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Book reviews for "Bird,_John" sorted by average review score:

Serenade to the Big Bird
Published in Library Binding by Howland Associates (15 October, 1998)
Authors: Bert Stiles and John W. Howland
Amazon base price: $20.00
Average review score:

Truly a most poignant, heartfelt book - true life irony.
I was born ten years to the day after the first 8th Air Force mission against Berlin (March 4, 1944). I was a fourteen year old boy when I first read Serenade to the Big Bird by Bert Stiles. I was touched deeply by this real life account by a real and genuine man - not a hero or a warrior - but a young man just doing his duty.

This book is ironic in the true sense of the word. Bert Stiles didn't know he was writing his masterpiece. He was just recording his thoughts about life, love, war and death - without the slightest bit of selfconciousness. What he delivers is brilliant; an honest look into the heart, mind and soul of a real citizen soldier, a twenty-three year old in world gone insane.

This small volume is packed with all the emotions of war. There are highs, lows, and the dull boredom of military existence. Through it all, Stiles expresses his humaness and shares his observations. His skillful writing lets the reader experience the pain of loosing buddys in combat as well as the simple pleasure of enjoying fresh strawberries in English countryside - all within a few pages. Hanging over the entire narrative is the readers awareness that Stiles is writing his own epitaph.

This book survived the war. Bert Stiles did not. He's buried in Belgium along with thousands of his comrades, a victim of the carnage he had to experience in order to create such a beautiful literary legacy.

Find this book and read it.

Shows how dangerous and deadly the air war really was
When Bert Stiles wrote this book, the war was still raging across the world. It was 1944, he had just completed a horrific tour of duty as a B17 co-pilot, and the memories were fresh in his mind. Even though Bert seemed to be a somewhat sensitive man, some of his words have a callous feel to them. He talks about the officers and enlisted men forming a baseball team, and "..after the Schweinfurt raid, we had to replace the whole infield"-Simply put, so many men had been killed on that mission, no one was left to play on the team. Bert was an intelligent man, a good writer, but he lacked the experience to know when to back out of the war. Passive, intelligent, creative people do not make good fighter pilots. Bert was killed in action shortly after writing his memoirs.

Serenade To The Big Bird by Bert Stiles: a must read
In 1969 I had the pleasure to visit with Richard White a co-pilot in a B-17 during World War II. His plane was shot down over Berlin in 1944 and he spent some months in a German Stalag. He told me that if I really would like to know how it was that I should read this book. I have read it. It is awesome! It is written in a style that had me totally engrossed from start to finish.


The American Eagle: A Photographic Portrait
Published in Hardcover by Viking Press (September, 1999)
Author: John Pezzenti
Amazon base price: $35.00
Average review score:

without exception
John Pezzenti has the nobility of an eagle...the stamina of a panther and the endurance of an owl intent on it's foe. He is beyond any human explanation of what a photograher should or could ever aspire to be. When I experience his photograghs I am transformed to the reality that all mankind could benifit from his example. We are but players in the realm of a wonderous life cycle...not within our command but certainly within our protection. Thank You John for your gift and sharing it!

Pezzenti brilliantly captures spirit of American Eagle!
Prepare yourself for another exhilarating adventure by one of wildlife photography's most talented photojournalists. John Pezzenti, Jr. has the unique ability to take his reader on a journey filled with fascinating tales and unparalleled photographs. In the American Eagle Pezzenti brilliantly captures the very essence and spirit of an American treasure - the powerful and majestic bald eagle - photographed by many but rarely to such perfection. Depicting the bald eagle in every conceivable situation, Pezzenti begins his photographic journey from the Florida Everglades through picturesque New England and northwest to Alaska - his home territory. I thoroughly enjoyed Pezzenti's engaging stories and portrayals of the dedicated eagle protectors across America who work tirelessly toward the survival of this magnificent bird. The photos alone make The American Eagle a "must have" for anyone with an adventurous spirit and a love of America's national treasure. Once again, Pezzenti has proven himself to be one of wildlife's finest photographers working in the field today.

