller and so indentifying plants en route is likely to be more difficult.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
JO
By JO on 21 April 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I am reading and enjoying and learning. It is so good to have recipes included. I am now passing this review over to my husband.

I found the format excellent: the photographs are large, permitting of easy recognition; the text is large font, permitting of easy reading if, like me, your eyesight is none too good. An excellent book, worth the price.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
I bought the original paperback years ago, this is a must have!
By Celticprincess TOP 50 REVIEWER on 28 Sept. 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Yip, I still have my original paperback version of this (but will give that away to a friend now I have treated myself to this updated, hard-backed, better illustrated version) and it really is an invaluable source of trusted information if you like to forage in the wild and not poison yourself!

This book is beautiful. Beautifully presented, high quality production - a hard-backed version of a classic title.

Super-sized glossy pictures that make what you are foraging easy to identify and also comes with plenty of superb recipes for things to do with your find.

I love this book, so I've bought it twice over the years.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND (will be good in this downturn we are having in the UK .... save yourself some money, pick your own in the wild and have fun whilst you are doing it and get exercise and fresh air)

10/10
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Still a wonderful book
By Trixi Field on 17 Mar. 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
As someone who loves to forage while out for a walk with the dog, this is a treasure of a book. You can't carry it with you, but lovely to put your feet up, find a new plant to look for, and then go look for it. Lovely photos too.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Great Resource for foragers!
By Fabrizio Poli VINE VOICE on 22 Nov. 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
If you like going on nature walks and/or you want to find out about the free food & medicine surrounding you this is a great resource.
Lots of photos and it explains where to find these plants and lots more.
Highly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

A very informative book with detailed photos.

I bough this as a gift and my friend loves it.
Its very informative with detailed photos.
You don't want to eat the wrong things as some plants on first look, look... Read more

Published 16 days ago by Ian_C
Four Stars

Nice book

Published 1 month ago by Shteryo Y.
No Gathering Calendar.

A useful book but only 3 stars as it doesn't contain the gathering calendar of the printed version

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
Five Stars

Really great to have this knowledge in you pocket when out and about!!

Published 2 months ago by David
... questions about produce bought in shops this holds a great deal of...

With so many questions about produce bought in shops this holds a great deal of interest. Well illustrated and comprehensive.

Published 2 months ago by angela
Five Stars

Worth the investment!

Published 3 months ago by Dean Mudenda
Five Stars

a good guide

Published 5 months ago by duncan crockett
Five Stars

Beautiful coffee table book and valuable reference source

Published 6 months ago by MSLAWRENC
A must have

A must have. Its the most complete book I cud find about english/europeen wild food. The pictures are great, detailed. Its builded like an encyclopedia but more enjoyable

Published 7 months ago by Jestin Aurélie
Beautiful and very informative book

Bought as a present for my husband and he loves it. It's a really interesting book and we have already found an assortment of berries and other plants and turned them into juice or... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Debs

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