Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding
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- Synopsis
- Beyond Audubon: A quirky, &“lively and illuminating&” account of bird-watching&’s history, including &“rivalries, controversies, [and] bad behavior&” (The Washington Post Book World). From the moment Europeans arrived in North America, they were awestruck by a continent awash with birds—great flocks of wild pigeons, prairies teeming with grouse, woodlands alive with brilliantly colored songbirds. Of a Feather traces the colorful origins of American birding: the frontier ornithologists who collected eggs between border skirmishes; the society matrons who organized the first effective conservation movement; and the luminaries with checkered pasts, such as Alexander Wilson (a convicted blackmailer) and the endlessly self-mythologizing John James Audubon. Naturalist Scott Weidensaul also recounts the explosive growth of modern birding that began when an awkward schoolteacher named Roger Tory Peterson published A Field Guide to the Birds in 1934. Today, birding counts iPod-wearing teens and obsessive &“listers&” among its tens of millions of participants, making what was once an eccentric hobby into something so completely mainstream it&’s now (almost) cool. This compulsively readable popular history will surely find a roost on every birder&’s shelf. &“Weidensaul is a charming guide. . . . You don&’t have to be a birder to enjoy this look at one of today&’s fastest-growing (and increasingly competitive) hobbies.&” —The Arizona Republic
- Copyright:
- 2008
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 368 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9780156035187
- Publisher:
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Date of Addition:
- 01/18/24
- Copyrighted By:
- status in your country.
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- History, Nonfiction, Reference, Animals, Outdoors and Nature
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
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