Thomas R. Dunlap'sIn the Field, Among the Feathered: A History of Birders and Their Guides [Hardcover]2011

by Thomas R. Dunlap (Author)

America is a nation of ardent, knowledgeable birdwatchers. But how did it become so? And what role did the field guide play in our passion for spotting, watching, and describing birds? In the Field, Among the Feathered tells the history of field guides to birds in America from the Victorian era to the present, relating changes in the guides to shifts in science, the craft of field identification, and new technologies for the mass reproduction of images. Drawing on his experience as a passionate birder and on a wealth of archival research, Thomas Dunlap shows how the twin pursuits of recreation and conservation have inspired birders and how field guides have served as the preferred method of informal education about nature for well over a century. The book begins with the first generation of late 19th-century birdwatchers who built the hobby when opera glasses were often the best available optics and bird identification was sketchy at best. As America became increasingly urban, birding became more attractive, and with Roger Tory Peterson's first field guide in 1934, birding grew in both popularity and accuracy. By the 1960s recreational birders were attaining new levels of expertise, even as the environmental movement made birding's other pole, conservation, a matter of human health and planetary survival. Dunlap concludes by showing how recreation and conservation have reached a new balance in the last 40 years, as scientists have increasingly turned to amateurs, whose expertise had been honed by the new guides, to gather the data they need to support habitat preservation. Putting nature lovers and citizen-activists at the heart of his work, Thomas Dunlap offers an entertaining history of America's long-standing love affair with birds, and with the books that have guided and informed their enthusiasm.

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, History, Science, Nature

Hardcover

First published October 23, 2011

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Experienced birders are likely to be a little frustrated by this book. It does an excellent job of charting the early development of the birding field guide, through Merriam and Chapman and the first editions of Peterson and into Robbins-Zim-Bruun-Singer. (And indeed, he is a useful source for my research into Chandler Robbins.) But then in the 1970s, as the number of guides on offer begin to proliferate, Dunlap completes his gradual shift of focus from purely identification guides to the broader significations of "guide:" birdfinding guides, memoirs from the road (Wild America, Kingbird Highway), and the personalities behind the books (Rachel Carson, Edwin Way Teale, Ted Parker).

Dunlap's chapter structure--two pages of summary followed by the details of two or three milestones--makes chronology hard to follow: we must interpolate to determine the year in which the fourth edition of Peterson was published (1980). Perhaps because he is trying to cover too many developments--the rise of competitive listing, the articulation of the conservation ethic--our sense of events happening in sequence suffers.

A couple of tidbits: Dunlap highlights Roger Tory Peterson's attention to detail (concerns over the loss of a sixteenth of an inch as book pages are folded and bound into signatures) and careful eye on RTP's competition in the publishing market. The question of Western races and intergrades is raised.

[Christopher Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bird book about bird books. So if you really like bird books this one doubles your pleasure.

[Jon Wlasiuk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Has a helpful bibliography for scholars looking for a history of birding.

[Gail Kennon · Rating 2 out of 5]

not the leisurely stroll through the field guides of yesterday that i'd hoped for. business-like rather than literary but with good illustrations.

[Bob Peru · Rating 4 out of 5]

a book about books. pomo. if you like birds and books you'll like this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book, a history of birding field guides, had much potential for being a fascinating read but fell so flat that my bird club book club, which read the first half this month and had planned to read the second part next month, changed its plans and decided to move on to a new book. The author had plenty of information but presented it in such a dull and pedantic way that the book was a real snooze. I'm amazed that the Oxford University Press allowed such manuscript slide through without substantial editing. The book had a fair number of illustrations but even they were not well labelled. I had looked forward to this book and was really disappointed.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a typical scholarly history so it can be difficult to read, but I'm enjoying it!
Overall I enjoyed this history and felt it was a good introduction to the background of birding, which was just what I was looking for.

[Bookwyrmgyrl]

I liked the idea behind this book and skimmed it a few times, but didn't take the time to sit down and read it word for word.

[Boise City Department of Arts & History · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic history text! Such a great read!