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Reviews
Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah Strycker
mathman329's review
2.0
After hearing Noah Strycker speak in person about his experience globe-trotting through 2015 in search of more than 6,000 species of birds, I was excited to read even more about these adventures in the accompanying text. Unfortunately, much of the text was already what I'd heard at his lecture, so that was strike one. Strike two was the constant, or perhaps more appropriately redundant, reminders in each chapter as to how he devised his plans and why he chose to see the birds the way they did. Not only was it a bit repetitive, but the writing also left something to be desired, which didn't help the effectiveness of the reminders each chapter. Hence, strike two. The final, third out for me was the way the story flamed out. With much of the year left unaccounted for (or at least only mentioned in passing), it seemed odd that a large part of such an exciting journey wasn't even worthy of mention in the text. This third strike ultimately made me glad to have read the book, but even happier to have finished it so I could move on to my next reading adventure. Sadly only 2/5 stars from this birder.
erikareadingz's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome
I've read a lot of birding narratives, and this one is a must have. With exquisite attention to detail and the people he travelled with, Noah Strycker takes birders on a whirlwind tour of the globe's best birding locations. "But I read the blog about his trip on Audubon," some say. Me too, but this book pulls it altogether beautifully, including a great deal more detail and reflection. When I try to explain to someone new why I love birding, I'm going to recommend this book.
I've read a lot of birding narratives, and this one is a must have. With exquisite attention to detail and the people he travelled with, Noah Strycker takes birders on a whirlwind tour of the globe's best birding locations. "But I read the blog about his trip on Audubon," some say. Me too, but this book pulls it altogether beautifully, including a great deal more detail and reflection. When I try to explain to someone new why I love birding, I'm going to recommend this book.
darkeyedjunco's review
4.0
Excellent birding book with a touch of adventure, or maybe adventure with a touch of birding. Either way, an inspiring journey.
addierosereads's review
4.0
Anyone who knows me know that I -LOVE- birds. I also love travel/adventure memoirs. Stories of people hiking long distance trails, visiting national parks, and in this case, birding around the world really draw me in. I have held on to this book for about a year and finally had a chance to dive into it with my phone in my hand the entire time to google image search all of the birds I had never heard of.
Besides the birds, what really stuck out to me about this story is the generosity of human beings and the surprisingly strong community of word wide birders. At every turn, the author had someone to pick him up at the airport, trek with him up mountains and though valleys, and aide him on his quest to break the world record for most birds seen in a single year.
I’ll end this review by saying my FAVORITE bird that this book introduced me to is the marvelous spatuletail, a little hummingbird that is indeed marvelous. I now feel incredibly inspired to look beyond my home state and even the US to find some birding hotspots I had never known about.
Besides the birds, what really stuck out to me about this story is the generosity of human beings and the surprisingly strong community of word wide birders. At every turn, the author had someone to pick him up at the airport, trek with him up mountains and though valleys, and aide him on his quest to break the world record for most birds seen in a single year.
I’ll end this review by saying my FAVORITE bird that this book introduced me to is the marvelous spatuletail, a little hummingbird that is indeed marvelous. I now feel incredibly inspired to look beyond my home state and even the US to find some birding hotspots I had never known about.