‘Jim Robbins writes masterfully with lucid prose and deep insight into the human psyche and natural world. In The Wonder of Birds he illuminates the realm of this extraordinary creature that is both a miracle of physiology and a poetic manifestation of our own transcendence.’ —Peter Stark, author of Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire
‘Jim Robbins's insight has brought even more perspective into a world I have been discovering most of my life and career with birds’ —Steve Malowski, Aviculturist, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
‘The Wonder of Birds provides a great and well-timed gift: a portrait of the quiet miracles around us each day of our ordinary lives. By sharing his perspective and insights, Robbins reminds us to slow down and to appreciate—and ultimately, to protect—a natural world that is essential for both our physical and spiritual well-being.’ —Michael Punke, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Revenant and Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West
‘A peregrine falcon and a loggerhead shrike, my flying friends, came into the garden the day The Wonder of Birds arrived. I’m surprised they didn’t fly away with it…this exciting book of nature.’ —Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of The Global Forest
‘In this deeply felt and well-supported argument for avians’ value to humankind, science writer Robbins (The Man Who Planted Trees) hits the full trifecta for engrossing and satisfying nature writing. He displays a personal involvement with and ‘soul-stirring wonder’ about his subject, a fondness for the sometimes-obsessed researchers who dive deeply into specifics of anatomy and behavior, and a smooth and engaging writing style through which he conveys a huge amount of factual information while keeping his narrative flowing … The world ‘is fantastically rich and alive with meaning,’ Robbins reminds readers, offering correctives to ‘our inability to sense it’ as well as pointers on where to look.’ —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
‘Using enchanting stories and rich historical references, Jim Robbins explores the role of birds on the evolution of human self-awareness.’ —Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
‘It’s one for the birds—what a wonderful book! It will give you wings.’ —Rita Mae Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Rubyfruit Jungle
‘A must-read, conveying much necessary information in easily accessible form and awakening one’s consciousness to what might otherwise be taken for granted … The Wonder of Birds reads like the story of a kid let loose in a candy store and given free rein to sample. That is one of its strengths: the convert’s view gives wide appeal to those who might never have known birds well.’ —Bernd Heinrich, Wall Street Journal
‘Engaging, thoughtful … this work is worthy of a place alongside David Attenborough’s documentary The Life of Birds or Graeme Gibson’s The Bedside Book of Birds … Of wide-ranging significance, this offering will appeal to naturalists, anthropologists, linguists, and even philosophers as well as to lay readers.’ —Library Journal
‘Fittingly for a work about birds and what they can teach us, The Wonder of Birds soars beyond its putative subject into realms once regarded as mystical.’ —Fiona Capp, The Sydney Morning Herald
