All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Roger Tory Peterson’s unique perspective on birding comes to life in these highly personal narratives. Here he relates his adventures during a lifetime of birding and traveling the world to observe and record nature. Though Peterson was widely known for his illustrations, this collection reminds us to reconsider his accomplishments as a photographer, for Peterson was nearly as passionate about photography as he was about painting. The essays and photographs included here were carefully selected by Bill Thompson III, the editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest, which ran the column “All Things Reconsidered” during the last twelve years of Peterson’s life.
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Reprint edition (November 14, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0618926151
ISBN-13: 978-0618926152
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #169,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #7 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Animals > Birds & Birdwatching > Excursion Guides #303 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Pure Mathematics > Algebra > Elementary #862 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Nature Travel > Adventure
Roger Tory Peterson was a great man. Not just a great ornithologist, naturalist or artist (which he certainly was), but simply a great man. This is a book by that great and remarkably multi-talented man.In this collection of essays, mostly written in his twilight years, Peterson recounts his birding adventures, reminisces with old friends such as Sir Peter Scott and Ludlow Griscom, and occasionally gives his perspective on such things as American wildlife painting and Audubon's legacy.The birding adventures are undoubtedly fascinating; they are written in a very unassuming, down-to-earth fashion, but still tell the stories vividly -- on more than one occasion Peterson really came close to losing his life chasing his beloved birds! In his writing, you can almost tell that he was a patient, knowledgeable gentleman who genuinely took delight in observing birds and nature, and sharing the experience with others. The other essays are also very interesting: In "Immortal Audubon", Peterson correctly recognized that Audubon often was trigger-happy and killed more birds than necessary for his painting, but also pointed out that Audubon's legacy was raising people's awareness of America's avifauna and biodiversity, so although Audubon was not a conservationist himself, this awakened awareness in American people had its lasting impact on American or even world-wide environmentalism. This properly puts things in perspective. (A side note: I never liked Audubon's paintings as I think most of them have unnatural poses and I certainly don't like the fact that he had to kill so many birds just to paint one. In this essay I also learned that Audubon usually shot the birds, then propped them up with wires and sticks to "pose" for him, which explains the unnatural pose I've always suspected.
All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures Birding Washington (Birding Series) American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New Jersey (American Birding Association State Field) American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of Colorado (American Birding Association State Field) The Economics of Health Reconsidered, Third Edition Dementia Reconsidered: the Person Comes First James Madison: A Life Reconsidered Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered Sibley Backyard Birding Postcards: 100 Postcards Sibley Backyard Birding Flashcards: 100 Common Birds of Eastern and Western North America Maine Birding Trail: The Official Guide to More Than 260 Accessible Sites Birding Montana (Falcon Guide) Birding Indonesia Birding by Ear: Eastern/Central (Peterson Field Guides) How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (Every Once in a While) Change the World All Things Wise and Wonderful (All Creatures Great and Small) All Things Bright and Beautiful (All Creatures Great and Small) 1001 Wizard Things to Spot (1001 Things to Spot) Things That Float and Things That Don’t 23 Things To Do Before You are 11 1/2: A practical step-by-step guide for things to make in your backyard
