Jeremy Mynott

Naturalist Jeremy Mynott looks at the different ways humans have looked at and responded to the environment throughout history and explains how our attitudes to the natural world operate at a deep level.

Mynott ranges from depictions of animals by prehistoric cave painters to the romantic discovery of landscape in the 18th century. He looks at how radically different ideas about nature emerged in different parts of the globe and how some cultures sought to control nature. Mynott argues that our attitudes to nature operate at a deep emotional level and include fundamental values such as curiosity, innocence and delight.

Mynott is emeritus fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and a former chief executive of Cambridge University Press. His previous books include Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience, Birds in the Ancient World and The Consolation of Nature.