The Nature of Seeing : Finding Wonder in the Living World by Mark Cocker

What does it mean to truly see the natural world? The Nature of Seeing is a celebration of the art and practice of paying close attention. Whether it is the sight of moonlight across a bedroom floor, or an owl as it hunts, or waxcap fungi that erupt across the fields overnight, Mark Cocker encourages us to reclaim our innate gift for wonder and to see the living world in all its infinite detail and mystery.

Through a series of diary entries describing his encounters with the natural world, he interrogates how we see and how it affects us at the most profound levels. In precise and lyrical prose, he shows us that seeing is a creative act that can both transform us and change the world we share. Revelatory and profound, The Nature of Seeing is the culmination of a lifetime's love affair with the simple act of looking and all that it reveals.

'Through his eyes, the natural world appears more layered, more diverse, more wonderful' Philip Marsden

'The Nature of Seeing will transform how you view the world around us' Martha Kearney

'A treasure trove of a book... Mark Cocker is one of Britain's greatest writers' Ben Rawlence

'There can be no better companion for anybody interested in and concerned about the living world' Jim Crace

Format:Hardback 240 pages
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Imprint:Jonathan Cape
ISBN:9781787336469
Published:8 Oct 2026
Classifications:Diaries, letters & journals, Literary essays, Wildlife: general interest, Trees, wildflowers & plants, The Earth: natural history general
Weight:428g
Dimensions:240 x 163 x 25 (mm)