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A Memoir of How Kes, My Kestrel, Changed My Life
by Richard Hines
There is no way but gentlenesse to redeeme a Hawke.
- Edmund Bert, 1619
Born and raised in the South Yorkshire mining village of Hoyland Common, Richard Hines remembers sliding down heaps of coal dust, hearing whispers of "accidents" in the pit, listening for the siren at the end of mine shifts, and praying for his father's safe return. At age eleven, Richard's prospects suddenly dimmed when he failed the trials for English Grammar School, though his older brother Barry, evidently their mother's favorite, had passed and seemed headed for great things.
Crushed by a system that swiftly and permanently decided that some children do not merit a real education, and persecuted by the cruel antics of his English schoolteachers, Richard spent his time in the fields and meadows just beyond the colliery slag heap. One morning, walking on the grounds of a ruined medieval manor, he came across a nest of kestrels. Instantly captivated but without a role model to learn from, he sought out ancient falconry texts from the local library and pored over the strange and beautiful language there. With just these books, some ingenuity, and his profound respect for the hawk's indomitable wildness, Richard learned to "man" or train his kestrel, Kes, and in the process became a man himself.
No Way But Gentlenesse is a breathtaking memoir of one remarkable boy's love for a culture lost to time, and his attempt to find salvation in the natural world.
"Starred Review. A delightful story of a boy, his birds, and his pursuit of knowledge in spite of society's dictates." - Kirkus
"His story is grounded and uplifting, accessible yet aspirational - a pleasurable blend of conflicts that demonstrates the power of nature and the good that comes from nurturing one's passions." - Publishers Weekly
"A thoughtful and evocative memoir ... A must for H Is for Hawk fans." - Sunday Express (UK)
"This is a work of enchanting honesty and tenderness; it is as gentle and inspiring to the reader as a falconer is with his hawks ... Rich with history and anecdote, lit with humour and passionate social concern, it gives us new insights into the making of one of our best-loved films. It speaks of love, family, history, and education, and illuminates how an obsession can enrich and shape one's life. Reading it was a true pleasure." - Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk
"Hines graces us with a story at once age-old and utterly original, told with heart, wit and resilience ... I haven't read a book as engaging as this in a very long time." - Malcolm Brooks, author of award-winning novel Painted Horses
"Hines was virtually a throwaway child, in a society which left few choices for the poor. His pursuit of an almost impossible 'upper-class' sport, without so much as a mentor, gave him the confidence to become a teacher and then a filmmaker, and finally to write this book. It is a small masterpiece, the best book with falconry since H Is for Hawk." - Stephen J. Bodio, author of A Rage for Falcons, Querencia, and Eagle Dreams
This information about No Way But Gentlenesse was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Richard Hines has worked as a building laborer, in an office, and he was Deputy Head in a school. But he has spent most of his career as a documentary filmmaker, starting his own production company and working for the BBC and Channel 4 before becoming a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. He lives in Sheffield and frequently walks on the nearby moors.
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