Rundell gives us extraordinary details about a diverse range of animals whose unfortunate link to each others is their risk of extinction. It's such a great book to dip into with short but very engaging chapters each featuring the science, history, mythology of these animals but sadly also their suffering at the hands of humans. Rundell's message is to value and appreciate our natural world and its delivered in such stunning prose that it will be treasured by readers for years to come.
Thanks to the Faber and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Such a beautiful book, Katherine Rundell feels like a genius of our time, she has such a beautiful way with words and way of showing her curiosity for everything. Wonderful.

The name & the book cover totally intrigued me when I saw this and my friend and I had fun discussing what we actually thought it was about which got a bit far fetched! ha!.
But the tone of this book was at times quite serious focussing on the Earth, man ( his role) and what is happening to cause the decline of some species but yet it did marvel at the survival of others.
The animals, insects and birds stories are told through a fascinating mix of mythology & folklore contrasting against solid facts and literary references.
A very thought provoking read indeed.
The synopsis of the book sums it up brilliantly.."The world is more astonishing, more miraculous and more wonderful than our wildest imaginings, In this passionately persuasive and sharply funny book, Katherine Rundell tells us how and why".
My thanks go to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing this arc in return for my honest review.

The animal kingdom has had a special place in my heart ever since I remember and I love books like this. There was something so charming about this collection of facts about a variety of animals, both familiar and unfamiliar, that share the planet with us. Yet, despite its charm, it felt important as well, as a reminder of what we are on course to lose.

There was a lot in this short book that I did not know about the animals that I thought I was familiar with; about giraffes, elephants and spiders for example. However, the chapters about creatures I was maybe less familiar with were what made the book for me. The Greenland Shark? Fascinating! The Golden Mole? I did not even know it existed. It just made me realise what a sad affair it is that many of these animals that are so wondrous and we should be in awe off, and which in many cases have been around for millions and millions of years, will soon disappear because of what humans are doing.

Despite the sad and alarm call undertone, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I just wish there was a lot more of it. It felt too much like snippets of information. I wanted slightly longer chapters and more animals included. Yet, I guess it served its purpose of showing how amazing the animal kingdom is and that we should do anything we can to preserve it.

I have ordered a physical copy of this book, especially since part of the author royalties goes to charities that are trying to help our planet.

This was such a fantastic book to start 2023 off reading! It’s set the bar very high for the rest of the books I might read this year. Informative, fascinating and such an important message this will be one I’ll pick up to reread again.

The Golden Mole is like many books in that it tackles the subject of nature, the Earth and how we are destroying it. Unlike many other books though it addresses this subject from a different angle. Rundell encourages us to become curious about the natural world and the creatures we share our planet with. Providing insights into their lives and all sorts of facts you can’t help but read this and wonder as well as become more curious about various animals. In doing so you want to protect them and also realise just what could (and already is) being lost. From sea creatures to insects, large land mammals to those that are hardly seen (and in the case of the Golden Mole no human has yet to see one alive) a surprising amount is covered in a fairly short book. The conclusion especially provided a powerful punch to make the reader go away and think.

I really loved reading this. It’s left me feeling sad and frustrated about humans and the changes that are happening fast yet it’s left me hopeful too. Hopeful that if we learn more about the world around us we will realise just how incredible, wonderful and complex it is and then fight all the more to protect it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A joyous read about endangered species should be an oxymoron but the very talented Katherine Rundell has created a little golden gem of a book. She writes with awe and wonder about a variety of creatures, my favourite was the seahorse, and brings motivation to save our fellow earth inhabitants habitats and lives. This is definitely one I’ll be recommending!

NB It’s a shame the eARC didn’t have pictures, I shall be seeking out a hard copy!

This is the type of book that you bore your loved ones with. “Listen to this…”, “did you know….?” and “that’s amazing!” may be the most frequently muttered phrases you speak as you enjoy reading Katherine Randell’s ‘The Golden Mole’. It’s the type of book I term a ‘treasure’ and would like to receive on Christmas morning, find a cosy corner and then ignore everyone for the rest of the day as you escape into the wonders of nature.

What a weird and wonderful world we live in!! And that's illustrated perfectly within the pages of this beautiful book as it shows you just how amazing the creatures we share the planet with are!

From the humble spider, to the shark, there's fascinating facts about a whole variety of animal species, from land to sea, and I just soaked it all up!! It is one of those books you can dip in and out of and them amaze your family and friends with all the little titbits of information you've absorbed!

it makes you feel in awe of these animals and gives you a different perspective on their lives, and also goes back on the history of them over the years, along with the impact that us humans are having on their habitats and ways of life

A fabulous read for all ages!!

The Golden Mole is a book of wonder. Katherine Rundell takes a few of our species and writes an impassioned essay on what we should appreciate about them, and why we should make sure we don't lose them. She looks into folk takes surrounding them, their appearances in literature, and the astonishing facts that we do now know about them, many of which are stranger than fiction. She also tells us about the problems that they are facing.

