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

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Overview

“Riotously funny, utterly enthralling…Dempsey’s a hoot.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

It began innocently enough, when two eccentric guests at L uke Dempsey’s weekend home pointed out a small bird flitting through his garden. Dempsey, entranced, found himself falling head over heels. Before he knew it, he and his friends were off on an epic birding journey down the backroads of America, in search of the country’s rarest and most beautiful birds. A Supremely Bad Idea is the hilarious story of their trip—what WildBird magazine calls “as close as we have to Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.”

... See more details below

Overview

“Riotously funny, utterly enthralling…Dempsey’s a hoot.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

It began innocently enough, when two eccentric guests at L uke Dempsey’s weekend home pointed out a small bird flitting through his garden. Dempsey, entranced, found himself falling head over heels. Before he knew it, he and his friends were off on an epic birding journey down the backroads of America, in search of the country’s rarest and most beautiful birds. A Supremely Bad Idea is the hilarious story of their trip—what WildBird magazine calls “as close as we have to Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.”

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Dempsey, a transplanted Brit and editor in chief of Hudson Street Press, entertainingly recounts his passion for bird watching as he meanders with two birder friends to birding hot spots in Florida, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Washington State, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York's Central Park, enjoying misadventures and good times along the way. Dempsey is not averse to using occasional obscenities as well as beautifully turned phrases by way of contrast. His picaresque account features several quirky recurring leitmotifs: peculiar signage encountered in his travels, the author's like or dislike of tomatoes and their end products, his divorce and two daughters, and his confrontations with rude people. To one very overweight, obnoxious family he quips as a parting shot, "Have you considered salads?" Dempsey can also be informative and engagingly partisan, as when he describes complex ecological problems such as those found in the Everglades. Throughout, the book is imbued with his appreciation of the wonders, beauty, and fragility of the natural world. A bit lightweight for hard-core birders, this should appeal to general readers interested in nature. Recommended for larger public libraries.
—Henry T. Armistead

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781596913554
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
  • Publication date: 7/22/2008
  • Edition description: First Edition
  • Pages: 272
  • Product dimensions: 5.74 (w) x 8.54 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Luke Dempsey is the editor in chief of Hudson Street Press, a division of Penguin USA. He lives in New York City. This is his first book.

Table of Contents

1 The Northeast: Falling in Love at Home 1

Now What? 16

2 Arizona: Watching Wezil Walraven Work 19

Now What? 63

3 Florida: "This Is Indian Territory! This is Not the USA! Go Back to England!" 67

Now What? 100

4 Michigan: What Charles Pease Shot 103

Now What? 137

5 Pacific Northwest: People of the Grass Country 139

Now What? 166

6 Texas: No, No, It Was a Ringed Kingfisher 170

Now What? 216

7 Colorado: On the Trail of the White-tailed P-TAR-me-jen 219

Epilogue What Now? 247

Afterword Peru 254

Acknowledgments 262

Customer Reviews
Average Rating 3.5
( 10 )

Rating Distribution

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 9, 2008

    '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.

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  • Posted December 29, 2008

    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.

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  • Posted April 10, 2011

    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!

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  • Posted September 1, 2009

    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.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 6, 2009

    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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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 17, 2008

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    Posted December 8, 2008

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    Posted February 2, 2009

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    Posted May 11, 2011

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 29, 2010

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