A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A gentle, contemplative memoir punctuated by frequent bursts of hilarity and weirdness. At some points, the book reads like a cross between Bill Bryson and Dave Barry (or perhaps Patrick McManus), and that’s a very good thing, indeed.” —Booklist
“Luke Dempsey’s narrative, as witty and intelligent as vintage Bill Bryson, moves along at a brisk and sometimes breathless pace. His enthusiastic appreciation of the beauty of the moment makes for compelling reading.” —Natural History
“Riotously funny, utterly enthralling.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Dempsey succeeds where few authors do. He masterfully shows how a few chance encounters can transform a seemingly normal guy (or gal) into someone obsessed with birds. Dempsey chronicles a series of adventures and misadventures that perhaps better capture what birding means in 2008 than any other book. His success might stem from his ability to seamlessly intertwine history and social book.” —WildBird magazine
"Luke Dempsey... has written an engaging story about his introduction to this “quietly heroic” society... his enthusiasm for his new friends and new life are winning." —New York Times
About the Author
Luke Dempsey is the editor in chief of Hudson Street Press, a division of Penguin USA. He lives in New York City. This is his first book.
Customer Reviews
Add to your list of must-reads
He had me at chapter one. It's hard to believe this is Luke Dempsey's first book, and I can't wait for another! Luke is heartwarming and irreverent at nearly the same time. Thank you. Please keep writing.
Uproariously funny story of an avian obsession
I will admit it upfront: I too am a birder. Even though I am a birder, this book has great appeal to anyone, even those who can't tell a heron from a sparrow. There seems to be a sub genre of books that could be described as "memoirs of birders and their antics that entertain and educate." "A Supremely Bad Idea" can sit proudly with such books as "The Big Year" and "Kingbird Highway."
Luke Dempsey never really paid birds all that much attention. Born in England, he took on work in New York City in the publishing world. He started out as one who might not have been able to tell a heron from a sparrow, but met his friends the Graffitis and extended the fateful invitation to visit him at his weekend home in Pennsylvania. Don and Donna took him for a walk through the acreage he owned, acreage they couldn't believe he wasn't properly appreciating. Handing him binoculars and pointing out a small Common Yellowthroat, his love affair with birds began.
The book recounts their adventures planning trips over the years to try and add to their life lists. The Graffitis already had an impressive life list, but they felt compelled to make sure Luke expanded his. Trips to the the Arizona border, the boreal forests of Michigan and the Pacific Northwest become missions to seek out the rarest of birds to add to Luke's list.
Throughout their adventures, he paints his friends with a mix of love and quirkiness, admitting perhaps some of his own. At times, usually when he heads out to bird alone, he reflects on his own state of affairs at that moment in time. Any of us who seek out nature as balm can immediately relate to these small digressions, which serve to show that although his passion has its own peculiar quirks, it also gives him space to reflect.
Will they find the Elegant Trogon? Will Don ever understand whether Luke likes tomatoes or not? Read on to find out, and prepare to enjoy the ride through the life of a birder swept away by the pursuit of feathery happiness.
Just supremely bad
This is not a book for or about birders. It's a boring, and eventually an annoying, account of the British author's type AAA personality and his contempt for the American people- also for the elderly, the obese, the Welsh, and virtually anyone else he names- birding becomes a pretext. Added to that is the fact that the author is a guest worker in the USA, so that he passes beyond the usual 'acceptable-to them' liberal left-wing screed and comes across as totally churlish. Skip this dog and buy a for-real book about birding: this guy actually doesn't know much about it.
Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น