To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsession
by Koeppel, Dan

#7833

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To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsession: What drives a man to travel to sixty countries and spend a fortune to count birds? And what if that man is your father?

Richard Koeppel's obsession began at the age of twelve, when he spotted his first bird – the Brown Thrasher – in Queens, New York, and promptly jotted the sighting in a notebook. Several decades, one failed marriage, and two sons later, he added an astonishing 517 birds to that list on a single trip to Kenya. Soon after, he gave up on romantic relationships, scaled down his medical practice, and decided to see every bird on earth, becoming a “Big Lister,” a member of a subculture of competitive bird-watchers worldwide, all pursuing the same goal. Over twenty-five years, he collected more than 7, 000 species (of a known 9, 600), becoming one of about ten people ever to do so.

To See Every Bird on Earth explores the thrill of this chase, the all-absorbing crusade at the expense of all else, and travel – to places both dangerous and dull – for the sake of making a check mark in a notebook. The story stretches from the manicured parks of urban America, to the fields and farmlands of Europe, and finally to the most remote corners of the Brazilian Amazon; it explores the mythic and powerful nature of the human relationship with birds, and how that relationship has helped define our very conception of what life is and how it evolved. It is also the story of obsession – showing how our need to list, name, catalogue, and capture the world around us can be baffling, hilarious, and ultimately exalting. Finally, this riveting glimpse into a fascination subculture travels to the most mysterious place of all; the human heart, illustration how birds don't just help us arrive at our definitions of life – they can also show a way to live it.

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Quantity:	No item(s) available
Weight:	0.53 kg
Price:	CDN$ 35.00 (US$ 34.06)

ISBN-10:	1594630011
ISBN-13/EAN:	9781594630019
Author:	Koeppel, Dan
Publisher:	Hudson Street Press New York
Publication Date:	5/2005
Pages:	278 pp
Size/Dimensions:	9.14x6.4x1.08
Binding:	Hardcover

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To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsessionby Koeppel, Dan

To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsession
by Koeppel, Dan