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| On the Wing: To the Edge of the Earth with the Peregrine Falcon | 
| Author: Alan Tennant
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $2.56
You Save: $12.39 (83%)
New (31) Collectible (1) from $4.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 406144
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 1400031826
Dewey Decimal Number: 508
EAN: 9781400031825
ASIN: 1400031826
Publication Date: October 11, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
On a mission to map the migration of the peregrine falcon, Alan Tennant and his friend George Vose logged thousands of miles in a rattletrap Cessna. On the Wing is as much quest narrative as nature book, and the tale of the two men's voyage is unforgettable. At their first meeting, when Tennant suggested that they track a radio-tagged falcon by air, WWII vet Vose assessed naturalist Tennant with a keen eye. "Aviation takes intestinal fortitude, Mister. You were pretty green up there today. Calm air, too." Nevertheless, Tennant convinced the gruff pilot that the project was worthy, and they set off, soaring north over the dunes of Gulf Coast barrier islands. The falcon was just a beeping signal to them most of the time, but they became obsessed with its movements. In the small cockpit, they shared extremes of disappointment and elation as they dealt with bad weather, lost signals, run-ins with the Army, and equipment problems. They ended up posing as highway patrol officers, crossing international borders, and risking their lives in order to keep on the track of their wayward subject. Threaded into the funny and moving adventure story, Tennant scatters casual snippets of science--peregrine falcon biology, pesticide toxicology, and the little-understood fact of animal migration itself. The facts never get in the way of the fun, though--this is real Wild Kingdom action. --Therese Littleton
Product Description
In this extraordinary journey, Alan Tennant recounts his attempt to track the transcontinental migration of the majestic peregrine falcon — an investigation no one before him had ever taken to such lengths. From the windswept flats of the Texas barrier islands to the Artic and then south again into the Caribbean, On the Wing provides a hilariously picaresque and bumpy flight.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 I felt part of the experience December 9, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The straightforward account held me spellbound. I felt the author/reader had an honest heart and had no choice but to pursue his quest. The telling of his experiences was informative and interesting. I was captivated and wished the book hadn't ended.
 On the Wing - High Drama over the Americas March 30, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What drew me to this book was its Title. I am a keen falconer and have kept various birds of prey for many years. This book combines the authors undoubted love and fascination for the natural world with a powerful personal drama - two mens quest to answer an ornithological question in the most direct way imaginable. Beautifully written at times Alan Tennant touches upon the very essence of what fascinates mankind about the Falcons it is a great read!
 would have been nice to have some dates February 6, 2006
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
The author seems to be striving for a timeless quality in his prose, but it is really annoying that there aren't any dates in the book. Did he take these trips in the 1970s? 1980s? 1990s? He says "we knew that in the future birds will be tracked by satellites", but when was that?
If you're an airplane pilot, you'll be horrified by the chances that these guys took in a really beat-up Cessna 172. They seem to have done some long-distance flying without being instrument-equipped or rated and naturally got themselves into some dangerous scrapes with the weather. The author seems to have no idea how unnecessary this kind of risk-taking is.
The book would have made a really great 25-page New Yorker magazine article.
Be prepared to be amazed October 16, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I loved this book! I have been following the Operation Migration program re-building the Whooping Crane population for years. This book adds a whole new dimension to the use of man made wings and bird migration. Alan Tennant writes in a way that the reader feels they also can see and hear the thousands of birds as he and George Vose fly through and with them.
I learned lots about peregrine falcons, but I kept my bird book handy and learned a lot about other birds too - including those amazing hummingbirds.
The sections describing the intense fear of the falcons in the bird population attested to their hunting prowess and keen vision and speed.
I am in awe of the birds and of the author's dedication and sense of adventure in trying to learn where they go and what they do on the way. As he says, satellites can tell where they go but not how or transmit the incredibleness of it all.
ON THE WING To the Edge of the Earth with the Peregrine Falc March 28, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I am halfway through this marvelous book, and am amazed that I have been in so many of the same places covered in the text. I flew a Jet Ranger helicopter on the North Slope in 1969, and came down through the Anatuvik Pass, after refueling on the Eskimo village's landing strip there. The adventures these two have in their old Cessna Skyhawk (which I took my first flying lessons in) are so reminiscent of any bush pilots perplexities. And, I remembered I endured them! One of my buddies in VN was from Miles City, and another had me Mule deer hunting out near the Big Bend where Vose has his strip and homestead. But, I don't need to fly like this anymore!!
What I did like about the book is how much Alan knows about the American West, almost on a Lewis and Clark experience, and more of the USA public should be aware of this landscape's history. He has a clever way of sharing ecological knowledge, and I wish more authors did. My only complaint so far about the book, is that Knopf really needed to supply a better copy-editor than it did. I need a few commas now and then! Many times I was into a paragraph, and tried to go back and see what was being said!
But, that is where the publishing world is today.... (Sigh)
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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