The natural Navigation: The Right Course, Naturally

Last night I caught a few minutes of a programme on BBC4, called ‘Unnatural Histories.’

As so often seems to be the case, a short stroll from the mainstream channels uncovered rough diamonds.

In the programme, an aerial shot showed us clearly visible patterns in the earth, patterns that were partly concealed at ground level by dense undergrowth. The narrator explained that we were looking at ‘geoglyphs’ in the Amazon rainforest. Geoglyphs are shapes that have been deliberately formed in the land by the hand of man.

Like many pilots, I have come to love the way it is possible in the air to spot patterns in the earth that are hard to notice on the ground. Lines that are lost in their surroundings on terra firma, stand out luminously from 3000 feet. But my experience has been restricted to European Iron Age Hill Forts and the like. This was…

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There have been a few book reviews in the US recently. Big thanks to those who have reviewed it – Timothy Smith, Clint Thomsen, Sam Edgin, Brad Allen, Randolph and Tillerman – it is great that the word is starting to spread Stateside. The following links go direct to the reviews:

The Washington Post

Amazon.com

The Englewood Review of Books

Bonnevillemariner.com

Proper Course

A really great crowd came to my talk at the Oxford Literary Festival yesterday. The room was packed, which is always exciting. It did mean that the temperature levels rose as oxygen levels fell, but enthusiasm for the subject never waned. In this sense the admirable audience took the sun as their model, not the moon. Thank you to everyone who came to the talk and for making it one of those days that gives a writer a warm feeling, one that lasts outside the room, in the cool fresh air.

Book update… Amazon and Waterstones online are now restocked. The second reprint should be ready by next week, so any supply problems should start to ease then.

Sorry if you are trying to buy a copy of ‘The Natural Navigator’ – Amazon have sold out again!

After selling out, restocking and two reprints in the past three weeks, the book is now temporarily out of stock again on Amazon. Another massive thanks to everyone who has bought a copy so far.

You can still order it from Amazon. Or there are still quite a few bookshops that have a copy (worth phoning before), or online while stocks last at these places:

The Book Depository

Waterstones

Foyles

The photo above is of the hill to the east of my home, taken very early this morning. This is the first time this year that the morning light has appeared from the north of the hill. By June the sun will have moved all the way up to northeast.

… but it is temporarily out of stock of my book. They sold out in less than 48 hours which is great news in many ways, but less good if you are trying to get your hands on a copy quickly. They are re-stocking and a reprint is also underway. You can still order it at a fantastic discount and they will deliver as soon as more copies come in, hopefully only a few days.

The book is still currently available from Waterstones and Foyles have a few copies left. It will hopefully be in your local independent shop too.

A big thank you to everyone who has bought a copy and left Amazon’s cupboards so bare!