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As ornithologist Kenn Kaufman recounts in his lively memoir Kingbird Highway, he's managed to do what other birders only dream of doing: take a year and chase winged creatures from one end of the country to another. The year in question was 1973, when Kaufman was 19 years old, and a few dollars and an outstretched thumb could go a long way. Armed with binoculars, notebook, and the blessing of birder patron saint Roger Tory Peterson, Kaufman set out to capture the record for most species spotted in a single year. He came close, closing with 666 species sighted from Alaska to Florida and back again. More important, he racked up a lifetime's worth of adventures on the road. These stories form the heart of his book, a narrative in which spotted redshanks, white-eared hummingbirds, marbled murrelets, and black-capped gnatcatchers are among the chief supporting players.
Book Description
At sixteen, Kenn Kaufman dropped out of the high school where he was student council president and hit the road, hitching back and forth across America, from Alaska to Florida, Maine to Mexico. Maybe not all that unusual a thing to do in the seventies, but what Kenn was searching for was a little different: not sex, drugs, God, or even self, but birds. A report of a rare bird would send him hitching nonstop from Pacific to Atlantic and back again. When he was broke he would pick fruit or do odd jobs to earn the fifty dollars or so that would last him for weeks. His goal was to set a record - most North American species seen in a year - but along the way he began to realize that at this breakneck pace he was only looking, not seeing. What had been a game became a quest for a deeper understanding of the natural world. Kingbird Highway is a unique coming-of-age story, combining a lyrical celebration of nature with wild, and sometimes dangerous, adventures, starring a colorful cast of characters.
Customer Reviews:
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Birds.......2007-02-10
Written many years after the fact, this book is well worth reading many years after the fact. Kingbird Highway is an autobiography, a travelogue, and a `where-to-bird' guide for 1973. It is a tale of life, liberty, and the pursuit of birds. Kingbird, alias Kenn Kaufman drops out of high school to pursue his dream (obsession) of seeing more birds in a single year than anyone had ever seen before. There are several catches to his liberty and pursuit of birds. He must see the birds north of Mexico, a technicality that affects his dream. He has almost no money, so he does cheapest Big Year ever with the lowest dollar to bird ratio ever. He spends only about $1000 by hitchhiking everywhere and living off Little Friskies in a can of cold soup for dinner. Kingbird Highway provides a wonderful map of where to bird even now over forty years later. For example, the Brownville Texas Municipal dump is still the place to see Tamaulipas crows. Read in conjunction with a field guide, Kingbird Highway opens a world of birds, their habits, and habitats that might otherwise escape notice.
Different than expected.......2006-11-04
This is a good book, but not what I expected. It's about a specific time in birding and America. This makes Kenn Kaufman's experience unique. This was during the "early days" of birding and bird listers. There was not the instantaneous information of the location of rare species we have now. If you are interested in birding, the search for rare bird species, or the effort to see bird species out of their normal range, I would recommend this book.
Great book for birders.......2004-10-19
Kenn Kaufman began birding at an early age, and as a young teenager he hid his "geeky" habit from his friends. Eventually, as he became older, he realized that there was a birding fraternity and he began to bird with others who loved it as much as he did. At 16, with his parents' blessing, he dropped out of school and began doing cross-country birding by hitchiking around the country. His knowledge of birds grew and his contacts with other birders increased. In 1973 he decided to go for a Big Year, that is a year in which he attempted to break the record for most birds seen in a year. The pace of Kaufman's quest was amazing and he relates his adventures in an interesting and down-to-earth style. Towards the end of his Big Year, Kaufman begins to question his own motives for building up his list and his introspection brings a new maturity to him and his methods of birding. This is a great book for any bird enthusiast.
A road book with a passion.......2003-10-18
I read this book a couple of years ago ,haven't been writing reviews for long;but thought I would go back to this fine effort.I've read a lot of " road" books by some of the best; such as Heat-Moon,Kerouac,Mc Murtry,Peterson/Fisher,Steinbeck,Teale,Caldwell ;but as good as these were, none were written with the passion and self involvement that Kaufman brings to this book.He didn't set out to roam the country to escape,find himself,to discover the people or country.He set with the purpose of finding as many bird species as he could in one year ; wrote a book about it,and even though the goal was not just to write a book; he produced one that is as good as the "best".As a Birder ,we have all experienced many of the things he did ;but without the endurance,passion and commitment that he did.I thought I experienced cold along the Niagara River looking for Gulls in the Winter;but this was mild compared to sleeping in a car on the East coast when it was "cold as an Eskimo's tomb",eating from a can of cold soup at the ABA onvention,or having "his" scope blown away during a storm while doing the Christmas Bird count.If you like road books;but even more so if you enjoy nature/birding you just gotta read this gem !In my opinion he is right up there with the best of them.
