Birds & People - Hardcover

Cocker, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0224081748 ISBN 13: 9780224081740

Publisher: Jonathan Cape, 2013

Synopsis

The definitive groundbreaking book on the relationship between birds and humankind, with contributions from more than 600 bird enthusiasts from all over the world Part natural history and part cultural study, this book describes and maps the entire spectrum of human engagements with birds, drawing in themes of history, literature, art, cuisine, language, lore, politics, and the environment. Vast in both scope and scale, it draws upon Mark Cocker's 40 years of observing and thinking about birds to celebrate this relationship. The book is as important for its visual riches as it is for its groundbreaking content, as one of Europe's best wildlife photographers has traveled in 39 countries on seven continents to produce a breathtaking and unique collection of photographs. The author solicited contributions from people worldwide, and personal anecdotes and stories have come from more than 600 individuals of 81 different nationalities, ranging from university academics to Mongolian eagle hunters, and from Amerindian shamans to highly celebrated writers. The sheer multitude of voices in this global chorus means that it is both a source book on why we cherish birds and a powerful testament to their importance for all humanity. Endorsed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Birdlife International.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark Cocker is the author of Birders: Tale of a Tribe; Birds Britannica; and Rivers of Blood, Rivers of Gold. David Tipling is a wildlife photographer who has won numerous awards and the author of The Bird Photography Field Guide and Digital Wildlife Photography.

Review:

"Plenty of books tell us how birds live and what they look and sound like, but none has ever told us as well or so beautifully how we have co-evolved with them or what those birds have meant and mean to us. . . . It is, indeed, an astonishing achievement. I feel I could live from its pages for years: they are rich and sustaining and magically suggestive at the same time. Reading them, you just might find yourself growing your own pair of wings." —BBC Wildlife Magazine “This handsome and richly illustrated volume will keep the passionate bird lover on your list busy for the next decade.” —The Seattle Times

"A delightful duet between nature writer Mark Cocker and wildlife photographer David Tipling."  —Nature

"If ever a book was timely, it is this gorgeously produced 600-page compendium of ornithological facts, images, myths and narratives . . . A celebration of birdlife, informed by that mixed sense of wonder and careful inquiry that Cocker has called 'the poetry of fact.'"  —New Statesman

"Written with grace, conscientious stewardship and unfettered love, the book is a transformative look at the feathered dinosaurs that, despite all we have done to them, still grace our fields, forests and skies . . . an encyclopedia with a heart."  —Julie Zickefoose, Wall Street Journal

"Packed with beauty, curiosity, fascination and wonder on every page, Birds & People is probably best not wolfed down but savoured bit by bit. It is a truly exceptional work, soaring in its scope, boundless in its interest, with an ambition matched only by its achievement . . . [it] strikes me as the sort of masterpiece that only comes along once or twice a decade."  —Mail on Sunday

"Birds & People is primarily a way of looking at our own complex history, through the prism of nature. It is also a beautiful volume, not least because of David Tipling's excellent photographs . . . The results are stunning."  —Sunday Telegraph

"An inexhaustibly rich collection of ornithology, folklore, and etymology that will appear to more than just bird lovers ... One simply runs out of ­superlatives appraising this title. From its glorious photography to its astonishingly wide frame of cultural references, this book will long resonate with readers." —Library Journal, starred review

"Focusing on our plumed friends' role in folklore, mythology, and menus, this book beautifully captures a centuries-old interspecies relationship." — mental_floss

"...fascinating read." —The Guardian US

"...groundbreaking." —The BirdBooker Report

About this edition

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0224081748
• ISBN 13: 9780224081740
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 704