Stunningly beautiful images!
Not long ago I sat with John Pezzenti Jr. in his beat up Suburban that he uses for nature photography as rain pounded upon the roof. John showed me a pre-release copy of his newest book, American Eagle. My 13 year old nephew from California looked over my shoulder as I turned each page, stunned by the breadth and depth of John's photographic coverage of this symbol of America. To say this is a remarkable book is an under statement. My nephew summed up how magnificant this book is when we were driving back home. "John's pictures are amazing," Shane said. "I'm going to start saving today so I can buy that book when it comes out!"


Busy Penguins
Published in Hardcover by Tricycle Pr (April, 2000)
Authors: John Schindel and Jonathan Chester
Amazon base price: $6.95
Used price: $1.90
Buy one from zShops for: $4.64
Average review score:

Picture Perfect Penguins
This Board Book is beautiful colour glossy photographs of busy penguins, doing what penguins do, like:

penguins splashing

penguins dashing

penguins sliding

penguins diving

penguins drooping

(and the anti - Freudian)

penguins pooping.

It's great fun in the Tundra for all ages! Reviewed by TundraVision, Amazon reviewer

Beautiful photographs - very engaging
This book was highly recommended to me by a clerk at a small children's bookstore who told me that for some reason toddlers seem to find it very captivating. I bought it for my daughter for her first birthday, and she loves it. The photographs are beautiful and there's something about the penguins that seems to really grab my daughter's attention. At 14 months she seeks out this book and will "read" it to herself. I agree with the reviewer below who said that the "penguins pooping" page is a real attention-grabber for the toilet training set, and though it could be gross, something about the fact that it's a penguin who's pooping is strangely charming and humorous (if you can stomach that type of thing!). Overall five stars for a book that my daughter and I both love - a great thing for a parent who has to read it over and over.

Engaging book for any toddler
"Busy Penguins" is one of my 18-month-old daughter's favorite books. The photographs are incredible, and the text has a gentle rhythm that she finds engaging.


The Turkey That Crowed
Published in Paperback by Eva Johns Haynes (05 May, 2000)
Authors: Eva Johns Haynes and Kelly Paige Bozarth
Amazon base price: $6.99
Used price: $4.95
Average review score:

Great book
This book teaches a great lesson about confidence, something that all of us, adults and kids alike need. Told in a rich style that appeals to all ages, this book truly deserves a five star rating.

A true work of art
I love this story! The author did a beautiful job delivering a message of confidence. I would definitely recommend reading this book, especially to children.

"Crow like you own the world"
CON-FI-DENCE, a word and idea that is somewhat ignored now-a-days. This great little book conveys the message that being "unique" is not such a bad thing after all. By looking at the world or one's situation from a different angle, a perceived negative can indeed become a positive, shame can turn into pride, ignorance into acceptance. Parents would be wise to spend some time sharing this story with their young children and hopefully it will rekindle a small fire in their souls as well. Having the pleasure of meeting the author I can see where the energy of her message comes from; I'm sure that her influences will be felt by many now and for years to come.


Wing and a Prayer
Published in Paperback by Soho Press, Inc. (May, 1993)
Authors: John Morano and James B. Van Treese
Amazon base price: $8.95
Used price: $12.71
Average review score:

This guy can write!
What a beautiful story! It's so nice to see a well-written book with a good message. I'm sure that we can expect great things to come from this author.

Brilliant and beautiful!
With understated simplicity, Morano's wonderful characters provide insightful commentary on religion, gender, race and other social issues. "A Wing And A Prayer" is a beautiful story for all ages...I was unable to put it down until I had finished it. It has forever changed my view of nature and of animals...I wonder if they're not like Lupe and his friends, with beliefs, hopes, and dreams...

Not just for kids
No matter what your age, you will find yourself caught up in the life of Lupe. The wonderfully three-dimensional characters will make you laugh and cry as you find yourself being drawn into the story with each chapter. Despite the suggested age range, it's a page turner.


Bird Song Ear Training Guide: Who Cooks for Poor Sam Peabody? Learn to Recognize the Songs of Birds from the Midwest and Northeast States
Published in Audio CD by Writers' Collective (05 November, 2002)
Author: John Feith
Amazon base price: $14.95
Average review score:

excellent learning disk for new birders
Our family has owned a patch of shore/forest land in Wisconsin for 20 years although none have been birders. With this disk we easily learned to identify species and discovered the diversity that we never noticed previously. The call/naming/call format of this disk is excellent for new birders and the numbers of species covered is ideal. I use the Stokes disk set as a reference but the name/call format and large number species covered does not facilitate learning the calls.

