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Product Description
Review
'There are casual birdwatchers and there are twitchers who'll fly halfway around the world to spot a cactus wren. Davies and Miller are the latter. Entertaining anecdotes with real honesty...even non-bird-buffs may be inspired to get out the binoculars.'
--Wanderlust, 1st November 2010
'...will make you dream of the destinations and the birds they saw'
--Birdwatch, 1st November 2010
'A great read'
--Real Travel, 1st December 2010
'It is the ideal companion for anyone setting off on a long plane or train journey.' --Sunday Express, January 9, 2011
'a fast-paced and enthralling read for birders everywhere'
--Birding World, vol. 23 2010
'an extraordinary birding adventure...you'll find yourself marvelling at the stamina of our two heroes and thoroughly inspired as well as entertained.'
--Bird Watching, September 2010
'Birders and eco-tourists will enjoy this book!'
--Birdbooker report website, 12th November 2010
--Wanderlust, 1st November 2010
'...will make you dream of the destinations and the birds they saw'
--Birdwatch, 1st November 2010
'A great read'
--Real Travel, 1st December 2010
'It is the ideal companion for anyone setting off on a long plane or train journey.' --Sunday Express, January 9, 2011
'a fast-paced and enthralling read for birders everywhere'
--Birding World, vol. 23 2010
'an extraordinary birding adventure...you'll find yourself marvelling at the stamina of our two heroes and thoroughly inspired as well as entertained.'
--Bird Watching, September 2010
'Birders and eco-tourists will enjoy this book!'
--Birdbooker report website, 12th November 2010
Product Description
Most people dream of packing in their humdrum city life, selling up and heading off into the unknown for a life of adventure. For Ruth Miller and Alan Davies this dream became a reality, albeit with a twist; they decided to pack in their jobs, sell their house and take on the ultimate birder's challenge - to smash the world record for the number of species seen in one calendar year. This book is the story of their great expedition, searching for birds from Ecuador to Ethiopia via Argentina, Australia and Arizona. We follow this birding odyssey as they rachet up the species and the stamps in their passports, sharing in amazing birding experiences such as monkey-hunting Harpy Eagles in the Brazilian rain forest, seedsnipes in the Peruvian highlands and lekking bustards in South Africa, all leading to the ultimate question - will they break the magic 4,000? Written in an accessible style, this book will be of great interest to birders, readers of travel literature, and to people who simply enjoy a good adventure!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Let me say that firstly I am a birdwatcher (I really think you need to be to enjoy this book fully) and I am glad I read this book, it is very entertaining. Any negative comments or criticism, now I have confessed to being a birdwatcher, are going to sound like sour grapes but this book is by no means perfect, in fact I did 'umm' and 'ahh' whether to give it 3* or not - generosity got the better of me.
The book's authors write (more or less) alternate chapters as they dash around the world trying to beat the twitching record of 3,662 species which they do quite comfortably. I preferred Ruth's writing to Alan's which was more clinical and certainly less humorous, but perhaps more descriptive of the birds themselves, although Ruth's enjoyment of shags does shine through - details I am not sure were needed really. The couple get into some scrapes, which are both amusing and worrying - shots across the bows for future birdwatchers I am sure. I did wonder whether sickly Alan was actually going to make it, if it's not vertigo then it's sea sickness or altitude sickness or some other sickness. I hope Johnson and Johnson sponsored them, Imodium sales certainly increased thanks to Ruth.
The couple come across, I am afraid to say, as a bit arrogant with that all too common problem of minority enthusiasts who believe that only themselves and like minded people are important. They moan when someone else enjoys the great outdoors but not in their prescriptive way. Also their obsession is crazy, but I guess that's what you need if you want to break the record. I always read this type of book thinking whether or not I would like to go out birdwatching (or whatever) with the author(s) and in this case I think not. Sure they are knowledgeable but for me just over the top - it's birds, birds, birds and nothing but birds.
I think the major issue I have with what they did is that it reminded me of Ellen MacArthur's solo round the world trip. A fantastic achievement, of that there is no doubt, but compared with, say, Sir Francis Chichester's trip it wasn't perhaps such an achievement because she had so much technology to help her, plus a huge back-up team. And with Ruth Miller and Alan Davies I feel the same. Had they found all the birds by themselves then that would be some achievement but having so much help lessened what they did, well for me anyway. I was left thinking that perhaps if I had the money and time I could beat their record.
The book was also great marketing for Tropical Birding too - which got a bit tedious and had some bad typos in it, suggesting it was a bit rushed into print.
Also I would have liked to know what it cost them altogether.
Still, as I said at the beginning, it is a good read and I am glad to have spotted it on Amazon whilst browsing. Finally well done to the authors for the money they raised.
The book's authors write (more or less) alternate chapters as they dash around the world trying to beat the twitching record of 3,662 species which they do quite comfortably. I preferred Ruth's writing to Alan's which was more clinical and certainly less humorous, but perhaps more descriptive of the birds themselves, although Ruth's enjoyment of shags does shine through - details I am not sure were needed really. The couple get into some scrapes, which are both amusing and worrying - shots across the bows for future birdwatchers I am sure. I did wonder whether sickly Alan was actually going to make it, if it's not vertigo then it's sea sickness or altitude sickness or some other sickness. I hope Johnson and Johnson sponsored them, Imodium sales certainly increased thanks to Ruth.
The couple come across, I am afraid to say, as a bit arrogant with that all too common problem of minority enthusiasts who believe that only themselves and like minded people are important. They moan when someone else enjoys the great outdoors but not in their prescriptive way. Also their obsession is crazy, but I guess that's what you need if you want to break the record. I always read this type of book thinking whether or not I would like to go out birdwatching (or whatever) with the author(s) and in this case I think not. Sure they are knowledgeable but for me just over the top - it's birds, birds, birds and nothing but birds.
I think the major issue I have with what they did is that it reminded me of Ellen MacArthur's solo round the world trip. A fantastic achievement, of that there is no doubt, but compared with, say, Sir Francis Chichester's trip it wasn't perhaps such an achievement because she had so much technology to help her, plus a huge back-up team. And with Ruth Miller and Alan Davies I feel the same. Had they found all the birds by themselves then that would be some achievement but having so much help lessened what they did, well for me anyway. I was left thinking that perhaps if I had the money and time I could beat their record.
The book was also great marketing for Tropical Birding too - which got a bit tedious and had some bad typos in it, suggesting it was a bit rushed into print.
Also I would have liked to know what it cost them altogether.
Still, as I said at the beginning, it is a good read and I am glad to have spotted it on Amazon whilst browsing. Finally well done to the authors for the money they raised.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The narrative is funny and will make you want to travel too. Might be a good strategy to follow the author's lead when chosing when and where to go travelling after good numbers of lifers. It is not extremelly detailed about how to get to the sites and regarding travel arrangements. The authors used birding travel agency help and almost allways had a guide. In terms of litterature it is not a masterpiece, but it is entertaining, specially if you dream about birding the world.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I borrowed this book from the libary & read it over Christmas.I enjoyed it so much that I then ordered my own copy. I am a keen birder & have been to some of the places eg Spain & Arctic Norway & Finland But the writing is so good that I enjoyed the other bits too.Even though I had never heard of most of the birds they made it live.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A good read that made me somewhat envious
Having borrowed and read this book, I felt that I had to own a copy. It is highly amusing, very readable and informative. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Old birder
The Biggest Twitch
This book is packed full of amazing wildlife anecdotes, information for the travelling birder and good old human interest for anyone interested in how two people can spend 366 days... Read more
Published 21 months ago by brodie
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