Kaufman Becomes a Birding Fanatic.......2003-08-02
Great read. Any serious birder will like it as will a general audience that likes books along the lines of William Least-Moon.
Book Description
Whether he's engaging in mock aerial combat or riding an Ididarod sled, Randy Wayne White is one of America's most adventurous travelers. In this collection he studies anti-terrorist driving techniques, dives for golf balls in an alligator-infested pond at a country club, hunts his fellow man with a paint gun, ice-fishes for walleye with X-ray-stunned night-crawlers, and goes pig-shooting with Dr. Pavlov. With self-effacing optimism, White captures the joys and fears of wandering the earth's surface with an eclectic cast of weirdo fellow-travelers - a frog that won't jump, a group of expatriate Brits who've developed an interesting cure for "road jaundice," and even a mad Australian scientist.
Though he rarely finds what he's looking for - like the legendary landlocked bull sharks of Lake Nicaragua, or the secret to successful winter fishing on a Minnesota lake - he develops a Zen-like "passion for the means" and a rare ability to revel in the rib-aching humor of each exotic trip.
Customer Reviews:
Quick Read, not about Nicaragua.......2006-05-21
This is an easy read, and more something you would pick up and look at from the library for an hour rather than actually buy. Only one story is about Nicaragua (though it's a good story). The rest are about the many, many other places the author has been. Though the author seems to have had quite an interesting life off the beaten path, a lot of the stories are written with shallow prose and lack depth. Not worth buying.
A Great Writer.......2006-01-11
Some dated material does not detract from the fine writing.
Wishin' I was with him.......2002-11-22
I've read all 3 of his "Outside" compilations. They all are, in my mind, great. Reading these books allows you to get lost, while you are in your living room. I wish there were more of them. If there is wanderlust in your heart, then you should read these stories. Some are better than others, some are more interesting to me than others, but that's why they make different flavors of ice cream too.
Ramblings, with plenty of white space.......2000-07-30
A very quick read. Somewhat entertaining, but not much substance for prospective travelers to Nicarauga or elsewhere. The cover, or dust cover, of this book I bought via Amazon in May of 2000 looks nothing like the artwork on the Amazon web page I bought it from. Recommend you get this book in the library, read it and put it back on the shelf, as this is easily accomplished in a short library visit.
-John
These are not trips for ElderHospice folks!.......2000-07-27
Randy Wayne White is an authentic character. I suspected as much from reading his fiction efforts, usually involving Doc Ford. But in this collection of essays about his travels, you can see that he does not subscribe to Travel & Leisure or Conde Nast Traveler. He picks the damndest places to go, the damndest things to do when he gets there and writes about his experiences in a completely entertaining and very informative fashion. These are not your traditional outings and Mr. White would have it no other way. Hunting crocs with some authentic, although somewhat legal poachers, chasing pigs through cathedrals, exploring the seldom traveled parts of Australia, or fishing for fresh water sharks in Nicaragua (legend has it they exist), he is seldom far from disaster and you perversely kind of wish you were there..but not totally. He shows another side of himself with the gifts he brings to share with unknown Nicaraguan youngsters. I won't spoil the fun of finding out what it is...but it shows a softer side of the author, which is as welcome as his normal personna.
Amazon.com
Charles Sheldon (1867-1928) was a hunter-conservationist whose efforts substantially enriched the American public domain. A Yale graduate, Sheldon explored North America from the Arctic to the high Sierra Madre of Mexico. Sent to central Alaska in 1903 as an assessor by C. Hart Merriam, the director of the U.S. Biological Survey, Sheldon began to press for the creation of a national park to protect 20,322-foot Denali, a mountain sacred to local Indian cultures. Sheldon finally prevailed in 1919 (although, against his protests, the mountain was renamed McKinley). Soon thereafter Merriam dispatched him to the Southwest, where he hunted and studied pronghorn antelope and desert bighorn and explored the harsh Pinacate and Lechuguilla regions of western Arizona and Sonora. This collection of his essays well recounts his many travels and observations on animal behavior, and it serves as a fine introduction to the life of a little-known but important early environmentalist.
