Books

I have written four books: three about the countryside, and one about eldercare.

My forthcoming book, Later Life: A Comprehensive Guide, will be published in 2010.

The Theft of the Countryside

published in 1980 by Maurice Temple Smith, 270 pages, ISBN 0-85117-200-8 (cased), 0-85117-201-6 (paper)

My first book examined the impact of modern farming on the countryside. It revealed widespread and irreversible damage to the wildlife, landscape and historical interest of the countryside and urged radical measures to halt the continuing destruction.

  1. Table of contents
  2. Foreword
  3. Introduction
  4. Sample chapter
  5. Reviews

This book is currently out-of-print, but you can see a copy in public libraries or obtain one through second-hand suppliers, such as Amazon or Abebooks. It will soon be available as an e-book.

This Land is Our Land

published in 1987 by Grafton Books; updated and expanded and published in 1997 as a Gaia Classic by Gaia Books,
520 pages, ISBN 1-85675-064-7

My second book examined the pattern of ownership of rural land in the UK , the history of the struggle over land rights in the UK and in the wider world, the extent of the power of landowners in Britain and the nature of conflicts over the use of the countryside. It put forward a new social contract between landowners and people as a whole.

  1. Table of contents
  2. Preface to the 1997 edition
  3. Introduction to the 1997 edition
  4. Preface to the 1987 edition
  5. Sample sections
  6. Reviews

Available to purchase by post via the Contact Page.
Please enclose a cheque for £8 (to include post and packing) made out to Marion Shoard.

A Right to Roam

published in 1999 by Oxford University Press, 440 pages, ISBN 0-19-288016-0

In my third book I examined the extent of access on foot to the British countryside, the arguments put forward by landowners for restricting access and the ways in which access systems quite different to those in Britain operate overseas. I went on to put forward a detailed plan of how a general right of access on foot to the countryside of the UK could work on the ground.

This book received the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild’s Book of the Year Award in 2000.

  1. Table of contents
  2. Introduction
  3. Sample chapter
  4. Reviews

A Right to Roam is currently out-of-print, but you can see a copy in public libraries or obtain one through a second-hand supplier, such as Amazon or Abebooks. This book will soon be available as an e-book.

A Survival Guide to Later Life

published in 2004 by Constable & Robinson, 644 pages, ISBN 1-84119-372-0

My first book in the field of eldercare was a handbook offering advice to older people and their families. It covered areas from housing to mobility and finance to healthcare.

  1. Table of contents
  2. Sample chapter
  3. Reviews

A Survival Guide to Later Life is currently out-of-print, but you can see a copy in public libraries or obtain one through a second-hand supplier, such as Amazon or Abebooks.