Product Description
Fully illustrated, easy to use, and completely up-to-date, Birds of the West Indies is the only field guide that covers all of the bird species known to occur in the region--including migrants and infrequently occurring forms. Each species is represented by a full description that includes identification field marks, status and range, habitat, and voice. A map showing the bird's distribution accompanies many species accounts, and plumages of all species are depicted in ninety-three beautifully rendered color plates.

Bird lovers, vacationing tourists, local residents, and "armchair travelers" will all want to own this definitive field guide to the birds of the West Indies.

• Includes all species recorded in the region
• Features ninety-three color plates with concise text on facing pages for quick reference and easy identification
• Species accounts cover identification, voice, status and habitat, and range
• Color distribution maps

Customer Reviews (22)

Softback version of a Guide to the Birds of West Indies
This is an excellent book.Very well laid out and easy to navigate.I purchased numerous books related to Birds of the West Indies and Caribbean from Amazon at the same time.My only mistake was inadvertently purchasing both the Hard Cover and Softcover versions of the same book.It is not readily apparent that they are the same.The Author is the tip off.

This would be a sufficient book if you were only going to buy one.It also comes with a little portable quick guide.

Birds of the West Indies
Nice light weight, and good drawings. I hope it comes in handy
when I'm in Florida.

birds of west indies hits the mark
All in all a great help for my recent trip to the US Virgin Islands. Arranged well, paintings are great (good paintings are always better than photogrpaphs for field guides) and the text is well organized and informative, though range maps for more species would be helpful. A minor complaint is that my eye always seemed to miss the text for the 1st species on each page due to the page layout. A couple species were common in geographic areas where they were listed as rare, undoubtedly the result of range expansions in the 7 years since the 2003 publication date (in fairness, these species were listed in the book as expanding their range). All in all, a 95 out of 100.

birds of the west indies
Good color, easy to use.Would have likedinfo on food each type of bird eats...seed, nectar, bugs etc.

Super Bird Book!
A very good guide particularly with good illustrations and accurate descriptions.Used this book on a Caribbean Cruise identifying more than 50 spieces of birds.A great help are the maps showing where birds can be found.One of the best bird books I have purchased for areas outside of USA and Canada. ... Read more

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Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Handy Size Photo Field Guide
There are quite a number of photo field guides out there. I still use Kaufman, but this is getting a lot of use by me for warblers and sparrows. Shorebirds and gulls look good too, but have not put those to a test.

No book is perfect. This is a really good effort, but at times I prefer illustrated guides like Sibley.

I prefer this to the recent Stokes one volume, merely for compact size and easy comparison of related species.

Beginner birders are urged to leaf through East and West before buying or get a one volume book. Generally West is west of the Rockies. It is not very well indicated here. Sometimes a West volume may cover half of Nebraska. The East does not cover American Dipper, so no Colorado and West seems to be the rule.

Book Review
Excellent book - this is just what we were looking for!This book has excellent photos of both mature and juvenile birds as well as male and female.We have been able to identify several birds already that we were not familiar with.

Useful at times
The pictures are very good. While they are 'touched-up' a little, they don't make the bird look unrealistic.

It is not a complete field guide, as not all birds are in it.

The pictures may on occasion help you to identify birds that the artwork drawings of illustrated guides do not.

Going through each section of the book, I typed up a quick index of 149 entries in alphabetical order, and using photo scrapbook type glue, glued it to the inside back cover. It did not take long.

I used a 9 X 12 sheet of self-adhesive plastic laminate to reinforce the insufficient cover. A 10 X 13 would be better.

Princton scores.
This is certainly the best photo guide I have seen; the pictures are crisp and well-chosen.I have no misgivings about recommending is for a birder's library.But as a book to carry into the field, it has drawbacks.For example, there is no quick index (2 pager); you must plow through the dense, full index in fine print, useless in the field.The reader may have some trouble with diagnostic marks on the birds; I did,Nevertheless, I find myself using it frequently at home.

hardcover has problems
I ordered 3 books, 2 eastern, one western, both hardcover.

