Culture and Ecology at the Edinburgh Book Festival

Doug Allan Picturing Polar Bears

Kellie Gutman writes:
  
This year's Edinburgh International Book Festival takes place from 11-27 August. One of the themes is 'Drawing on our Resources', in which writers ponder attitudes toward nature, food, and using our natural resources.  Another major theme is 'Odysseys', which covers journeys writers have taken within England and beyond.  Among the listings from these two areas - Fred Pearce talks about swathes of land being bought up by foreign countries, raising fears of food shortages in The Land Grabbers; Karl Miller of the London Review of Books recounts his passion for the countryside in the walks he took with his friends Seamus Heaney and Andrew O'Hagan; Doug Allan presents photos of the Arctic and Antarctic from his book Freeze Frame.  These and many others are listed in  our picks of the Festival.  There has been a large demand for bookings since tickets went on sale.