Synopses & Reviews
"An entertaining look at what was once considered a rather peculiar hobby."Chicago Tribune Scott Weidensaul skillfully traces the colorful history of American birding. Travel with the frontier ornithologists who collected eggs between border skirmishes; meet the society matrons who organized the first effective conservation movement; discover the luminaries with checkered pasts, such as convicted blackmailer Alexander Wilson and the endlessly self-mythologizing John James Audubon; and watch as an awkward schoolteacher named Roger Tory Peterson creates A Field Guide to the Birds, prompting the explosive growth of modern birding. Spirited and compulsively readable, Of a Feather celebrates the passions and achievements of birders, from the continent's fledgling ornithologists to the millions of Americans who have transformed a once eccentric occupation into one of our most beloved pursuits. "[An] engrossing book about Americas most popular pastime." Audubon Magazine "All these tales are inspiring, and fun to read, whether you're a birder or not."--Weekly Standard
Review
PRAISE FOR OF A FEATHERand#160;"At once gossipy and scholarly, Of aand#160;Feather recounts rivalries, controversies, bad behavior and other key episodes in the making of modern birding. Lively and illuminating, it has surprises, too."and#151;The Washington Post Book World and#160;"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."and#151;The Arizona Republicand#160;
Synopsis
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. 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 its now (almost) cool. This compulsively readable popular history will surely find a roost on every birders shelf.
Synopsis
Arriving in the New World, Europeans were awestruck by a continent awash with birds. Today tens of millions of Americans birders have made a once eccentric hobby into something so mainstream itand#8217;s (almost) cool.
Scott Weidensaul traces the colorful evolution of American birding: from the frontier ornithologists who collected eggs between border skirmishes to the society matrons who organized the first effective conservation movement; from the luminaries with checkered pasts, such as convicted blackmailer Alexander Wilson and the endlessly self-mythologizing John James Audubon, to the awkward schoolteacher Roger Tory Peterson, whose A Field Guide to the Birds prompted the explosive growth of modern birding. Spirited and compulsively readable, Of a Feather celebrates the passions and achievements of birders throughout Americcan history.and#160;
Synopsis
Arriving in the New World, Europeans were awestruck by a continent awash with birds. Today tens of millions of Americans are birders, making what was once an eccentric hobby into something so mainstream that it’s cool.
In this compulsively readable popular history, Scott Weidensaul traces the colorful evolution of American birding: from the frontier ornithologists who collected eggs between border skirmishes to the society matrons who organized the first effective conservation movement; from the luminaries with checkered pasts, such as convicted blackmailer Alexander Wilson and the endlessly self-mythologizing John James Audubon, to the awkward schoolteacher named Roger Tory Peterson whose A Field Guide to the Birds prompted the explosive growth of modern birding.
Entertaining and illuminating, Of a Feather will find a roost on every birder’s shelf.
About the Author
SCOTT WEIDENSAUL is the author of four previous works of natural history-Return to Wild America, The Ghost with Trembling Wings, Pulitzer Prize finalist Living on the Wind, and Mountains of the Heart. He is a federally licensed bird bander and lives in the Pennsylvania Appalachians.
Table of Contents
Contents1and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Birds . . . more beautiful than in Europeand#8221;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 1
2and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Except three or four, I do not know themand#8221;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 41
3and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Pushing Westand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 79
4and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Shotgun Ornithologyand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 107
5and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Angry Ladiesand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 145
6and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Becoming a Nounand#160;and#160;and#160; 187
7and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Death to Miss Hathawayand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 227
8and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Beyond the Listand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 273
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Acknowledgmentsand#160; 315
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Notes and Bibliographyand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 317
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Indexand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 339