Spring is the Only Season
How it Works, What it Does and Why it Matters
by Simon Barnes
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Pub Date 13 Mar 2025 | Archive Date 13 Mar 2025
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Description
From the acclaimed, bestselling author of the Bad Birdwatcher trilogy, comes an enchanting celebration of the transformative power of spring
Spring is the time of renewal and rebirth, a celebration of the resilience of life. As the year turns, animals and plants that have struggled to survive the winter find new hope and create the next generation. The season has inspired some of humanity’s greatest art and many of its most significant religious festivals.
Now, in Spring is the Only Season, Simon Barnes provides a fresh and compelling look at this period of the year. He explains the science of the seasons, which are caused by the planet’s 23.5 degree tilt; he also highlights the music, the paintings and the poetry that have tried to capture it. Packed with fascinating insights, remarkable facts and key stories, the book is a vivid and multi-faceted portrait of spring.
However, while the Earth will continue to spin on its tilting axis, he reveals how our impact on the planet is beginning to destroy the natural course of the seasons, and that elements of the beloved spring – from migrating birds to emerging butterflies – are endangered by climate change. But it’s not too late. Not yet. We can still make a difference and so continue to enjoy the pleasures of spring.
Advance Praise
'A book that filled me from first to last with a rapture as transcendent and thrilling as that which spring yearly provides... I absolutely adored it!' Stephen Fry
'An endlessly illuminating love letter to the most beguiling of the seasons' Lee Schofield, author of the award-winning Wild Fell
'Enjoyable and compelling... Spring is undoubtedly the most important season' Jake Fiennes, author of Land Healer
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781526667373 |
| PRICE | £18.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 448 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Stephen R, Educator
"Hope remains an option : of course it does, for every year we have Spring"
Spring is the Only Season is a fascinating and delightful read- the book has obviously been a labour of love for Simon Barnes and this shows through with the breadth of research and the passionate way different elements of Spring are explored.
Exploring Spring in many forms; religion; mythology and folklore; poetic and artistic ; and the signs from the natural world that Spring has arrived- flora and fauna.
The depth of information is impressive and in many ways this wonderful book feels like an anthology of idea , stories and information from numerous sources exploring the impact of Spring all gathered together through the meticulous investigation and scrutiny of Simon Barnes.
Personally, the areas about the natural world appealed the most- the bumblebee; the dormouse; the swift; the moths and the adders. The Spring awakenings of those creatures that hibernate- signs of the new season - are brilliant.
But this isn't a sugar coated read- impacts of industrialisation in farming and the ever growing impact of climate change are explored; " the breakdown in synchronicity is creating a phenological mismatch'" - flowers coming into bud earlier than expected- animals awakening from hibernation.at different times. There is a message of hope.
This is read that will educate, inform and entertain - but ultimately it is a celebration about the most beautiful time of year that annually brings back hope after the dark winter months
A wonderful read- recommended
Reviewer 1394760
As I always say, if there was one natural phenomenon that I was allowed to save, it would have been spring,
This is why I decided to read this book.
Barnes is a self-proclaimed earthist, who loves spring and this is his tribute to the season.
Each chapter is a different testimony, a new song written for spring. Barnes draws from literature, science, personal anecdotes and does spring justice while delivering this beauty.
I am going to rate it 4 stars here, with the hope that, before it is published, it will go through one more edit.
I loved Barnes’ writing. I only slightly wanted a different, more smooth flow and more focus at times.
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