Birds And People

Description

"There are 10,500 species of bird worldwide and wherever they occur people marvel at their glorious colours and their beautiful songs. We also trap and consume birds of every kind. Yet birds have not just been good to eat. Their feathers, which keep us warm or adorn our costumes, give birds unique mastery over the heavens. Throughout history their flight has inspired the human imagination so that birds are embedded in our religions, folklore, music and arts. Vast in both scope and scale, Birds and Peopleexplores and celebrates this relationship and draws upon Mark Cocker s 40 years of observing and thinking about birds. Part natural history and part cultural study, it describes and maps the entire spectrum of our engagements with birds, drawing in themes of history, literature, art, cuisine, language, lore, politics and the environment. In the end, this is a book as much about us as it is about birds. i>i>Birds and Peoplehas been stunningly illustrated by one of Europe s best wildlife photographers, David Tipling, who has travelled in 39 countries on seven continents to produce a breathtaking and unique collection of photographs. The book is as important for

Promotion info

The definitive groundbreaking book on the relationship between birds and humankind, with contributions from bird enthusiasts from all over the world. Endorsed by the RSPB and BirdLife International.

Reviews

"This is a uniquely beautiful and engrossing volume, absolutely drenched in knowledge and love - and more loaded with narrative than any wildlife book I've encountered before. It has literature, history, philosophy, folklore, travelogue, biography... Anyone who is interested in natural history will want a copy." -- Jim Crace

Author description

Mark Cocker is an author, naturalist and environmental activist who writes and broadcasts on nature and wildlife in a variety of national media. His nine books include works of biography, history, literary criticism and memoir. His last book was Crow Country, which was shortlisted for several awards, including the Samuel Johnson Prize (2008), and which won the New Angle Prize for Literature (2009). In 2011 he received a Society of Authors travel scholarship. He is a co-founder of New Networks for Nature, an eco organisation that asserts the central importance of landscape and nature in British cultural life. For the last 35 years his home has been in Norfolk, where time is divided between the county's celebrated wildlife, an organic allotment and the restoration of a small wooded fen. He is married to the arts professional Mary Muir. David Tipling is one of the world's most widely published wildlife photographers, renowned for his artistic images of birds. His many accolades include a coveted European Nature Photographer of the Year Award (2002) for work on Emperor Penguins, and, in North America, Nature's Best Indigenous Peoples Award (2009) for his pictures of Mongolian eagle hunters. He is the author of or commissioned photographer for many books including the RSPB Guide to Digital Wildlife Photography (Bloomsbury) and Penguins - Close Encounters (New Holland). His website can be visited at www.davidtipling.com.