All about Birds: A Short Illustrated History of Ornithology
"What a treat! In a concise, beautifully illustrated 239 pages, Valerie Chansigaud offers a history lesson on the study of birds. We meet Aristotle, Audubon, Darwin, and many other ornithologists, artists, and photographer who devoted their lives to understanding birds."--Birder's World"Anyone who is more than casually interested in birds will heartily welcome the publication ofAll About Birds. . . . Following a timeline (which is outlined in the back of the book) Chansigaud provides entries about all of the major contributors to bird science. Fully half the volume is devoted to the 19th century during which ornithology came into full flower. The book is richly illustrated, very accessible, and has a good bibliography."--Wayne Mones,Audubon"Beautifully illustrated. . . . If you want a basic primer on who was studying birds in former ages, this is a good place to start."--Mark Cocker,Birding"Well illustrated often with period bird art. . . . [A] good introduction to the history of ornithology."--Ian Paulsen,Birdbooker Report"For the serious birder it is a very enjoyable read for those rainy days when getting out into the field isn't an option. It reads easily and makes very frequent use of period illustrations and photographs to give us a real taste of the evolution of man's understanding of birds. From the days when the preferred tool of devoted birders like John James Audubon was a hunting rifle to the advent of modern bird photography, Chansigaud'sAll About Birdsis an eye-opener and a page turner."--Brad Sylvester,Manchester Bird Watching Examiner"A wonderful, easy to follow history of ornithology. . . . Cover to cover,All About Birdsis loaded with illustrations, photographs, and diagrams of the people, birds, and events that have advanced ornithology and led to modern day birding."--Birdfreak.com"Chansigaud, an environmental scientist, provides a concise history of the study of birds. . . . This carefully written, scholarly work should be valuable to academic libraries that support studies of ornithology, vertebrate biology, and the history of science."--Choice"This book provides useful context to what we know about birds today and why it matters. It is enhanced not only by an index, but also an illustrated timeline and a bibliography for further study. If you're interested in the history of natural history, this book would be a worthwhile purchase."--Tom Palmer,Lakeland Ledger"This is an excellent book for any birder or bird lover who's curious about how human knowledge and interest in birds has evolved. Starting Aristotle and surveying European and American bird observers, this book traverses the centuries smoothly and clearly. It brings bird knowledge, now formally dubbed ornithology, up to the very recent past."--Harry Fuller,Towheeblog"A fast-paced chronological account of the personalities and milestones that have shaped this most popular of sciences."--ISLE"Anyone lacking encyclopedic knowledge of bird artists will learn something new in every section of this book. Collectively, their remarkable images of birds not only brightenAll About Birdsbut awaken the reader, whose aesthetic engagement with birds will be at or near the height of experience by this reading. . . . This book, no doubt, will reinforcela passionin those who already know something of the field and will instill it in all for whom ornithology awaits as revelation."--Shepard Krech III,BioScience