- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd; New edition edition (3 Aug 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141019263
- ISBN-13: 978-0141019260
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 807,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"'A memoir not of a hobby, but an obsession, describing a boyhood infatuation that came to wreck Richard's life, ending his marriage, distancing him from family and friends. Warmly told and full of candid insight, it is ultimately a story of reconciliation' Mail on Sunday"
Mail on Sunday, August 13th, 2006
'Superbly told. Koeppel's book is both a family history and an attempt to understand the nature of his father's obsession.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A quirky, entertaining and thoroughly informative book about the 'Big Listers' of the birding world, combined with study of the author's relationship with his birding father and hippy mother. It also, rather interestingly, follows the author's slow drift into obsession.
Big listing is a world I'd heard about but was unfamiliar with the details, Koeppel males the subject fascinating, sharing charming snippets of bird emphemera along the way.
Big listing is a world I'd heard about but was unfamiliar with the details, Koeppel males the subject fascinating, sharing charming snippets of bird emphemera along the way.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Having been surrounded by family and friends that are all keen bird lovers (and being one myself), this book showed me a hitherto unknown world of truly dedicated fanatics! Never dull and well documented, Koeppel uses his relationship with his father as a powerful literary device to explore the surrounding terrain; everything from the creation of Israel to the history of birding. A remarkable book; funny, moving and strangely life affirming.........and liking birds isn't a prerequisite.
Format:Paperback
Excellent book about the relationship between a son and his bird-obsessed father, who caught a near fatal dose of ornithology in his teenage years and never really recovered. The story starts by looking at how the bug got a grip, with honest and touching accounts of life in 1950s America, where birding was considered a great hobby for wholesome teens. However, with a career in ornithology blocked due to family expectations ( stop looking at birds & get a proper job etc ) resentment and obsession loomed... The quest to build a 'big list' then became all consuming, driving dear old dad to travel the planet counting over 7000 birds, while everything else fell apart in his wake. If you ever thought bird-watching was harmless fun your perceptions will be challenged ! It does have a happy ending however, with son and father realising the importance of family and .. hang on did I just hear a Greater Speckled Flute Finch !?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Father Figure
Honest and clear eyed portrait of the author's father, Richard Koeppel which is also an interesting study of Richard's obsession : bird listing. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Rotgut
Birding, To Know The Man
Dan Koeppel very much wanted to get to know his father. His mom and dad were divorced when he was young and it was not an easy time. Read more
Published on 30 Nov 2005 by prisrob
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