Most Popular Books by Richard Adams

Now with a new introduction by Madeline Miller, the New York Times bestselling author of The Song of Achilles and Circe. The 50th anniversary edition of Richard Adam’s timeless classic, the tale of a band of wild rabbits struggling to hold onto their place in the world—“a classic yarn of discovery and struggle” (The New York Times). A worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Watership Down is one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey from their native Sandleford Warren, through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, and toward the dream of a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society. “Spellbinding…Marvelous…A taut tale of suspense, hot pursuit and derring-do.” —Chicago Tribune

In a bitterly divided world, a giant bear becomes an object of worship in “the extraordinary fantasy novel by the author of Watership Down” (The Guardian, UK). In a burning forest, Kelderek the hunter encounters a gigantic bear unlike any he’s seen before. Surely this is the reincarnation of Lord Shardik, the messenger of god whose return has been anticipated by the primitive Ortelgan people. In service to Shardik, Kelderek becomes a prophet, then a soldier, and finally an emperor-priest. Swept up by fate and his impassioned faith, Klederek will come to discover ever-deeper layers of meaning implicit in the bear’s divinity. Written after his bestselling debut novel Watership Down, Richard Adams’s Shardik is an epic fantasy of tragic character. A fascinating depiction of the power of belief, it explores themes of faith, slavery, and war.

Richard Adams, author of ''Watership Down'' and described recently as a legend of literature, was born in Newbury in 1920 as the replacement for a baby brother who died in the great influenza epidemic of 1917-19. His mother was well over 40 at the time of his birth, and his was a solitary childhood spent in a large garden. Here he explains how his days spent watching bird, beetles and wild creatures around his home engendered in him a lifelong love of nature. His years at prep and public school, at Oxford and in the army are all vividly described, and their influence on the recurrent themes in his writing of battle, leadership, friendship, bullying, solitude and longing made plain.

This modern-day classic is an unforgettable tale of fantasy and adventure, a powerful exploration of the limits of human cruelty and kindness. A “gripping ... compelling tale of emotional force and high suspense” (The Wall Street Journal). Rowf, a shaggy black mongrel, and Snitter, a black-and-white fox terrier, are among dozens of animals being cruelly held in a testing facility in North West England. When one of the handlers fails to close Rowf’s cage properly, the two dogs make a daring escape into the English countryside, where they befriend a red fox who helps them survive in the wild. But as rumors circulate that the dogs may have been the test subjects for biological weapons and could be carrying a terrible plague, they soon find themselves targets of a great dog hunt. Local farmers, politicians, scientists, and even the military join in the search to track them down.

The “utterly captivating” (People) sequel to the beloved classic Watership Down, which introduced millions of readers to an extraordinary world of rabbits. • “It’s grand to see Mr. Adams’s characters again.” —The New York Times Book Review Tales From Watership Down returns to the unforgettable characters of Fiver, Hazel, Bigwig, Dandelion, and the legendary hero El-ahrairah, and also presents new heroes as they struggle to survive the cruelties of nature and the shortsighted selfishness of humankind, embark on new adventures, and recount traditional stories of rabbit mythology, charming us once again with imagination, heart, and wonder. A spellbinding book of courage and survival, these tales are an exciting invitation to come home to a beloved world.

Examines the events of the Civil War through the eyes of General Robert E. Lee''s closest companion and devoted horse, Traveller.

"In Philosopher Fish Carey immerses himself in the world of sturgeon, the fish that lays these golden eggs. Ancient, shrouded in mystery, inexplicable in several of its behaviors, the sturgeon has a fascinating biologic past-and a very uncertain future. This new edition brings the story up to date"--

The adventures of two young inexperienced Tygers who set out from Victorian England into the timeless unknown.

With its spectacular beaches and charming towns, Cape Cod is known around the world as a vacation spot and a summer retreat for the well-to-do. But there is another Cape Cod, a hidden, hardscrabble, year-round world whose hunter-gatherer economy dates back to the Bay Colony. The world of the independent fisherman is one of constant peril, of arcane folkways and expert knowledge, of calculated risk and self-reliance -- and of freedom won daily through backbreaking, solitary work. It is a way of life deep in the American grain. Haunted by the numbers of family fishermen who have recently been forced to abandon the profession, Richard Adams Carey spent a year among a handful of men who stubbornly refuse to do so. Reminiscent of the work of William Warner and Joseph Mitchell, AGAINST THE TIDE is a masterly profile of four New England fishermen in which every page opens onto something more profound: maritime history, maritime ecology, and the poetic celebration of a special American place.

The author recounts his childhood, education, and World War II experiences