Items related to A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Synopsis
Birdsong is woven into culture, emotions, and landscape. It is the soundtrack to our world, shaping experiences of place and belonging. We have tried to capture this fleeting, ephemeral beauty, and the feelings it inspires, for millennia. In this rich and insightful account, Richard Smyth asks what it is about birdsong that we so love, exploring the myriad ways in which it has influenced literature, music, and art, our feelings about the natural world, and our very ideas of what it means to be human. Does the song-thrush mean to sing "a full-hearted evensong/Of joy illimited," as he does in Hardy’s poem "The Darkling Thrush?" Examining his own conflicted love of birdsong, Smyth’s nuanced investigation shows that what we hear says as much about us, our dreams and desires, as it does about the birds and their songs. At a time when birdsong is growing quieter, with fewer voices, more thinly spread, this beautiful book is a celebration of the complex relationships between birds, people, and landscape; it is also a passionate call to arms and an invitation to act lest our trees and hedges fall silent.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Richard Smyth is a writer, researcher, and editor. He is a regular contributor to Bird Watching magazine, and he writes and reviews for the Times, Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review, New Statesman, and BBC Wildlife. He is the author of English History: Strange But True.
Review
"A lively sense of the absurd, a wryly precise prose style and an appropriately magpie-like curiosity for his subject. There's a wonderful democracy of reference to a book that draws on Radiohead and The Simpsons as well as Messiaen and Duchamp; that considers East End bird-catching alongside the Romantics and current bioacoustics research. . . . Smyth has taught himself to hear, and it's impossible to read his vivid account and not listen just a little closer yourself." —Spectator
"Between the fibrillating throats of birds and the human mind lies an extraordinary landscape, a place created by the intersection of culture, biology, and literature. Richard Smyth is a brilliant, insightful, and witty guide in this fascinating terrain." —David George Haskell, author, Pulitzer finalist The Forest Unseen
"This is a delightful book that does exactly what it says on the cover: it plays a sweet wild note. If you are already tuned in to bird song you will learn a lot more and if you aren't you will want to be. Reading it honestly seems to have improved my (ornithological) listening and hearing as well as cheering my heart." —Sara Maitland, author, A Book of Silence
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherElliott & Thompson
- Publication date2018
- ISBN 10 178396314X
- ISBN 13 9781783963140
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages208
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 1.00
Shipping:
US$ 4.49
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
A Sweet Wild Note What We Hear
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00062568273
Quantity: 4 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note : What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Published by
Elliott & Thompson, Limited, 2018
ISBN 10: 178396314X
ISBN 13: 9781783963140
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP97629319
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: PlumCircle, West Mifflin, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: New. New item in gift quality condition. 99% of orders arrive in 4-10 days. Discounted shipping on multiple books. Seller Inventory # mon0001258350
Quantity: 14 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: PlumCircle, West Mifflin, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Fine. Publisher overstock. May have remainder mark / minimal shelfwear. 99% of orders arrive in 4-10 days. Discounted shipping on multiple books. Seller Inventory # mon0001258361
Quantity: 4 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.85. Seller Inventory # G178396314XI5N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. This is the average used book, that has all pages or leaves present, but may include writing. Book may be ex-library with stamps and stickers. 0.84. Seller Inventory # 353-178396314X-gdd
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Fair. Buy with confidence! Book is in acceptable condition with wear to the pages, binding, and some marks within 0.84. Seller Inventory # bk178396314Xxvz189zvxacp
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR008216716
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: HPB-Emerald, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_410395903
Quantity: 1 available
Seller Image
A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing
Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned. Ex library copy with usual stamps & stickers. Seller Inventory # wbs4655075947
Quantity: 1 available