A World on the Wing, the newest book from acclaimed nature writer Scott Weidensaul, is at once a celebration of global bird migration, an exploration of our rapidly evolving understanding of the science that underpins it, and a cautionary tale of the challenges humans have placed in the way of migrating birds. Yet for all the strength and tenacity of migrant birds, the phenomenon of migration is increasingly fragile on this ever-more altered planet. Migrant birds continually exceed what we think are the limits of physical endurance, like a six-inch sandpiper weighing less than an ounce flying 3,300 miles nonstop for six days from the Canadian subarctic to northern South America - the equivalent of 126 consecutive marathons with no food, water or a moment's rest, using the earth’s magnetic field to navigate through a form of quantum entanglement that made Einstein queasy.
In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and physiological feats that enable migratory birds to cross immense oceans, fly above the highest mountains, forgo sleep for days or weeks, or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch, has exploded. Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation Nancy Lane’s vivid oil paintings joyfully illuminate the text.” - Phillip Hoose, author of The Race to Save the Lord God BirdĪ World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory BirdsĪn epic reflection on what we're learning about the greatest natural phenomenon on the planet - and what we must do to preserve it.Ī New York Times Bestseller and Editor's PickĪ Library Journal Best Science and Technology Book of the Year “Weidensaul’s poetic and inspirational language gracefully draws the reader into the warbler’s amazing journey. Drew Lanham, author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature It is art and science about a tiny bird that will make a big difference.” - J. “A Warbler's Journey is masterfully woven words of wonder written with hope as a warm tailwind.
"An awesome account of an awe-inspiring feat." - Booklist (starred review) Scott Weidensaul leads tours to such exotic destinations as Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Alaska, the Amazon and other exciting locales - check out the details here. A native of the Appalachians of eastern Pennsylvania, he now lives in New Hampshire. Weidensaul lectures widely on wildlife and environmental topics, and is an active field researcher, specializing in the study of migration in owls, hummingbirds and passerines. Watch Weidensaul's TEDx talk on migration, and listen to his interview with BirdNote's "Threatened" podcast.
Listen to Weidensaul's latest interview on NPR's "Fresh Air." (And here is a previous "Fresh Air" appearance with Terry Gross.) He has written more than 30 books on natural history, including Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds, a Pulitzer Prize finalist The Ghost with Trembling Wings, about the search for species that may or may not be extinct Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding The First Frontier: The Forgotten History of Struggle, Savagery and Endurance in Early America and the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls. Weidensaul spearheads a number of major research projects focusing on bird migration. ©Chris DeSorboOrnithologist and author Scott Weidensaul celebrates the natural world-particularly birds and bird migration-in his research, his writing and his public speaking. “Scott Weidensaul ranks among an elite group of writer-naturalists-Bruce Chatwin, John McPhee and David Quammen come to mind-whose straightforward eloquence elevates ecology to the level of philosophy.”
0 kommentar(er)
