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| Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding | 
| Author: Scott Weidensaul
Publisher: Harcourt
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $10.86
You Save: $14.14 (57%)
New (5) from $10.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 724811
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 1.3
Dewey Decimal Number: 598
ASIN: B00155M282
Publication Date: September 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 "New Jersey is a birder's dream" March 4, 2008
Scott Weidensaul opens his book with a Hopi observation that certain nightjars sleep through the winter in a "deathlike trance." "Ridiculous" said the experts; then hibernating Common Poorwills were discovered by modern ornithologists in the 1940s. "Sadly, I don't know the Hopi ... for 'We told you so.'"
Many more stories follow.
Today Weidensaul argues that the battle to protect birds is not yet won. Birders, he says, are preoccupied with lists, and the protection of birds primarily in the hands (and wallets) of hunters eager to continue to shoot birds. He admires "listers," who devote enormous resources and ingenuity to seeing as many species as possible and the sophisticated tools for precise identification.
But he quotes Joseph Hickey: "Bird watching is much more than this. It is the art of discovering how birds live." Weidensaul fears that birders are not sufficiently committed to conservation of the very creatures they feed and study and list. Nevertheless, he sees "a few tentative stirrings" of a more holistic approach, suggesting that "bird study is poised to enter what could be a fresh and, I hope, golden age."
I hope so too. This book encouraged me to watch our feeders with more care, but also to plan even more bird friendly plants for our garden this summer. Best of all, Weidensaul maintains an excellent blog on new developments; Google: Scott Weidensaul .
Robert C. Ross 2008
 History That Won't Put You To Sleep. January 12, 2008
Scott Weidensaul's brief history is engaging,stylish and personal.From the shotgun birders to dorky Miss Hathaway,to Roger Tory Peterson and his followers,surely NEVER dressed in white- you will find yourself turning pages to learn more.
Weidensaul does what many scientists aren't able to do,and that is, turn his study and work into a work of Art as he sweeps us through centuries and personalities with grace and accuracy.His prose is always clear,but has music to it nevertheless.As always,he is the voice of reason as he shares with us his life and his research.
Painter Who Reads
For birders November 26, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
A book for birders which will give a sense of the tradition now taken up by millions, but as Scott points out, probably with less skill than expensive equipment. Besides references to people with whom I have birded, I particularly liked his portrayal of the transition from shotgun ornithology to bird watching and the tension between the professionals and amateurs. The role of women in outlawing the massive slaughter of birds for their feathers or the pot has a lesson in it which I would love to see repeated. It is clear that learning to relate to nature can be stimulated through an interest in birds. The lives of people like Farley Mowat Born Naked: The Early Adventures of the Author of Never Cry Wolf and Bernd Heinrich The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology were deeply influenced by childhood experiences of tracking birds to their nests. One wonders whether the new watchers with thousand dollar binoculars and two thousand dollar scopes so intimately connect to their subjects. A sociological examination of what nature means to the minions of bird watching would be revealing. It is interesting that Scott feels Ken Kaufman's contributions to birding and other natural subjects are underappreciated.
This is a worthwhile book for birders and those interested in the history of American natural history. Charlie Fisher author of Dismantling Discontent: Buddha's Way Through Darwin's World.
A pick recommended not just for public lending libraries but for any high school to college level collection November 5, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Author Scott Weidensaul has traveled the world tracking and writing about birds and has already written several notable nature books about them, but OF A FEATHER: A BRIEF HISTORY OF AMERICAN BIRDING is much more than just another ornithological study of a passionate hobby. It's a survey of the history of American birding, from early European arrival in North America to its modern popularity among general birdwatchers. From ornithological scientists who early on collected eggs on the frontier to some of the first conservation movements and those who participated them - including a range of unlikely characters - OF A FEATHER is a pick recommended not just for public lending libraries but for any high school to college level collection including ornithological references; especially at the introductory level.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Fact-filled book about birds and birding October 4, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Weidensaul traces the evolution of birding in America from the time the Europeans arrived to the early 21st century. Along the way one meets several characters both schooled and self-taught in ornithology. One reads about our own changing attitudes towards birding which ranges from collecting eggs, to displaying stuffed birds, to watching them, to now checking names off a list.
Weidensaul implicitly refers to birding as a leisure activity. It would follow then that birding would be linked to the amount of leisure time available and other competing activities As field guides are an important part of birding, our literacy levels and communication technology (books, laptops, iPods, wireless internet access, etc.) would also affect the development of birding. Other areas of technology would also influence birding. The most obvious is the metamorphism of opera glasses to binoculars, and now advanced night vision technology. The development of the camera also gave us an alternative to the shotgun for displaying our "trophies." Hiking shoes, outdoor clothing, bug repellant, and other technological strides helped shape birding into its present form.
Additionally, our attitudes towards nature (as masters or stewards) in general, specifically towards other species, and especially towards feathered bipeds, would direct our vision of birding. For a book that professes to provide a discussion on the history of American birding, I was expecting more analysis and interpretation on factors that affect birding, and less narration.
In the last chapter Weidensaul laments that birding has become a competitive "spot, tick and run" activity. He writes that besides ticking a list, our approach to birding should be "something more holistic [300]." While one may agree with this ideal, the reality (as Weidensaul describes it) is different. He concludes that: "Now bird study is poised to enter what could be a fresh and, I hope, golden age [313]." It is difficult to understand how he could have reached this conclusion - especially in light of the preceding narrative.
The author builds a case for directing more of our efforts towards preservation and reminds us that without birds, birders have nothing to look at and listen to.
Armchair Interviews says: The writing is compelling, personal, and full of facts.
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