Another winner from Weidensaul that belongs in every birder’s library.
Bird researcher and writer Weidensaul unpacks the state of bird migration research and conservation efforts.
Bird migration is a wonder, a natural force that pushes small, fragile creatures to fly immense distances with both speed and tenacity. In his latest contribution to the subject, the Pulitzer Prize finalist provides a wide-ranging investigation into migration, including the success stories as well as current problems and those on the horizon: climate change, which “is reshaping every single thing about migration”; habitat loss and forest fragmentation, “a serious danger to…migrant songbirds”; rat infestation; and hunting—especially after “wild meat became a status symbol rather than a mere source of protein.” As in many of his previous books, Weidensaul is a peerless guide, sharing his intoxicating passion and decadeslong experience with countless bird species all over the world. Another pleasing aspect of the narrative is the author’s fine-line descriptions of the often remote landscapes through which he has traveled and the vest-pocket character portraits of his birding comrades. Each of the chapters covers one or more species and locales—e.g., frigatebirds in the Galápagos, Amur falcons in China and Mongolia, whimbrels on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, more than 160 species of birds in Denali National Park—but the author also ventures into other areas, such as a bird’s “magnetic orientation” ability and the “genetic road map” that allows them to embark on a successful migration. Of course, significant problems abound: the disappearance of birds’ habitat preferences and favored diets; the traditional trapping of songbirds in the Mediterranean for consumption (according to one estimate in 2016, “trappers were killing between 1.3 million and 3.2 million birds annually in Cyprus, making this small island one of the worst places…for this slaughter”); and the disorientation of urban lights. As the author notes, because of the variety and number of routes, habitats, and species, their protection will require a vigorous global approach.
Another winner from Weidensaul that belongs in every birder’s library.Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-393-60890-8
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Canton’s enthusiasm is admirable, but his roots tend to tangle.
A daily journal in the company of an oak tree.
Canton, who teaches a masters course in “wild writing” at the University of Essex, is keen to locate the connections among literature, landscape, and the environment. But unlike his countryman Robert Macfarlane, Canton takes a more ethereal approach. In his latest book, he explores the strange sense of attachment he has to an 800-year-old tree known as the Honywood Oak on the Marks Hall Estate in northern Essex, in whose embrace he finds calm and contentment. The author reveres oaks above all, showcasing an appealing but excessively Romantic appreciation for these stately trees and ascribing to them significant powers and cognitive abilities. He gazes at old stumps and mourns felled oaks as if they were divine eminences, lending them a spiritual aura. Canton is highly observant, especially of bird species, and his descriptions are often lovely, but they also sometimes take on a purple hue. Within the umbra of the tree, inside the drip line, he is all giddy fascination, bewitched. While his enchantment is initially contagious, it becomes tiresome. Canton deals with the same tree for 120 consecutive pages, ruminating in a repetitive monologue before finally turning his gaze to another tree. The author is more engaging when he comes down from the canopy to relate the history of humanity’s relationship with oaks in shipbuilding and construction as well as literature and myth. When he confines himself to history and custom, the text is absorbing, with echoes of Walden. “Was there a time in some ancient prehistoric world when the creatures did not flee before us?” he asks. “Was there a time when humans did not strike fear and alarm into the natural world around them?” Canton is highly literate though rather at pains to show it. Eventually, even he begins to question his insistence on anthropomorphizing, which he does too often.
Canton’s enthusiasm is admirable, but his roots tend to tangle.Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-303794-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
An authoritative, engaging study of plant life, accessible to younger readers as well as adults.
A neurobiologist reveals the interconnectedness of the natural world through stories of plant migration.
In this slim but well-packed book, Mancuso (Plant Science/Univ. of Florence; The Revolutionary Genius of Plants: A New Understanding of Plant Intelligence and Behavior, 2018, etc.) presents an illuminating and surprisingly lively study of plant life. He smoothly balances expansive historical exploration with recent scientific research through stories of how various plant species are capable of migrating to locations throughout the world by means of air, water, and even via animals. They often continue to thrive in spite of dire obstacles and environments. One example is the response of plants following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Three decades later, the abandoned “Exclusion Zone” is now entirely covered by an enormous assortment of thriving plants. Mancuso also tracks the journeys of several species that might be regarded as invasive. “Why…do we insist on labeling as ‘invasive’ all those plants that, with great success, have managed to occupy new territories?” asks the author. “On a closer look, the invasive plants of today are the native flora of the future, just as the invasive species of the past are a fundamental part of our ecosystem today.” Throughout, Mancuso persuasively articulates why an understanding and appreciation of how nature is interconnected is vital to the future of our planet. “In nature everything is connected,” he writes. “This simple law that humans don’t seem to understand has a corollary: the extinction of a species, besides being a calamity in and of itself, has unforeseeable consequences for the system to which the species belongs.” The book is not without flaws. The loosely imagined watercolor renderings are vague and fail to effectively complement Mancuso’s richly descriptive prose or satisfy readers’ curiosity. Even without actual photos and maps, it would have been beneficial to readers to include more finely detailed plant and map renderings.
An authoritative, engaging study of plant life, accessible to younger readers as well as adults.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63542-991-6
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Other Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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