The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
by Mark Obmascik
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mark ObmascikEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2005-02-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Free Press
Book Reviews of The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
Book Review: A QUIRKY OBSESSION? YOU BE THE JUDGE! WONDERFUL BOOK!
Summary: 5 Stars
Being a life time birder, a big fan of this author, Mark Obamscik, and having a marked tendency toward and obsessive personality, especially when it comes to birds, I found this to be one wonderful read. This is the true story of three men who are participating in a Big Year. In the birding world this Big Year is well known and consists of obsessively counting and adding to your list of birds seen in a given geographical area over the period of one year, i.e. 365 days. The area can be as small as the back yard or as large as the entire world. In this case it encompassed the birds of North America which the American Birding Association considers the lower 48 states, Canada, Alaska, 200 miles off coast of each, and a number of closer islands, such as the string of land masses extending off of the tip of Alaska. This is a lot of territory!
When an individual decides to have a Big Year, that individual for all practical purposes drops out of life and spends their entire time chasing birds. In the case of these three men, the geographical area was indeed the ABA's North America. These trips cost thousands of dollars, are extremely dangerous in more ways than one, can cause great domestic difficulties and are absolutely physically and emotionally exhausting. There is no monetary reward and for the most part the general public is completely unaware of what is going on. The quest involves extreme physical hardships (in most cases), and can cause all sorts of life difficulties.
Why do these men and women do this? This is one of the questions the author tries to answer. These people, the Big Year People, are absolutely possessed! I have known several individuals who have participated in such events (I admit to being one of them...but on a much, much smaller scale than the individuals who are followed in this work) and these people, like my self, have absolutely no clue as to why they are doing it.
The year that this story takes place is 1998, the year that the strongest El Nino in recorded history hit. This brought about sort of the "perfect storm" for birders. It bought birds to North America that may only be seen once in several life times. The winner of this unofficial competition viewed 745 different species of bird during that year and set a record that will probably never be broken.
Mark Obmascik is a skilled and entertaining outdoor writer. His recent work Halfway to Heaven, a documented quest of mountain climbing, was one of the better reads I have had this year. I have to place the book being reviewed here right beside it. Obmascik has been compared to David Bryson. To be truthful, in my opinion, Obmascik is the superior writer of this particular genre. His humor equals that of Bryson, his story telling abilities are greater, but with Obmascik we do not have to put up with the smart mouth superior sarcasm which, with Bryson, gets a bit old real fast.
Now it has been said that this work, The Big Year, is primarily of interest to birders. I have to disagree with that. This work will be of interest to anyone curious of human natures, in particular those interested in obsessions, which take on many different forms in many different people, but all have a commonality about them. Many, many people who read his work will see themselves in its pages. This can either be of great comfort or can be quite a slap in the face with a wet towel...depending on how serious they are about their obsession. For my self, I fully admit that if I had more time, more money, a more understanding and tolerant spouse, then I fear I would be trying to follow in the footsteps of these gentlemen. (Actually, I feel rather blessed that I am fortunate enough to have these restraints...a person could really muck up their life if they were not careful!) Add to this the fact that this is simply a good travel adventure story, and then you have quite an informative entertaining read.
Please do not be misled though. This is not a book about birding, per se. It does not tell you how to identify birds nor does it particularly give you a bunch of "birding tips," although I did learn some of each in its pages. This is not a quite "oh my lets go out and watch the birds in the park" sort of book nor a nature lovers guide to our feathered friends. It is more like an account of a marathon or sporting event with a human interest element thrown in.
I throughly enjoyed ever page of this work. If you enjoy this work you might want to check out "To see Every Bird on Earth" by Dan Koeppel and "Kingbird Highway."
[...]
Summary of The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
Every January 1, a quirky crowd storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year -- a grand, expensive, and occasionally vicious 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would become a grueling battle for a new North American birding record. Bouncing from coast to coast on frenetic pilgrimages for once-in-a-lifetime rarities, they brave broiling deserts, bug-infested swamps, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man. This unprecedented year of beat-the-clock adventures ultimately leads one man to a record so gigantic that it is unlikely ever to be bested. Here, prize-winning journalist Mark Obmascik creates a dazzling, fun narrative of the 275,000-mile odyssey of these three obsessives as they fight to win the greatest -- or maybe worst -- birding contest of all time.Birdwatching Books
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