- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Frances Lincoln (1 Feb 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0711224501
- ISBN-13: 978-0711224506
- Product Dimensions: 20 x 14.6 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 458,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Earth Moved
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Each page reveals a new fact about our soil-dwelling friends … It's not all facts and figures though. The author tells a gripping story of her growing fascination with these creatures, which shape our very existence as they work their way through the soil on which we all depend (BBC Gardeners' World )
She writes illuminatingly of all the things about which one had only a vague notion: the earthworm's hermaphroditic status, its ability to regenerate section of its body if cut, its capacity to find food without the senses of smell, sight or hearing (Ursula Buchan Spectator )
An ideal read for anyone with the slightest interest in worms, gardening or the environment - fun, light-hearted, fascinating and informative all at the same time (Gardening Which )
She writes illuminatingly of all the things about which one had only a vague notion: the earthworm's hermaphroditic status, its ability to regenerate section of its body if cut, its capacity to find food without the senses of smell, sight or hearing (Ursula Buchan Spectator )
An ideal read for anyone with the slightest interest in worms, gardening or the environment - fun, light-hearted, fascinating and informative all at the same time (Gardening Which )
Review
'It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures.' Charles Darwin; 'What would our lives be like if we took earthworms seriously, took the ground under our feet rather than the skies high above our heads, as the place to look, as well, eventually, as the place to be? It is as though we have been pointed in the wrong direction.' Adam Phillips, Darwin's Worms, 1999.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
THE FIRST TIME I held a worm in my hand, I was surprised at how light it was, how harmless. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THE FIRST TIME I held a worm in my hand, I was surprised at how light it was, how harmless. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Principally it is important to understand that Amy Stewart, the author of 'The earth moved' is principally a gardener and as such the book is dominated by and large to the benefits of earthworms to the gardening and to a similar extent farming communities, and how these benefits can be further developed. Indeed the book would be more accurately sub-titled 'On the remarkable uses of earthworms'.
There are undoubtedly interesting parts such as the regeneration phenomenon and the intelligence of earthworms but these parts are underdeveloped and largely sidelined in favour of the way earthworms can be utilised. Stewart mentions Darwin a lot which is somewhat odd as the remit of this book is a far cry from Darwin's studies which concentrated on the more interesting subject of earthworm behaviour.
The main problem with this book is that it is too long. Everything the book has to say could have been fitted concisely into a book half this size and would have retained interest a lot better. Instead Stewart stretches the book to 200 pages and in doing so repeats a lot of what she writes and labours many points so they become dull and tiresome.
Stewart is not an experienced author of books, and making the subject of earthworms interesting to a non-scientific audience is a difficult task for the best of writers. Unfortunately she has gone about it the wrong way and is somewhat uninspiring except to a select audience of farmers and amateur gardeners. However what the book does give you is an introduction to a surprisingly interesting subject which may lead you to reach for other books or journals which are more focused on your point of earthworm interest.
There are undoubtedly interesting parts such as the regeneration phenomenon and the intelligence of earthworms but these parts are underdeveloped and largely sidelined in favour of the way earthworms can be utilised. Stewart mentions Darwin a lot which is somewhat odd as the remit of this book is a far cry from Darwin's studies which concentrated on the more interesting subject of earthworm behaviour.
The main problem with this book is that it is too long. Everything the book has to say could have been fitted concisely into a book half this size and would have retained interest a lot better. Instead Stewart stretches the book to 200 pages and in doing so repeats a lot of what she writes and labours many points so they become dull and tiresome.
Stewart is not an experienced author of books, and making the subject of earthworms interesting to a non-scientific audience is a difficult task for the best of writers. Unfortunately she has gone about it the wrong way and is somewhat uninspiring except to a select audience of farmers and amateur gardeners. However what the book does give you is an introduction to a surprisingly interesting subject which may lead you to reach for other books or journals which are more focused on your point of earthworm interest.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Never mind the poor reviews this is a good read for the wormery owner who would like to expand their knowledge of the little wrigglers.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I wonder why Amy Stewart wrote this book? If it was to share with people the huge benefits that earthworms bestow on mankind and to bring this to the publics attention, then I feel she went about this the wrong way. Yes there were some interesting snip bits in it, though I feel she tried to hard to give it some sort of pseudo science credibility by referring to Darwin. She also mentions other scientist she had met who were researching earthworms. I was disappointed in it. I just don't know why it was written. The Earth did not move for me here!
Many people here in the UK do not give worms a thought at all. Others simply do not like them. Other books out there try a different approach, and are far more readable and give far more practical advise as to exactly why and what exactly are the remarkable achievements of earthworms are, for example the UK book "Composting with worms, why waste your waste" and the American book, though now a little dated,"Worms eat my garbage", both available on Amazon. These books describe tangible ways and give everyday practical reasons why we should look at our earthworms in a more favourable light.
Many people here in the UK do not give worms a thought at all. Others simply do not like them. Other books out there try a different approach, and are far more readable and give far more practical advise as to exactly why and what exactly are the remarkable achievements of earthworms are, for example the UK book "Composting with worms, why waste your waste" and the American book, though now a little dated,"Worms eat my garbage", both available on Amazon. These books describe tangible ways and give everyday practical reasons why we should look at our earthworms in a more favourable light.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
