The Wonder of Birds: What They Tell Us About Ourselves, the World, and a Better Future

Written by Jim Robbins

Narrated by Danny Campbell

Birds, Jim Robbins posits, are our most vital connection to nature. They compel us to look to the skies, both literally and metaphorically; draw us out into nature to seek their beauty; and let us experience vicariously what it is like to be weightless. Birds have helped us in so many of our human endeavors: learning to fly, providing clothing and food, and helping us better understand the human brain and body.

The Wonder of Birds illuminates qualities unique to birds that demonstrate just how invaluable they are to humankind-both ecologically and spiritually. The wings of turkey buzzards influenced the Wright brothers' flight design; the chickadee's song is considered by scientists to be the most sophisticated language in the animal world; and the quietly powerful presence of eagles in the disadvantaged neighborhood of Anacostia proved to be an effective method for rehabilitating the troubled young people placed in charge of their care.

Exploring both cutting-edge scientific research and our oldest cultural beliefs, Robbins moves these astonishing creatures from the background of our lives to the foreground.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781541477018

Jim Robbins

Jim Robbins is an award-winning journalist and science writer, with frequent contributions to the New York Times, Smithsonian, Scientific American, Discover, and Psychology Today. In connection with his reporting, he has appeared on ABC’s Nightline and on NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

Reviews for The Wonder of Birds

[montzaleew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Wonder of Birds: What They Tell Us about Ourselves, the World, and a Better Future by Jim Robbins is journey of love and fascination between mankind and birds. A journal where man has benefited by watching our feathered friends in different ways and how they have enriched our lives, how they have helped our planet, and have pleased our eyes and warmed our hearts. It is written so warmly, and tenderly, I can feel the love for the feathered creatures from far away and it warmed me...As a bird lover, nature lover, this is a treasure! For everyone, this book will delight and open their minds to our magical friends of a feather. The author takes us, hand and wing, on a journey through differences and changes that link us together. It is amazing how we are linked together in this amazing thing called life. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

[carolee888 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Wonder of Birds: What They Tell Us About Ourselves, The World and a Better Future by Jim Robbins will have you reading out loud to your spouses, friends and family. Having read a lot about bird psychology, habits, and about different kinds of birds, there is still so much to learn about them. The author divides his book into five different sections: What Birds Tell Us About the Natural World, The Gifts of Birds, Discovering Ourselves Through Birds and Birds and Hope for a Better Future. In those sections are several chapters each. In each section, I have a few favorite chapters. For example in the first section, A Murmuring of Birds: The Extraordinary Design of the Flock. I was very excited to see this chapter because, I have a lot of memories of sitting on a concrete bench after work waiting for my husband to pick me up from work. On some days, I saw hundreds of black birds fly in front of the building and take sharp turns suddenly and never being off with a lone bird in the flock. Essentially it was a long ballet of birds that went on for at least an hour. Why they seeming turn in unison and never make a mistake? How did they all know their own part in the ballet? Unfortunately once I was really caught up in this intricate moving geometry of dance, someone who sit down beside me and interrupt my wonder with conversation! The authors goes into the research about all the variables of flock movement. The more you read, the more fascinating it becomes. That is just one of my reactions, I have many to this informative book about birds. There are so fascinating facts about different birds are covered. There were many times that I put this book down and connected with my past memories of birds or just stopped to muse about how amazing birds are.The reading is very comfortable. Even some things codes be very technical, he never let my interest wilt. My love of birds is just much stronger. I was disappointed that he hunts birds but I will forgive him that for this book. My only plea to him is to please hunt with the camera instead of a gun.I highly recommend this book to all bird lovers.I received this Advance Reading Copy of the above book from the publisher by a win from FirstReads. My thoughts and feelings in this review are totally my own.