Birdbooker Report 71

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"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid

The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.

FEATURED TITLE:

  1. Ernst, Carl H. and Jeffrey E. Lovich. Turtles of the United States and Canada (second edition). 2009. Johns Hopkins University Press. Hardbound: 827 pages. Price: $95.00 U.S. [Amazon: $78.73]. SUMMARY: This standard reference to the turtles of North America has be revised and updated. This edition includes new species names, updated information on turtle natural history, more than 200 color photographs and 52 black-and-white range maps. Anyone interested in turtles will want this book!

New and Recent Titles:

  1. Novotny, Vojtech. Notebooks From New Guinea: Field Notes of a Tropical Biologist. 2009. Oxford University Press. Hardbound: 250 pages. Price: $34.95 U.S. [Amazon: $25.16]. SUMMARY: The author chronicles his research and adventures in New Guinea. This book is divided into three main parts which focus on the people,places and on doing research in Papua New Guinea. Anyone curious about the life of a tropical biologist will want to read this book. GrrlScientist comment: Color me eight shades of jealous! It is my life-long dream to visit New Guinea, which is probably the evolutionary cradle for my beloved research birds; the lories (loriinae). So of course, I MUST read this book!
  2. Holmes, Hannah. The Well-Dressed Ape: A Natural History of Myself. 2009. Random House. Hardbound: 351 pages. Price: $25.00 U.S. [Amazon: $16.50]. SUMMARY: The author takes a look at Homo sapiens using herself as a specimen. She compares and contrasts the biology and behavior of humans with other species. Holmes' writing style is often witty and fun to read.

You can read more Birdbooker Reports in the archives, and Ian now has his own website, The Birdbooker's Bookcase, where you can read his synopses about newly published science, nature and animal books. But Ian assures me that he still loves us here, so he'll still share his weekly Birdbooker Reports with us!

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