Watership Down

Set in the green hills of the United Kingdom, Watership Down is a novel that has worldwide appeal, not only as a good story, but also for the strong message it sends about the impact of development on the wildlife population. Adams presents rabbits as intelligent, caring, feeling creatures who undergo many trials and misfortunes for the sole purpose of finding a home where they can live out their lives. The book often carries a tone that suggests that humanity has lost something it used to have, the ability to live free, as the rabbits do. The notion that people should live as a part of nature rather than apart from nature is a strong undercurrent that flows through much of the work.


Richard Adams
Watership Down
New York: Scribner, 2005 (original London: Rex Collings, 1972)