本书讲述了英国最受欢迎的特立独行的野化者 Derek Gow的冒险经历，以及他一心一意拯救我们最稀有的野生动物的使命。

作者在《鸟类、野兽和疯人院》中分享了他个人的、勇敢的、极具娱乐性的故事，包括他如何饲养一只爱睡沙发的野猪仔、如何将一头狂暴的野牛运送到英国各地、如何被一只苏格兰野猫咬伤，以及如何与伊莎贝拉·特里和查理·伯勒尔一起将古老的白鹳恢复到开拓性的克奈普庄园。

Derek小时候被一只设得兰母羊俘获了心，长大后成为了一名热爱古老动物的农民。当他意识到人类中有多少物种濒临灭绝时——即使在他自己的土地上——他拆除了围栏，将他传统的德文郡农场改造成一个占地 300 英亩的野化天堂，让海狸、水田鼠、猞猁、野猫、田鼠、野猪等动物得以栖息。这个项目至今仍在进行中。

《鸟类、野兽和疯人院》延续了英国自然文学的丰富传统。这本书充满激情、颠覆性、令人难忘，它将激励你支持世界各地、你所在社区甚至自家后院的野化运动。

关于作者：

Derek Gow is a farmer, nature conservationist and the author of Bringing Back the Beaver and Birds, Beasts and Bedlam. Born in Dundee, he left school when he was 17 and worked in agriculture for five years. Inspired by the writing of Gerald Durrell, he jumped at the chance to manage a European wildlife park in central Scotland in the late 1990s before moving on to develop two nature centres in England. He now lives with his children, Maysie and Kyle, on a 300-acre farm on the Devon/Cornwall border, which he is in the process of rewilding. Derek has played a significant role in the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver, the water vole and the white stork in England. He is currently working on a reintroduction project for the wildcat.

好评：

“Courageous, visionary, funny.”—Isabella Tree

“One of the most remarkable figures in British conservation.”—Observer

“Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside.”—Guardian

“A do-er, not a dreamer, Gow has become one of our most outspoken rewilders.” --Countryfile Magazine

“In this warm and funny autobiography, [Gow] writes with a whimsical fluency about the moments of humour and pathos in an unusual life.”—Country Life

“Gow has a fire in his belly. We need more like him.”―BBC Wildlife magazine

“[Gow’s] stories can be bawdy, laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, or even depressing, but they’re never dull.”―Booklist