Average customer rating:
- This book convinced me to NOT go to Mexico
- Great ecological travel book
- Beyond PV and the trinket shops
- Buy It, Read It, See It!
- Highly recomended travel resource book.
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Adventures in Nature Mexico
Manufacturer: Avalon Travel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Mexico: A Hiker's Guide to Mexico's Natural History
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Birder's Mexico (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series, 12)
ASIN: 1562613405 |
Customer Reviews:
This book convinced me to NOT go to Mexico.......2004-03-18
Nothing in this book got me excited about going to Mexico. The natural attractions of the U.S. seem to be far more numerous and spectacular. The author was stretching to fill a book on Mexico's natural attractions - he covers ruins, city parks, and agricultural enterprises. The photographs in the book do not convey any beauty of Mexico.
Great ecological travel book.......2001-08-17
I am the author of the "Adventure Guide to the Yucatan," a guidebook to Mexico's fascinating peninsula . I used Ron Mader's book for reference as we discovered the best of sustainable tourism and nature preservation efforts in Mexico. Mader is right on in his evaluation and helpful comments. Very well organized. More and more people are trying to travel in an environmentally sound manner and we support that in our book as well. Kudos to Mader!
Beyond PV and the trinket shops.......2000-08-05
Biodiversity junkies are always ending up off the pavement in the jungles or on mountain tops and wondering where do we get our next meal, and how the hell are we going to get out of here. Mader comes up with answers in a country where surprisingly little has been written to guide the booming ecotourism trade. Lonely Planet and Moon barely scratch the ecotourism surface and brush over Mexico's fantastic national parks and reserves. Mader lives down there so this is no parachute quickie research junket type book. He has done his homework and gone beyond the obvious places (Palenque, Copper Canyon) to explore some of the most remote but best spots. Lucky gringo. I found his book helpful for finding contact leads in Oaxaca and Veracruz states that led to great guided trips with local enviro groups.
Buy It, Read It, See It!.......1999-09-18
I am the author of two guidebooks in this series, BELIZE: ADVENTURES IN NATURE and GUATEMALA: ADVENTURES IN NATURE, as well as dozens of travel articles about Latin America (including Mexico). I am flat-out amazed at the breadth, depth, and detail found in Ron Mader's MEXICO: ADVENTURES IN NATURE. Put simply, there has never been a book like this...and there have been hundreds of guides written to Mexico. Nowhere else will you find the information complied here, about everything from whale-watching to birding, turtle-helping to Maya ruin-exploring. These are aspects most tourists never know about, because nobody tells them about much beyond the traditional turista circuit of big hotels, crowded beaches, and mediocre restaurants. If you want to truly experience the incredible diversity of Mexico natural treasures, you'll start by getting your hands on this book! (Particularly useful is the extensive listing of e-mail addresses and websites, as well as practical info about hotels, restaurants, tour services, and transport)
Highly recomended travel resource book........1999-07-15
An honest and informative guide to Mexico. The most complete Eco-guide to the National parks and reserves of Mexico that I've ever read. Includes information I've never seen any place else. A good reference source for every region. Well written, easy to read, and very useful. Steve
Customer Reviews:
Reader Beware - Enjoyment Ahead.......2001-07-30
This compilation of exceptionally well-written excerpts is a wonderfully varied introduction to, or refresher of, longer works from some of the best authors of books about the Colorado River and its environs. The works range from the predictable, e.g., the writings of John Wesley Powell, Edward Abbey, and Ann Zwinger, to the unexpectedly insightful, e.g., the Paiute Indian Legend and a chapter about the Datura plant by Linda Hogan. Author Richard F. Fleck has carefully chosen writings that portray a variety of perspectives, each an invitation to a longer, more developed work of comparable quality. This is not the only collection of writings about the Colorado River, but it is one of the best edited. If you are looking for a listing of masterworks as recommendations for further reading you have to look no further than the Table of Contents of A Colorado River Reader. But beware, this introduction to the mythology, history, sport, philosophy, ecology, geology, and biology of the Colorado River may cause you to spend additional money on the books from which these passages were excerpted. Of course, and I know from personal experience, money spent on any of these books will be money well spent.