Each time I read a new chapter, I felt that this was going to be my favourite. Some of the animals we know full well are in trouble such as the pangolin, the hedgehog and the elephant, but others can be surprising; the spider and the crow. Here she is talking about them as a whole, but specific species. The alala, a member of the crow family, has been declared extinct in the wild, though efforts are being made to reintroduce them.

I couldn't pick out a favourite after all, but I did love the chapter on swifts; I keep an eye out for their return every year, and love to watch and hear them screaming around the town. I live in the Cotswolds, and they used to thrive here because of all the older buildings which they need to best in; last year Isaw hardly any, and none of the big groups which would hurtle up and down the streets and over the buildings; mainly due to the crash in insect numbers because of all the pesticides being used. Also the crossing from Africa seems to have become more perilous lately.

At the end is an essay on humans, with a plea to try to save these creatures before it's too late. The author has decided to donate half the profits from this book to charities and organisations that are trying to combat climate change.

I received a digital copy from the publishers and it doesn't have the illustrations, but I have checked out the physical edition at my local bookshop, and it is a thing of beauty. Each chapter is stunningly illustrated by Talya Baldwin, and I'll definitely be picking a copy up for myself.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

This is a beautiful, contemplative book. But it is sad, as it recounts what we have done to the other inhabitants of our world.

Full of unforgettable images: of a giraffe photographed with clusters of tiny birds in it’s armpits, keeping them dry; of whales hundreds of years old; swift chicks doing feathery press-ups, crows giving presents to those who care for them and the dance of the seahorse.

This is a book that educates, and revels in the beauty of the natural world. Katherine Rundell can write at least as well as anyone else, and usually better.

Her book on Donne was wonderful. This one is even better.

An enchanting mix of folklore and natural history in praise of priceless living treasures

This book is a wonderful mix of folklore, natural history and wonderful facts about the featured creatures, all of which are sadly endangered.

Each chapter focusses on a different animal, covering life in many forms. From spiders being vital to global pest control, to sharks that may be as old as Julius Caesar through to the titular Golden Mole being the only iridescent mammal and much more. As well as sharing their sense of joy and wonder about these amazing animals they highlight the interdependency of all life and make a heartfelt plea for their continued survival.

I finished the book with an increased sense of awe and a greater sense of connection to the marvellous species we are so fortunate to share earth with.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

The Golden Mole by Katherine Rundell is an interesting and informative read about a selection of different creatures.

The Golden Mole is another astonishing achievement from Katherine Rundell who is emerging as one of the great writers and storytellers of our age. Having already demonstrated her prowess as a children's novelist and as a literary biographer, she turns her attention to nature writing in this stunning bestiary of twenty-two endangered species, with a short essay on each accompanied by gorgeous illustrations from Talya Baldwin.

One of the striking things about this book is that many of the species chosen by Rundell do not immediately appear to be endangered - alongside wolves, pangolins and narwhals, we learn about spiders, hares and swifts which many readers might assume to be safe from the risk of extinction. However, Rundell shows how all the species in this book are threatened by environmental changes caused by human activity over recent decades and centuries. Rundell's ecological message emerges very strongly from the pages of this book as we understand how much has already been lost and how much more we stand to lose if we don't change course. This makes for powerful if hard-hitting reading at times.

Above all though, what I loved about this book was the sheer beauty of the writing. This is a tremendously erudite book, brimming with scientific and historical research, but all of this is subsumed in Rundell's unceasing sense of wonder at the magnificence of the world around us (wonder and curiosity are perhaps the over-arching theme of all of her books). There are so many phenomenal sentences but here are a couple to give a flavour of her writing:
"The earth is so glorious and so unlikely: the giraffe, stranger than the griffin, taller than a great high house, offers us the incomparable gift of being proof of it."
"I have seen many things that I've loved, but I don't think I'll live to see anything as fine as a raft of lemurs, sailing across the sea towards what looked, until the arrival of humans, like safety."

I finished this book inspired and challenged by Rundell's devoted illumination of the world around us. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

There is no denying the literary talent of Katherine Rundell; she is an alchemist with language weaving together vocabulary and sentences to create fictional works of joy, fascination, comedy , drama but in this instance her magical use of prose is directed to more a serious “earthly “ focus - the decline and hopefully survival of a selection of different creatures from around the planet - our living treasures . Yes, this is a call to arms to recognise what is happening to the planet but this is not a book of doom and gloom but a beautiful celebration of the various species that are explored. A topiary of literary references - mythical tales, legends , historical facts that tell the fascinating stories of the chosen birds, insects and animals - mixing fact and folklore each is brought to life beyond a single description .Katherine Rundell’s magical pen lures us into the world of each creature and highlights man’s role in the decline of the species but most importantly shines a light upon the glory and magic of each one.- that could vanish forever. Talya Baldwin’s illustrations are jaw- droppingly beautiful and deserve an exhibition at the Natural History Museum - they add further depth and magic to the book. This is a book to savour, to slowly unwrap, to share with friends and family but most essentially to read and recognise that if we don’t soon recognise what we have and what is happening then it will be too late - the living treasures could become the buried treasure we never wish to find