A unique and impressive CD audiobook
John Feith's Bird Song Ear Training Guide is a unique and impressive CD audiobook providing instructions on how to recognize songs of birds common to the states of the Midwest and Northeast (including Wisconsin where almost all the bird songs were recorded and the post-production work was done). Each distinctive bird song is followed by a mnemonic or a short description. The bird is identified and a review sound is played again that fixes the song's identity in the mind of the listener. The Bird Song Ear Training Guide is enhanced with a quiz format which will aid the listener to focus on learning how to identify the bird songs. A complete list of bird species and mnemonics is included in an insert. All profits from this enthusiastically recommended CD instructional for birdwatchers will go to the Nature Conservancy and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.

Buy it for your cats!
Actually you'll find it useful and accurate too. Fun to use, lots of songs, and my two feline birders went bananas. Who would know better? Good value for the money and the proceeds go to a good cause.


Birding (Nature Company Guide)
Published in Hardcover by Time Life (May, 1999)
Authors: Joseph Michael Forshaw, Terence Lindsey, Nature Company, and John Forshaw
Amazon base price: $24.95
Used price: $3.79
Collectible price: $6.00
Buy one from zShops for: $15.97
Average review score:

Great Overview of Birds
This book has a wealth of information about a wide variety of bird topics. It has bird anatomy, songs, how to build a nest box, etc. The main chapter of this book, named 'The Habitat BirdFinder' is a field guide to about 100 of the most commonly seen birds in North America, and isn't in any specific order, but by which habitat it is most likely to be seen in. It is very useful, with a large photograph and colour drawings with text for each bird. The range maps are very clear and easy to use. In the back of the book there is a good selection of other books and resources, including local birding organizations.
If you are looking for a first birding book, to get you started and familiar with birds, then this is a great start.

You need to buy this!
This book has been an excellent addition to my library on birding. Splendid photography! Helpful tips!Interesting insights and all at a great price. The book is beautiful and is clearly of high quality. You won't be disappointed!

A beautifully illustrated and informative reference book
This is a wonderfully put together reference book for bird watchers. I also gave one to my father as a gift and he just can't put it down. The pictures are teriffic and there's a lot of information about each bird. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys birds.


A Field Guide to Little-Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America
Published in Paperback by Peachtree Publishers (November, 1988)
Authors: Ben Sill, John Sill, and Cathryn P. Sill
Amazon base price: $9.95
Used price: $1.50
Collectible price: $8.99
Buy one from zShops for: $4.19
Average review score:

Praise from SE Alaska
I have been a fan of these exquisite little bird guides since I first stumbled on volume 1 at Hearthside Books in Juneau, Alaska in 1988. At that time, I decided to purchase a raft of these guides and they became excellent gifts for other lovers of wildlife over the years.

Since then I have passed both volumes around to our guests when I do tours as a naturalist in Haines, (SE) Alaska. The drawingsare so realistc, even the Elderhostlers think they are real birds...and laugh as they figure out the joke...Highly recommended for all those with a sense of humor and love of birds. Thank you Sills!!!!

The Perfect Antidote
I have been afflicted with Serious Birders Disease. You know the symptoms, flitting from Peterson to Stokes to Sibley and beyond, memory fading. Was it a yellow bill, blue legs, black feet or was it black bill, yellow feet? It gets worse and worse with each passing hour. They all begin to look alike. I was becoming frantic.

Finally a friend came to the rescue with the best antidote yet - the little field guide by Ben, Cathryn and John Sill "A Field Guide to Little-Known & Seldom-Seen Birds. Symptoms disappear within 24 hours. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine. Never again will I venture into the field with quite the same driven attitudes - unless, of course, I think I have finally happened upon the elusive ringed gimpy (see pp 26-27).

Hysterically funny spoof of field guides
I highly recommend this book as a gift for any birder. Anyone who has attempted to find a way to tell a "greater" from a "lesser" or who has tried to learn those hard to recall Latin names will appreciate it!