Average customer rating:
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Gregorio Vuelve a Mexico
Emma Romeu
Manufacturer: Santillana USA Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 9681903676 |
Book Description
Emma Romeu brings us Gregorio's adventure in the mysterious Yucatan, land of springs, pyramids, swamps, and flamingos. This young and valiant sailor has only three days to find the lost codex of the Mayas. Young readers will have to discover who stole this valuable and ancient book. What clues are being overlooked by the detectives? Will his friends help him find this book? Readers will enjoy helping Gregorio solve the mystery.
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La saga de los jugadores de pelota (Castillo de la Lectura Roja)
Gilberto Rendon
Manufacturer: Ediciones Castillo
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ASIN: 9702003350
Release Date: 2005-08-11 |
Book Description
Two modern-day Mexican children take us on an adventure through the jungle of Quintana Roo, where we learn why a ball game was so important to their Mayan ancestors.
Product Description
The "wilderness coast"--that portion of the Florida Panhandle that juts south into the Gulf of Mexico--is the home of Gulf Specimen Company, and the source of most of the marine creatures that it supplies to educational institutions and research facilities. But the pursuit of the unusual sea creatures and the answers to puzzling biological questions take biologists Jack and Anne Rudloe elsewhere, too. They have travelled to Surinam to catch giant toadfish for the New York Aquarium, to the Florida Keys to study immature spiny lobsters, and to Port Canaveral's ship channel to rescue endangered sea turtles from the crushing jaws of the dredge. They have plumbed the depths of the Gulf of Mexico to find prehistoric-looking giant sea roaches, and explored the life histories--and mysteries--of electric rays, octopuses, horseshoe crabs, and other fascinating marine animals in the course of their daily business. Like any profession, specimen collecting has its attendant hazards: for instance, being slashed by a sawfish, zapped by an electric ray, nipped by a sawfish, zapped by an electric ray, nipped by an annoyed sea turtle, or attacked by an alligator. More perilous yet is being caught offshore in violent storm in a less-than-seaworthy boat. Jack Rudloe's knowledge of marine biology and ability to tell a good story have made this entertaining and informative book a natural history classic.
Customer Reviews:
Beyond the familiar shore.......2001-08-02
I have the pleasure of living near Panacea, Florida and have visited Gulf Specimens Lab, the home port for Jack Rudloe. I've been fortunate to take Ann Rudloe's Coastal Ecosystem class, so these stories present a delightful appendix to those Panhandle experiences. Presented here is a rewarding mix of adventure, science, and Jack's home spun philosophy. He starts on the shore with horseshoe crab mating and describes their birth then describes a canoe adventure down the Suwannee. Further adventures describe finding the largest toad fish, giant sea roaches, and adventures with sawfish, octopus, electric rays, and spiny lobsters. Perhaps pulling the stories together are the tails of turtles and "the turtle mother".
Average customer rating:
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Hot-air adventures.(going places) : An article from: ATV Sport
Mark Rolland
Manufacturer: Ehlert Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B0009GYFGK
Release Date: 2005-07-21 |
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This digital document is an article from ATV Sport, published by Ehlert Publishing Group on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 514 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Hot-air adventures.(going places)
Author: Mark Rolland
Publication:
ATV Sport (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: Ehlert Publishing Group
Volume: 8
Issue: 3
Page: 72(3)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Books:
- Life, Liberty, and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics
- Lifestyles Nature & Architecture: Casas en la Costa Mexicana
- Metabolic Man: Ten Thousand Years from Eden (The Long Search for a Personal Nutrition From our Forest Origins to the Supermarkets of Today)
- Moon Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks (Moon Handbooks)
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)
- National Geographic Atlas of Natural America
- Nature-Speak: Signs, Omens and Messages in Nature
- Night in the Country
- Okavango: Africa's Last Eden
- One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey
Books Index
Books Home
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- Union Wage Bargaining and Economic Growth
- If My Boss Calls-- Get His Name: A Big Business Adventure
- The Ideal of Alexis de Tocqueville
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
The Feather Quest: A North American Birder's Year
To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifetime Obsession
Wild America: The Record of a 30,000 Mile Journey Around the Continent by a Distinguished Naturalist and His British Colleague
A Field Guide to Advanced Birding: Birding Challenges and How to Approach Them (Peterson Field Guides(R))