I returned all three, the binding was defective.

They sent me three new ones, all the bindings were defective.

too bad, nice pictures. ... Read more

Product Description
New enthusiasts are flocking in record numbers to the fascinating pastime of birding. National Geographic has been meeting their need for clear and accurate information for 25 years with our million-selling Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Now, to better serve the expanding market, we’ve customized our field-guide format to offer unique coverage for birders east or west of the Rocky Mountains. These new volumes deliver in-depth information on every bird officially recorded in the specified area, with illustrated accounts of the different plumages and life stages, along with hundreds of color-coded range maps.

Unique features set these guides apart from the competition and promise to win a new generation of readers: A full-color visual index, printed on the inside covers, makes the content accessible visually —a real boon to beginning and intermediate birders. Annotated artwork highlights birds’ key physical features, making identification easier. Thumb-tabs help readers find information fast. Durable covers stand up to outdoor use, with integrated quick-reference flaps that double as place-markers.Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America details 619 species and contains 560 new range maps, plus illustrated accounts for 85 casual and accidental birds and an appendix listing 70 rarities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Quite good
I have three popular field guides and a new photographic one. The National Geographic is the one I always take into the field.

Great Book
I really like this book, it's simple to use, has beautifully colored pictures, and lots of information on the birds listed.Since I have gotten the book I have identifed birds in my area that I have been seeing for years but never knew what they were.It' also an easy book to take along and we have done so on some of trips out of the area and identified many types of birds.We will continue to take it along on all major outing and vacations.

Nat Geo Birds
Good book, great color but needs more detailed information in it. Seller sent book in a timly fashion.

One of the best field guides
I have the Audubon Society field guide that has photos of all the birds in it, which is also a great book. I didn't think I needed another one with just drawings of the birds, but on an outing with some friends who had the Nat Geo guide, I found it useful. So I bought this one, and now it's the one I always keep with me. The drawings and identification tips are really helpful, as are the extra pages such as the collection of ducks in flight for comparison, and the quick find front cover guide. My favorite field guide so far.

best in class
We have used the National Geographic guides with great success.Although I prefer photgraphs, or thought I did, the drawings are done so well that they are actually easier to use than most photographs.If you are looking to ID birds (as opposed to learning about their behavior - for which the Stokes books are unparalleled) this is the book to get.The "songs" seem very accurate phoenetically, as well. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (33)

Great book
Lots of pictures and good descriptions. A must have for any birding person.

finally, a comprehensive bird book
I got this to identify a bird blown in by a storm. It was a green jay ! This beats my other bird tomes by a mile!

Good Guide
Excellent book with great pictures, the whole country covered in one book.Although I would recommend Peterson's guide first, it makes for easier identification.

Very good
This book seems to be very comprehensive and well constructed.Good pictures. Recommend without reservations.By contrast I didn't like the NG Guide to birds only because it used illustrations which don't show subtle hues.Stokes is out-dated.A good option remains the Smithsonian Guide to birds which as a bonus provides bird recordings.

National Wildlife Rederation Gield Guide to Birds of NNorth America
I lost my old standby, and was looking to replace it.I ordered 2 different books, and they are both excellent.However, this book is much more detailed and larger, making it harder to carry on trips.The info is great, so I will leave it at home to use there. ... Read more

Product Description
The 20th addition to the marvelous, bestselling "Cat Who . . . " mystery series finds Lilian Jackson Braun in fine form. It's spring in Moose County and newspaper columnist Jim Qwilleran and his remarkable felines, Koko and Yum Yum, are caught up in intrigue once again, this time investigating the death of an elderly woman in a suspicious fire and the mysterious break-in at the newly opened art museum (Mystery/Detective) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

I enjoy the ambiance
I love a good whodunit but gave up on this series for quite a while.However, while browsing for titles recently I ran into it again and decided to try a few. I'd forgotten how delightfully on point Ms. Braun is with her understanding of the Siamese.Having been raised by one (Impy) myself and having had my household managed by one ever since, I know them too, and Koko and Yum Yum are as recognizable to me as any of those I have known.

