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Format: Bargain Price Label: North Point Press Manufacturer: North Point Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 420 Publication Date: April 30, 1999 Publisher: North Point Press Studio: North Point Press Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Did you know that neither temperature nor hunger sparks bird migration? That many species migrate at night? That some birds migrate more than 5,000 miles in a single, uninterrupted flight? "We are such stodgy, rooted creatures," observes the author of this fascinating book. "To think of crossing thousands of miles under our own power is as incomprehensible as jumping the moon. Yet even the tiniest of birds perform such miracles." For anyone curious about the lives of migratory birds (and, incidentally, those of bird-obsessed humans), this book is a great nest of information. The author has traveled all over the world banding and observing birds and talking to the experts--amateur birders and ornithologists who have made many of the important discoveries about bird biology. From Alaska to Lake Erie to the limestone forests of Jamaica, Weidensaul reaches not only for the scientific particulars but for the universal stories and humanizing, descriptive turns of phrase that keep this book from bogging down in statistics and jargon. By book's end the reader is unable to resist the heart of this compelling story, a plea for the conservation of habitat to keep these miraculous creatures on--or at least circling--the earth. --Maria Dolan Product Description: The magnificent story of the natural world's most epic journeys. At whatever moment you read these words, there are birds aloft in the skies of the Western Hemisphere, migrating. If it is spring or fall, the great pivot points of the year, then the continents are swarming with hundreds of millions of traveling birds-a flood so great that even the most ignorant or unobservant notice the skeins of geese and the flocks of robins. Bird migration is the one truly unifying natural phenomenon in the world, stitching the continents together in a way that even the great weather systems, which roar out from the poles but fizzle at the equator, fail to do. Scott Weidensaul follows the awesome kettles of hawks over the Mexican coastal plains, the bar-tailed godwits that hitchhike on gale winds 6,000 miles nonstop across the Pacific from Alaska to New Zealand, and the myriad songbirds whose numbers have dwindled so dramatically in recent decades. Migration paths form an elaborate global web that shows serious signs of fraying, and Weidensaul delves into the tragedies of habitat degradation and deforestation with an urgency that brings to life the vast problems these miraculous migrants now face. A magisterial book, Living on the Wind vivifies what may be the most compelling drama of the natural world. Average Rating:
 Rating: - The How's, Why's, Where's, and Wonder of North & South American Bird Migration.Scott Weidensaul writes precisely and eloquently about bird migration in "Living on the Wind", which was a nominated finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. In what is "perhaps the most compelling drama in all of natural history", an estimated 5 billion birds migrate annually, across continents and oceans, some without stopping to rest or eat for thousands of miles. Weidensaul tells us why birds migrate and how. He paints a picture of these extraordinary journeys and the birds that make them in ... Read More Rating: - Outstanding and thoroughly enjoyable popular science work on birds _Living on the Wind_ by Scott Weidensaul is a very ambitious book, one in which the author tried to convey both the science and the drama of bird migration in the Western Hemisphere, traveling for six years from Alaska to Argentina and speaking to experts as well as viewing close up an amazing variety of birds from the Arctic tundra to Central American rain forests. The book is divided into three sections. "Southbound" focused on the fall migration as well as topics on migration in ... Read More Rating: - A keeper for birdersThe detail and fluidity of this book amazes me. The author's passion for his love of birds shines through on every page. It's a work of love. I didn't begin to "bird" until my days in New Jersey (2000-2004) when I'd drive to the beautiful Jersey Shore and watch water fowl and migratory eagles, falcons and osprey nest along the banks of the braggish waters. I've been fascinated by raptors ever since, and the chapter "River of Hawks" had me longing for more. The author ... Read More Rating: - Vivid and poetic languageThe information on bird migration is absolutely engrossing. However, the language Weidensaul uses is even more enjoyable. I kept the computer dictionary next to me while reading the book to check the beautiful language used to describe bird behavior and their habitats. This book is inspiring and thought provoking even for non-birders like me (I am likely classified as a computer geek). Rating: - A Wonderful BookIIf you enjoy nature reading you will love this book. I am not a birder, but nevertheless found this book to be an eloquent and fascinating read. Weidensaul introduces and explores a world that occurs around us every day but that few of us know anything about. He writes extremely well. Overall, a wonderful book. |
