Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All

'Misanthrope Goes Birding'

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is certainly written well, and I learned a lot about birds. Unfortunately, Dempsey doesn't seem to like people very much. He whinges about strangers, other birders, and worst of all, his 'friends.' And that's when he isn't coming up with derogatory names for other people - like 'the Pregnants.' He seems to believe he is better than the rest of us. He occasionally throws in sweet comments about his daughters, but they seem contrived and almost like an afterthought. I don't know - while I am interested in the subject, the tone of the book left me with a bad taste. It could have been funny and informative without taking pot-shots at just about everyone he came in contact with.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Supremely Bad Idea is a great read!

I liked this book a lot. Almost enough to pick up a pair of binoculars and see for myself if birds could actually become an obsession. Mr. Dempsey does have a particularly snarky sense of humor-so if you take offense easy you are going to miss some of the gems of the book--for instance, his gentle pokes at his friends, himself, and the "pregnants."
His righteous indignation over perceived slights is hilarious...I can almost see his man cape unfurling to right the wrongs...A great read!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great read!

I pick this book up whenever I need a good laugh. As a bird I can relate to some of the crazy antics described and made fun of in this book. Love this book!

Read this book!

This book is fantastic. The author's wit and humor really make this a great read. I was also fascinated by the birds and the idea of birding. I almost want to be a birder myself now. Almost.

Great and funny read

This is a very funny book with alot of helpful information on birds. I, myself, am a birder and while reading this book, I was inspired to just get out and look in my own backyard instead of wishing for something big at the popular birding sites. Re: the author not liking people very much, I find that to be a very shallow take on his humor. When you spend so much time with people and in such close quarters, there are certain quirks that you notice, he notes these quirks with a very dry sense of humor which is part of the hilarity of the book. Also, "the pregnants", I couldn't have said it better myself! :)

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