Description

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‘A beautiful and luminous love letter to the night sky.’ – Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable

Moonlight, starlight, the ethereal glow of snow in winter … When you flick off a switch, other forms of light begin to reveal themselves.

In this beautifully written exploration of the power of the lights of night, Matt Gaw ventures forth into darkness to find out exactly what we’re missing when we fill our world with artificial glow, obliterating the subtler natural lights that have guided us and wildlife for millennia.

Walking by the light of the moon in Suffolk and under the scattered buckshot of starlight in Scotland; braving the darkest depths of Dartmoor and the glare of 24/7 London, Under the Stars is an inspirational and immersive call to reconnect with the natural world – and to switch off.

We only need to step outside to find that, in darkness, the world lights up. Let’s look up together.

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‘Enchanting, fascinating and written with real soul and sensitivity.’ – Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground

‘Lyrical, warm, and suffused with the magic of the night’ – Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles

‘One of the most inspiring of our young nature writers, with a highly original journey into darkness and night’ – Stephen Moss, naturalist and author of The Robin: A Biography

Publisher Review

“An exquisite, lyrical blend of nature
writing, mythical story-telling and poetic elegy… Words are given to us in this book as a form
of protection, an armour, a glistening cloak with which to keep ourselves on
the track; no matter how cold it may be… Stunning.” – Kerri ni Dochartaigh, Caught By the
River (Book of the Month) “Passionately argued and perfectly
crafted… Under the Stars is
a timely and inspiring manifesto explaining how ‘by lighting our world
sparingly, carefully… we can achieve something that would improve human
health, protect wildlife, and help us to reconnect to the landscape and
starscape at night’.” – The Countryman “Under starlight and in moonlight, in the
depths of the dark forest and on the streets of a city centre, Gaw goes on a
nocturnal adventure to discover how light pollution disrupts and affects our
own mental wellbeing, and the wellbeing of wildlife, too. En route he re-discovers the beauties of meteor showers and moonlight
meanders, and encourages us to go on our own midnight adventures. Lyrical and
lovely.” – The Simple Things “Gaw finds wonder in the dark… The stand-out chapter for me was his getting lost in the Woods of Cree in absolute pitch black. Deep primordial horrors arise and make for gripping reading… This is a powerful and valiant plea for us all to see that, unlike in science fiction, light isn’t always good.” – BBC Countryfile Magazine ‘A beautiful and – no other
word is more apt – luminous love letter to the night sky.’ – Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable ‘Lyrical, warm, and suffused
with the magic of the night’ – Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles ‘One of the most inspiring of
our young nature writers, with a highly original journey into darkness and
night’ – Stephen
Moss, naturalist and author of The Robin: A Biography ‘Enchanting, fascinating and
written with real soul and sensitivity.’ – Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground