"Winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in History of Science, Medicine & Technology, Association of American Publishers"
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014
"[The] three authors present an enormous amount of information both easily readable and thoroughly engaging, and illustrate the importance of the contributions of individuals throughout history as well as the story of ornithology itself. This is a landmark achievement for the study of ornithology and even those with just a casual interest in birds will lose themselves in these pages."
"The charming and witty work fills the needs of academic scientists and researchers as well as serious birders. . . . Anyone interested in natural science, birds, and history will enjoy this book immensely."
"[A] handsome history of modern ornithology. . . . Birkhead, Wimpenny, and Montgomerie fill 11 readable chapters . . . addressing ecology, behavior, conservation, and other major areas of ornithological science. Their chief achievement, though, is bringing to life the visionary, sometimes controversial, and typically brilliant researchers who have enriched our bird knowledge since the middle of the 19th centuryErwin Stresemann, Ernst Mayr, Julian Huxley, David Lack, Niko Tinbergen, Robert MacArthur, Charles Sibley, Alexander Skutch, Gustav Kramer, Steve Emlen, and many more. An editorial tenet of this magazine has long held that how we learn can be just as interesting as what we learn. This fine book proves the point."
"It should be required reading for ornithology students, providing an essential context for their studies, but it will also appeal to the general reader and birdwatcher too, providing ample confirmation of the contribution which ornithological science has made to our understanding of birds and the wider natural world."
05/15/2014
This is the best history of ornithology ever. Most others are dated, focus on a limited period, or concern defined geographical areas. Birkhead (zoology, Univ. of Sheffield; Fellow of the Royal Society; Bird Sense), Jo Wimpenny (postdoctoral research associate, Univ. of Sheffield) and Bob Montgomerie (biology, Queens Univ., Ont.) explain the often complex, theoretical, or detailed schools of thought and research about birds in entertaining and authoritative ways. Their four-and-a-half-pound monograph is richly illustrated and thoroughly referenced. Chapters deal with evolution, ecology, anatomy, physiology, behavior, breeding, population studies, etc. Colorful full-page time lines have illustrations and citations with images of key scientists in those various fields. An appendix has thumbnail information about 500 ornithologists with photographs of 54. Discussions of personalities, controversies, research methods, and honors make the text a lively read. There are numerous autobiographical sketches, each several pages. Hundreds of these remarkable scientists receive consideration, including Jared Diamond, Konrad Lorenz, Roger Tory Peterson, and E.O. Wilson. What might have been a clunky, laborious catalog of often arcane academic endeavors is instead very readable and comprehensible, as well as comprehensive. VERDICT Most highly recommended for academic and larger public libraries and for all interested in nature and science.—Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia