A. W. Diamond

A massive book, in number of pages, dimensions, content, photographs maps and paintings, a veritable encyclopedia of the many hundreds of threatened and vulnerable birds and their habitats the world over. It makes for rather grim reading, however, especially the gruesome details of how modern man (mainly Europeans) have slaughtered birds in the millions, bringing many of the most prolific and numerous to extinction in the last 500 years or less. The ecological accounts (divided by biomes) are a bit elementary and pitched to a school level, which of course does not gainsay the wealth of site-specific information and photographs. Definitely a milestone, a classic publication, and a great addition to the bird lover's collection.… (meer)