The 60th anniversary of the New Naturalist Library has provided a welcome opportunity to update The New Naturalists. The book was first published in 1995 and went out of print within two years. Like most recent out-of-print titles, it is now scarce and expensive to obtain secondhand. For the new edition I have made a substantial number of changes and additions. There is a new chapter devoted mainly to the events of the past ten years, which include 13 new titles and many more in preparation. Wherever possible, I have corrected such minor mistakes that have been pointed out over the years (bibliography is as exact a trade as any science), and have also amplified the original text with a series of notes. The appendices have all been substantially updated and in part rewritten, and they include potted biographies of all the recent authors in the series. As a refresher, the original postscript has been replaced by a witty and fantastical short story of the-book-that-never-was by John Sykes, first published in the New Naturalists Book Club newsletter, and reprinted here by permission of its editor, Robert Burrow. The original colour plates have been revised to include more of Robert Gillmor’s artwork for the magnificent jackets he has designed for the hardbacks since 1986. Revising the book was a great pleasure, and I can only hope you enjoy reading it as much.
I have many people to thank. First to the new boys of the series for their willing cooperation in distilling their distinguished careers into a pithy line or two, and for sharing their experiences in writing for the series: John Altringham, Trevor Beebee, David Cabot, Oliver Gilbert, Richard Griffiths, Peter Haywood, David Ingram, Andrew Lack, John Mitchell, Brian Moss and Derek Ratcliffe. I also thank the following for their kind help over earlier authors omitted from the original book: Mrs Jane Bright (for Deryk Frazer), Dr Jimmy Chubb (J.W.Jones) and Dr Carolyn King (Harry Thompson). Bob Burrow, who runs the New Naturalist Bookshop in Jersey, advised me on current secondhand prices. John Sykes allowed me to include a slightly revised version of his very funny and well-imagined short story. Simon Appleton of Saxon Ltd patiently explained the intricacies of colour printing. Michael Majerus generously took time out of a busy schedule to pen a defence of the great E.B. Ford, whose reputation has been maligned recently in a much-reviewed book. Robert Gillmor contributed to this book in all sorts of ways, not least in designing another beautiful jacket for it. And Stefan Buczacki, as a forthcoming New Naturalist writer himself, and a longstanding fan of the series, nobly agreed to pen a foreword. Finally, I am grateful to Myles Archibald for commissioning a new edition and agreeing to be interviewed for it, and to my editor, Helen Brocklehurst, for seeing it through to publication. Against all the odds, the series is in remarkably good heart – better indeed than in 1995. Perhaps a good idea is immortal after all.
Peter Marren
Ramsbury
September 2004.