THE GOLDEN EAGLE

Readers of Murphy's The Peregrine FaLcon (1963, p. 1037) will be constantly reminded of that book, although this one is the more complete novel. The Golden Eagle follows the growth and development of another great raptor bird from its fledgling days. While the book is competely faithful to the known facts about the cycle of life for golden eagles, the author projects specific situations for a young female of the species. Denizens of the Rockies, these birds are the widest ranging, biggest and freest of the birds of prey. Without sentiment, the hunting and feeding habits of the golden eagle are described. The early lives of these birds are made up of feeding, learning to fly and sheltering -- all hazardous and, in the hands of this writer, more than enough to keep the pages turning. What The Peregrine FaLcon lacked as a novel was a sense of completion. There were tragic implications in what that bird suffered at the hands of nature's most irresponsible predator, Man -- hunting for thrills, capturing the power or thoughtlessly killing through poison bait. In The Golden Eagle. Mr. Murphy has not avoided the tragedy of death and has enhanced his point about the dangers of extinction. Both short books are good examples of conservation fiction with this as the more symbolic and moving. Both will appeal to men and boys.