Gerald Durrell

This chap writes really well. I read his 'My Family and Other Animals' many years ago, and recently have started on The Whispering Land. His style of describing animal behaviour is, I believe, unique. He sees people in them, as in a description of a penguin papa feeding his young, after a long trek over sand dunes and a lot more, to catch some fish on the Patagonian coast in Argentina. The description is very 'human', and therefore you start identifying with the animals, and get involved with the story. It's akin to the Disney cartoons, where you also tend to get involved, particularly if you have a child in you.

I recently read Bryson's Australia travelogue, Down Under, and found some stylistic similarities among them. The dry humour is similar, though Bryson is more of a 'places'person and Durrell more of an animal lover. I intend reading more of Durrell, having rediscovered him.