PublishedBlack Inc, July 2017 |
ISBN9781863959841 |
FormatSoftcover, 320 pages |
Dimensions23.2cm × 15.3cm × 2.8cm |
A fascinating investigation into the miraculous world of birds and the powerful-and surprising-ways they enrich our lives and sustain the planet
Our relationship to birds is different from our relationship to any other wild creatures. They are everywhere and we love to watch them, listen to them, keep them as pets, wear their feathers, even converse with them. Birds, Jim Robbins posits, are our most vital connection to nature. They compel us to look to the skies, literally and metaphorically; draw us out into nature to seek their beauty; and let us experience vicariously what it is like to be weightless. Birds have helped us in many of our endeavors- learning to fly, providing clothing and food, and helping us better understand the human brain and body. And they even have much to teach us about being human.
A natural storyteller, Robbins illuminates how qualities unique to birds make them invaluable to humankind-from the Australian brush turkey, which helped scientists discover how dinosaurs first flew, to the eagles in Washington D.C. that rehabilitated the troubled teenagers placed in charge of their care.
From the "good luck" ravens in England to the superb lyrebird, whose song is so sophisticated it can mimic koalas, crying babies and chainsaws, Robbins shows our close relationship with birds, the ways in which they are imperiled and how we must fight to save them for the sake of both the planet and humankind.
Barb takes care of the web orders here at Boffins, and is your contact for book club enquiries. She spends all her spare time curled up on the couch reading and for the last several years has reviewed books on the Afternoon Program on ABC radio Perth.
I don't believe the person exists who would not be able to find something of interest in this wonderful book. Jim Robbins shares his fascination with all things ornithological with such enthusiasm that it is impossible not to be won over. Whether it be for their intrinsic value or their value to us, their beauty or their brains, our appreciation of birds is centuries old. As descendants of the dinosaurs, birds provide us with a window into the past. They literally help to feed and cloth us, and the discovery of their brains’ plasticity is contributing to the field of human neuroscience. Humans have coveted their colours, their coats, their method of transport and their voices. Step by step Robbins takes us through a variety of species and traits that will fascinate and endear.
