Books >> Outdoors & Nature

On The Wing: To The Edge of the Earth With the Peregrine Falcon

by Alan Tennant
ISBN: 1587248980
Hardcover: 640 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Light reading wear, light shelf wear. EX LIBRARY copy in a very good condition. Usual library marks present.

Retail Price:	$30.95
Our Price:	$14.99 That's 52% Off!

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Customer Reviews

Good ole' boys & and airplane
Rating

(2)
Date: 2008-10-11

how a book rates is sometimes a matter of expectation. I had thought I would learn a lot about peregrine falcons and other similar species. I expected to read about birds, places and migration. The reviews indicated it was an enjoyable read. But I was tired of hearing about what mavericks the two charaters were. I don't think you could draw much information about falcons. If you want a book about the adventures of two good ole' boys as they ride an airplane following a radio beep then the book will satisfiy but if you want a book on peregrines, bird life etc. this is not the book.

I felt part of the experience
Rating

(4)
Date: 2006-12-09
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful

The straightforward account held me spellbound. I felt the author/reader had an honest heart and had no choice but to pursue his quest. The telling of his experiences was informative and interesting. I was captivated and wished the book hadn't ended.

On the Wing - High Drama over the Americas
Rating

(5)
Date: 2006-03-30
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful

What drew me to this book was its Title. I am a keen falconer and have kept various birds of prey for many years. This book combines the authors undoubted love and fascination for the natural world with a powerful personal drama - two mens quest to answer an ornithological question in the most direct way imaginable. Beautifully written at times Alan Tennant touches upon the very essence of what fascinates mankind about the Falcons it is a great read!

would have been nice to have some dates
Rating

(3)
Date: 2006-02-06
1 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful

The author seems to be striving for a timeless quality in his prose, but it is really annoying that there aren't any dates in the book. Did he take these trips in the 1970s? 1980s? 1990s? He says "we knew that in the future birds will be tracked by satellites", but when was that?

If you're an airplane pilot, you'll be horrified by the chances that these guys took in a really beat-up Cessna 172. They seem to have done some long-distance flying without being instrument-equipped or rated and naturally got themselves into some dangerous scrapes with the weather. The author seems to have no idea how unnecessary this kind of risk-taking is.

The book would have made a really great 25-page New Yorker magazine article.

Be prepared to be amazed
Rating

(5)
Date: 2005-10-16
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful

I loved this book! I have been following the Operation Migration program re-building the Whooping Crane population for years. This book adds a whole new dimension to the use of man made wings and bird migration. Alan Tennant writes in a way that the reader feels they also can see and hear the thousands of birds as he and George Vose fly through and with them.

I learned lots about peregrine falcons, but I kept my bird book handy and learned a lot about other birds too - including those amazing hummingbirds.

The sections describing the intense fear of the falcons in the bird population attested to their hunting prowess and keen vision and speed.

I am in awe of the birds and of the author's dedication and sense of adventure in trying to learn where they go and what they do on the way. As he says, satellites can tell where they go but not how or transmit the incredibleness of it all.

(Larger Image)

The Trout Pool Paradox: The American Lives of Three Rivers

by George Black
ISBN: 0618310800
Hardcover: 336 pages
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No publisher marks, no shelf wear, no writing. This book is an ex library copy in a very good condition. No library markings.

Retail Price:	$24.00
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Customer Reviews

Not just for fishermen
Rating

(5)
Date: 2005-05-21
8 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful

Despite the title (trout pools are sections of brooks where cool water collects
and serve as feeding grounds for trout), author George Black has said "this
really isn't intended to be a fishing book..."

The three Connecticut rivers he looks at--the Naugatuck, the Shepaug, and
the Housatonic--have experienced entirely different fates, despite their
proximity and generally similar environments. The Naugatuck became an
industrialized river, a convenient waste stream for Waterbury's brass factories
and other industrial plants along its length. The Shepaug, tapped to feed the
city of Waterbury's lust for water, became a flow-impaired shadow of its
former self, except for a few months in the spring. The Housatonic, despite
damming for hydroelectric purposes, was able to remain a prime trout-fishing
and recreational river (despite being polluted with PCBs).

Providing a meandering tracing of the history of these rivers, Black deals with
deeper concepts, such as the difference between restoring and preserving a
natural environment, man's attempts to create areas that match our vision of
'nature' (by stocking rivers with non-native trout species, for example), and our
very understanding of nature. We tend to stand back and picture nature as something
that is obvious and given and apart from us, and yet man must live by exploiting
and sometimes altering natural resources, and the pristine natural environments
we imagine are archaic and probably unattainable.

Interestingly enough, just in the spring of 2005 (after publication of this book), a
court settlement was reached which will largely restore the flow of the Shepaug.
Black discusses this lawsuit and foresaw the parties reaching a settlement of
the matter rather than continuing litigation.

What customers are saying…

Amazon.com Feedback Rating:

4.9 stars over the past 12 months (954 ratings)

Recent Feedback

5 out of 5: 2009-01-07
Excellent condition-thanks!

4 out of 5: 2009-01-07
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5 out of 5: 2009-01-07
Pleased

5 out of 5: 2009-01-07
On time and as described! Thanks!

5 out of 5: 2009-01-06
everything as promised

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