The Lie of the Land
Who Really Cares for the Countryside?
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The Lie of the Land
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Narrated by:
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Guy Shrubsole
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By:
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Guy Shrubsole
About this listen
*A WATERSTONES AND GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2024*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WESTMINSTER BOOK AWARDS*
'Both dynamite and medicine' AMY-JANE BEER
'It couldn't be more relevant' JAMES O'BRIEN
'Timely and rousing' THE TIMES
The lie of the land: that Britain’s landowners care for the countryside.
Our landowning elite are paid billions of taxpayer pounds to be good stewards. But these same landowners have carelessly trampled over our best-loved landscapes, leaving the rivers polluted, fenlands drained, and moorlands burned.
Guy Shrubsole has travelled across Britain to expose the lie and meet the communities fighting back to restore our lost landscapes. This is a bold, shared vision for our nation’s wild places, and how we can treat them with the awe and care they deserve.
©2024 Guy Shrubsole (P)2024 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
'A very, very good book' John Harris, The Guardian
'A fascinating exposé' The i
'Urgent and essential' Caroline Lucas
'Exhilarating, insightful and bristling with rightful indignation' Lee Schofield
'The unjust impositions of historic land ownership blight all our lives – here Guy shows why’ Chris Packham
'What a book! Vitally important, and superbly written' Aaron Bastani
‘Shrubsole has the belly fire of a campaigner but the precision of an historian’ Roger Mortlock
‘A heartfelt, historically resonant call to reject the myth that private landownership delivers good stewardship of nature' Corinne Fowler
‘A smart, peaceful and practical plan for how we can turn this land into our land’ Patrick Barkham
‘If you care about our environment, read this book’ Sir John Lawton CBE FRS
‘This book beautifully subverts the central orthodoxy of England’ Nick Hayes
'This is Guy Shrubsole’s best book yet' Mark Avery
'Compelling … a timely and important book’ Geographical Magazine
'Genuinely jaw-dropping … bristling with energy and ideas' Martha Dillon
‘Guy Shrubsole asserts the right of the majority to engage in what happens to land. As England struggles with its post-Brexit identity, the lie of the land matters deeply’ Tim Lang
‘At once shocking and comforting, scathing and uplifting. A book on this subject shouldn't be so readable. A triumph’ Sophie Pavelle
‘His articulate fervour, seasoned with humour, shouts from every page. He throws down a timely gauntlet to centuries of tradition’ Tom Heap
‘Extraordinary. An affirmation of another kind of rural life that exists within this lie, and all the possibilities that are open to us if we defy it’ Nicola Chester
‘A rousing call to action’ Claire Ratinon
'Radical and urgent, measured and considered … an essential place to start’ Dr Rose O’Neill, Chief Executive, Campaign for National Parks
What listeners say about The Lie of the Land
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- David
- 13-11-24
If you only read one book this year
What a fantastic summary of a lot that is wrong with England's current state of land ownership, nature and carbon offsetting.
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- IK Areki
- 15-10-24
Eye opening
Really well researched, chronicled clearly to allow the reader the depth of understanding of the generational depravity of the so called ‘stewards of the land’.
A truly emotive read.
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- Mr Bug
- 19-09-24
Another great listen
This is another great book by Mr Shrubsole. It revealed to me my own ignorance on some important topics regarding the health of our British countryside. It is not simply a book with problems and proposed solutions but highlights how changes can actually get made.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- R T Boddington
- 05-11-24
A compelling call to arms
a brilliantly presented argument of why the existing model of Land ownership and management is totally failing Society and the environment, and how to fix it.
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- Mr. A. J. Hickman
- 28-10-24
Fascinating. So much detail and info...
... that I'd need to listen again. The ten suggestions in the final chapter seem wise, fair and achievable. Thank you.
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- Phil
- 09-10-24
Insightful account of consequences of private of land ownership
Well researched and organised account of the environmental and human cost of historic land ownership models in Britain.
A thoughtful call to protest and a plea to change our mindsets regarding the public ownership of our open spaces for the benefit of all.
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- Sean
- 13-12-24
A must listen
If you care about the future, this is such an important listen. Well researched and superbly written, it’s engaging and gives a comprehensive plan for what needs to be done to change the destructive path we’re currently on. Those in power, please read this.
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- Peter Smith
- 11-01-25
Excellent.
This book is tremendously well-researched and written. it's full of fundamental surprises about Britain's land many of which rightly provoke anger. it is also full of good sense. Shrubsole gives solutions as well as unveiling the dire state of our countryside at hands of it's supposed 'stewards'. He ought to be in government, he talks such sense. He reads very well too. Altogether, a great book.
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