The Running Hare: the Secret Life of Farmland by John Lewis-Stempel, £16.99

Traditional ploughland is disappearing. Seven cornfield flowers have become extinct in the last 20 years. Once abundant, the corn bunting and the lapwing are on the Red List. The corncrake is all but extinct in England. And the hare is running for its life.

The Running Hare tells the story of the wild animals and plants that live in and underneath ploughland. Lewis-Stempel's eye for detail and exquisite prose offers a story of landscape showing how the plough has informed every part of our lives. From the microbes beneath the soil to the soaring kestrels above, from the linnet pecking at seeds to the seven-spot ladybird that eats the aphid that, in turn, eats the crop, this is also the story of the author's own land and how he transformed a moribund field in a natural, traditional way, restoring its fertility and wildlife, bringing back the old farmland flowers and animals.

John Lewis-Stempel demonstrates that it is still possible to create a place where the hare can rest safe.

CAROLINE REECE

WATERSTONES KENDAL