At that moment, in the sunset on Watership Down, there was offered to General Woundwort the opportunity to show whether he was really the leader of vision and genius which he believed himself to be, or whether he was no more than a tyrant with the courage and cunning of a pirate. For one beat of his pulse the lame rabbit's idea shone clearly before him. He grasped it and realized what it meant. The next, he had pushed it away from him.

The book gained international acclaim almost immediately. In 1974 following publication of his second novel Shardik he left the Civil Service to become a full-time author. color Illustrations by Yvonne Gilbert b&w illustrations by Jennifer Campbell.

He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army during World War II. In 1974 two years after Watership Down was publiRichard Adamsd Adams became a full-time author. Richard George Adams (born 9 May 1920) is an English novelist who is best known as the author of Watership Down.