Finally Dunne
For those one of you who has been waiting eagerly for my response to Pete Dunne's The Feather Quest, my sincere apologies for the delay.
The cover quote of TFQ says it "Makes you want to grab your binoculars and head outdoors." This somewhat universalist statement raised my Calvinist hackles before I started it, but heeding the ancient maxim I did not judge this book by its dove-emblazoned cover.
Though I will not attempt to do so here, one cannot give a full account of TFQ without addressing each chapter. Each chapter shows a different North American location and a different type of birding, providing a broad range of views of what birding can be like. If I had read this book two or three years ago, I would have shaken my head in disbelief: "Naw, that's a little extreme. Nobody takes it that seriously."
Maturity teaches that in everything there is somebody who takes it that seriously. With increasing layers of testimony, Dunne shows that thousands of people do just that in birding, as a recreational activity, a sport, an extreme sport, or a crusade. Even though birding has become a dearly valued activity to me, I cannot take it seriously all the time. I'm not sure if I can do that with anything.
So, the way Mr. Dunne gained my approval for this book was with his disarming sense of humor. Because of his knowledge and experience, he can laugh with impunity at the oddities immediately apparent to non-birders. The birders laugh because they have "been there before," and the non-birders can chuckle and shake their heads: "These people are nuts!"
The non-humorous aspects of the book are the ones that will pique the interests of non-birders. Since Dunne writes about birding spots in every area of the continental United States, everyone can read about places close by or even familiar. Like I did three years ago, readers of this book will probably think, You mean all these amazing things are in that little spot of wilderness? All you have to do is go look and you'll find them?
The content of the book is predictably environmentalist. There is a twist toward the end which gives perspective to what seemed to be the message that man is the ultimate determiner of the earth's destiny and DOOM is on the horizon because of him. Though the book seems a little heavy-handed on guilt, perhaps that type of discomfort is the only way to get the audience it needs to accomplish its purpose.
The Christian buzzword for it is "stewardship," but responsible behavior toward natural resources starts with awareness of how the things we do can have unplanned consequences. Humility would be a good start on both sides of the issue, both admitting when we have been wrong in our judgments and when we are not wise or powerful enough as a race to heal our groaning earth.
There are few who could read Dunne without learning something. Whether you are focusing on the technical aspects of ornithology or the psychosocial aspects of humanity, if you have any association with birders or birding, you will enjoy Dunne's testimony. Just make sure that if you're borrowing the book you do your level best to keep the cover in good shape. Heh heh.
The cover quote of TFQ says it "Makes you want to grab your binoculars and head outdoors." This somewhat universalist statement raised my Calvinist hackles before I started it, but heeding the ancient maxim I did not judge this book by its dove-emblazoned cover.
Though I will not attempt to do so here, one cannot give a full account of TFQ without addressing each chapter. Each chapter shows a different North American location and a different type of birding, providing a broad range of views of what birding can be like. If I had read this book two or three years ago, I would have shaken my head in disbelief: "Naw, that's a little extreme. Nobody takes it that seriously."
Maturity teaches that in everything there is somebody who takes it that seriously. With increasing layers of testimony, Dunne shows that thousands of people do just that in birding, as a recreational activity, a sport, an extreme sport, or a crusade. Even though birding has become a dearly valued activity to me, I cannot take it seriously all the time. I'm not sure if I can do that with anything.
So, the way Mr. Dunne gained my approval for this book was with his disarming sense of humor. Because of his knowledge and experience, he can laugh with impunity at the oddities immediately apparent to non-birders. The birders laugh because they have "been there before," and the non-birders can chuckle and shake their heads: "These people are nuts!"
The non-humorous aspects of the book are the ones that will pique the interests of non-birders. Since Dunne writes about birding spots in every area of the continental United States, everyone can read about places close by or even familiar. Like I did three years ago, readers of this book will probably think, You mean all these amazing things are in that little spot of wilderness? All you have to do is go look and you'll find them?
The content of the book is predictably environmentalist. There is a twist toward the end which gives perspective to what seemed to be the message that man is the ultimate determiner of the earth's destiny and DOOM is on the horizon because of him. Though the book seems a little heavy-handed on guilt, perhaps that type of discomfort is the only way to get the audience it needs to accomplish its purpose.
The Christian buzzword for it is "stewardship," but responsible behavior toward natural resources starts with awareness of how the things we do can have unplanned consequences. Humility would be a good start on both sides of the issue, both admitting when we have been wrong in our judgments and when we are not wise or powerful enough as a race to heal our groaning earth.
There are few who could read Dunne without learning something. Whether you are focusing on the technical aspects of ornithology or the psychosocial aspects of humanity, if you have any association with birders or birding, you will enjoy Dunne's testimony. Just make sure that if you're borrowing the book you do your level best to keep the cover in good shape. Heh heh.
1 Comments:
Nice review. I read Dunne's The Feather Quest shortly after I had started birding. I think the book's strength is its emphasis on the diversity of birding experiences.
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