Nature’s Design - Exploring the Mysteries of the Natural World

Nature’s Design - Exploring the Mysteries of the Natural World by Richard Thompson

Reading Nature’s Design for me was kind of like having David Attenborough on steroids in my lounge - I could almost hear his quiet, breathless voice explaining all the fantastic mysteries of the African bush. And this is high praise, I promise you, because Mr Attenborough is one of my very favourite natural history personalities.

The books begins quite simply: “Ours is a world of grass” it says - and from there on it’s a fine exploration of things like why the grasses are so important to us and to the natural world  (food supplies, economies - even tourism! - live by it) and how it influences things like grazing succession and the evolution of different beak shapes amongst the birds.

With chapters on diet and digestion, sex and reproduction, strategies for survival and communication, it sounds like it could be another boring day in the biology class - but don’t be fooled. I wasn’t bored for a minute.

This is definitely the kind of book you’ll want to read if you’re in tourism in South Africa - and if you’re a field guide or a general tourist guide who goes anywhere near our nature reserves or game parks, I’d almost say it’s something you HAVE to read.

And besides, you’ll enjoy it…

Buy it here