The Birds of Texas
Published in Hardcover by Shearer Pub (October, 1993)
Author: John L. Tveten
Amazon base price: $27.97
List price: $39.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $25.95
Collectible price: $37.06
Buy one from zShops for: $27.77
Average review score:

Beautiful photographs; not so handy in the field
The remarkable thing about this book is the beautiful close-up colour pictures of almost every species. Not all the pictures are flawless--anyone who's ever photographed birds knows how hard it is to get a good, detailed, well-lit close-up shot--but they are very high quality and make this both a gorgeous coffee table book and a valuable identification aid.

The coverage is not as complete as, say, Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Texas, which I also own. The Peterson has, for example, many more of the confusing fall warblers; the Tveten explicitly says that detailed coverage of the warblers is outside its scope. But the differences in coverage are generally of the rarer birds; anything a casual bird-watcher is likely to see will be in the Tveten; and the Peterson has few good colour plates.

This is a larger book than is really convenient out in the field, though. Plus the descriptive sections, while well-written and interesting, aren't organized in a way that makes it easy to quickly find important field marks or check the range. If you want to get just one book I'd recommend this one; get another for completeness or for use in the field.

A Great Resource
This book has beautiful photographs of Texas birds. It describes their songs, how they eat, mate, nest, care for offspring, and all in an interesting manner. The way the author describes birds, you know he has a great love for these winged creatures. Cedar Wax-wings are "courteous", Loggerhead Shrikes have "the inclinations of a hawk", Grackles are "bullies", Carolina Chickadees are "acrobatic", Horned Larks have a "rakish, devilish air", etc.. Believe it or not, these descriptions actually help me remember what the birds look like and what they are called. Highly recommended.

Outstanding book for bird enthusiasts
This colorful book thoroughly covers the wide range of birds in Texas. The close-up photography is stunning and provides for easy identification of birds encountered in the wild. Every aspect of each bird is described in depth in lively and interesting prose. The excellent organization of this book allows the reader to find the bird they are looking for quickly and efficiently. I highly recommend "The Birds of Texas". I only wish I had bought the hardcover edition instead of the softcover.


Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (A Volume in the Poyser Series)
Published in Hardcover by Academic Press (October, 2001)
Authors: Terry Stevenson, John Fanshawe, Brian Small, John Gale, Norman Arlott, and Terry Stevens
Amazon base price: $28.00
List price: $40.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $30.36
Buy one from zShops for: $26.62
Average review score:

a good start - but a thorough review is in order
I used this field guide during my recent trip to Kenya and Uganda. Although it is by all means an excellent fieldguide I do have some remarks. A number of the plates contained errors, suggesting the artists didn't see these birds in the field. I realise it is virtually impossible for artists to see all species featured in a book such as this in the field, so that a lot of plates are drawn from skins. It is important however to use skins from the region itself, this may make a lot of difference. We came to the conclusion that for a number of species skins from west Africa were used. Especially the greenbuls had some misleading plates. For a number of species the Kenyan Zimmerman-book is probably better, although those plates lack in other respects.
In addition a number of the maps were incorrect, especially for Uganda.
Still, if you go to the region for birding, make sure to get this book, because it is definitely the best field guide around.

The perfect field guide!
This book really sets a very high standard and we can only hope other parts of the world's tropics will get similar guides in due time. The plates are just about as superb as one could possibly wish for. When you compare this book with the new field guides that have recently come out for South America, it seems like there are two worlds! Just compare the flamingos, the osprey, or the parrots with the pictures you find in "The Field Guide to the Birds of Peru" and you know what I mean! There is also an excellent lay-out, with helpful concise text and useful range maps all neatly placed together. And the book is still amazingly compact.

Fabulous new East African bird book.
After years of having one of the world's worst bird books, East Africa now has two of the best. The Zimmerman/Turner book on Kenya and Northern Tanzania, the work of 30 years, set a new standard of scholarship and illustration. This book draws on that one, but is even better for the tourist and field birder. It covers all of Uganda and Tanzania, as well as Rwanda and Burundi. It is smaller and lighter to carry. And the illustrations and their placement in related groups on the same page are simply outstanding. This is one of the best bird books in the world and will dominate the market for years to come.


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