The life of a book critic is certainly not without its joys. Among these I count having the opportunity to meet authors whose books I have found particularly noteworthy for their erudition, their style, or their overall ability to convey their respective messages to the reader. Such meetings are particularly enjoyable when, as a result, it is discovered that the author of such a reviewed book is every bit as charming and intelligent as the book from his or her own hand.
Recently I had just such a chance meeting at the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. While I was attending the festival in order to represent Wingscapes and their fine flagship product, the BirdCam, it so happened that none other than Jonathan Rosen, author of the superb Life of the Skies, which I had reviewed in the Bird Watcher’s Digest (Volume 30, No. 6, July / August, 2008), was autographing copies of that very same book immediately across the aisle from the Wingscapes display.
Mr. Rosen’s Life of the Skies, recently released in paperback, was most certainly one of the finest works on the history of bird watching, as well as both the philosophy and psychology underlying its practice, released in 2008 and will no doubt justifiably find a well deserved place of honor in the grand canon of modern bird watching literature. Those who have not yet had the pleasure of reading it should permit no delay in acquiring one of the freshly printed paperback copies of this remarkable book.
Peace.
