{"product_id":"native-9781780277073","title":"Native : Life in a Vanishing Landscape","description":"\u003cp\u003eWaterstones Scottish Book of the Month for March 2021\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2020\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesperate to connect with his native Galloway, Patrick Laurie plunges into work on his family farm in the hills of southwest Scotland. Investing in the oldest and most traditional breeds of Galloway cattle, the Riggit Galloway, he begins to discover how cows once shaped people, places and nature in this remote and half-hidden place. This traditional breed requires different methods of care from modern farming on an industrial, totally unnatural scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the cattle begin to dictate the pattern of his life, Patrick stumbles upon the passing of an ancient rural heritage. Always one of the most isolated and insular parts of the country, as the twentieth century progressed, the people of Galloway deserted the land and the moors have been transformed into commercial forest in the last thirty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe people and the cattle have gone, and this withdrawal has shattered many centuries of tradition and custom. Much has been lost, and the new forests have driven the catastrophic decline of the much-loved curlew, a bird which features strongly in Galloway's consciousness. The links between people, cattle and wild birds become a central theme as Patrick begins to face the reality of life in a vanishing landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: Patrick Laurie\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eScotland, Lowland Scotland \u0026amp; Borders, Northern Scotland, Highlands \u0026amp; Islands, Cultural studies, Animals \u0026amp; society, Natural history, The Earth: natural history general\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 1 Mar 2021 by Birlinn General.\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Patrick Laurie","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57320871100794,"sku":"9781780277073","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0373\/4125\/files\/9781780277073.jpg?v=1790664802","url":"https:\/\/belfastbooks.co.uk\/products\/native-9781780277073","provider":"Belfast Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}