If you're a deep down died in wool murder mystery enthusiast, however, this series may be a bit too light for you.Certainly as it has developed over the years, the stories have stressed the interesting characters and interrelationships of small town people more than the murders that have occurred among them. Like the English novelist Angela Thirkell High Rising (Angela Thirkell Barsetshire Series), Ms Braun has managed to capture the ambience of an era and the intimate relationships among long time members of small communities; in the case of the former, early 20th century rural England, in the case of the latter more recent northern US--my guess, though it's not stated, northern Minnesota, since it's known for its cold, snowy winters, and its history of logging, mining, quarrying and bootlegging.

If you find the works of PD James The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries), Martha Grimes The Anodyne Necklace and Kathy Reichs Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) more to your liking than the works of Maggie Sefton Dropped Dead Stitch (A Knitting Mystery) or Joanne Fluke Strawberry Shortcake Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries), the Cat Who Mysteries are probably not for you.Like the latter two authors, Ms Braun delights with her tales of people that the reader gets to know and appreciate with each book.The murder plot is almost of secondary importance, and this is especially true of The Cat Who Sang for the Birds.

The author goes into great detail about the main character's home, his personal friends, the history he shares with each, where they dine, what they talk about, how they fit in with town activities.Greater attention is paid to the naming of the library's cats and in the arrangements for a spelling bee than in the details of the murders.The reader is not privy to details of the crime scene beyond the facts as reported by others.There is no real "puzzle" to solve and few "clues" with which to solve it.In fact, as murder mysteries go, this one does not really follow the rules at all.

That said, I will also say that I enjoyed it.But then I like Siamese; I enjoy spending vicarious time in Moose County--probably because I live in Minnesota; I like the characters I meet there; and I'll probably visit again soon!

Best of the Series So Far
This was such a good book! The funeral scene brought tears to my eyes. Qwill spends a lot of time at the new art center. He befriends a young artist who paint butterflies. She is in a state of flux and wants to move in with her boyfriend.

The lady who lives across the road from the art center is Maude Coggin. She is an interesting lady who is ninety three. Qwill interviews her and discovers that she takes in stray dogs.

Koko wakes Qwill up one night to find that Mrs. Coggin's house is on fire. More mysteries abound and Koko knows what is going on and tries to communicate with Qwill.

This was a great book and I enjoyed it very much.

Mystery light, but still a delight!
Spring has sprung in Moose County, and that means that the beauty of nature is quickly unfolding. From butterflies emerging from their cocoons, to baby birds hatching and chirping left and right; even romance blooming in the sunny days. But not everything is peaceful and quiet within Moose County. Underneath the beautiful façade are secrets, local vandalism, cruelty, and many other strange events. Strange events that Qwill just can't stop himself from poking his nose into.

Even though he came from Down Under, Jim Qwilleran has found that residing in Moose County - 400 miles from everywhere - couldn't be more pleasant. He has good friends, keeps good company with his prized felines Koko and Yum Yum, enjoys the perks of being a reporter for the Moose County Something, and spends his days sniffing out stories. When some unexpected, and out-of-the-ordinary acts of vandalism occur within little Moose County, the residents are sent into a tizzy, trying to figure out who would commit such a disgraceful crime. Qwill, however, is one of the only people interested enough to do a little investigating to finger the criminal. But as he continues digging, he begins to uncover some very unexpected things, such as strange events involving some of the local political candidates. To Qwill, vandalism is one thing, but when a murder takes place, he knows that he'll have to enlist the help of both Koko and Yum Yum to assist him in catching the culprit. Qwill would prefer simply spending time with a remarkable local artist known as Butterfly Girl, and savoring the opening of the new Art Center. But he'll have to solve the crime before his mind can finally rest, and he can enjoy the new beauty springing up all over Moose County.

The beauty of Lillian Jackson Braun's work does not necessarily lie in the mystery contained within the pages of her books, but, rather, the character development she weaves in her tales. That character development is quite prevalent within THE CAT WHO SANG FOR THE BIRDS. The descriptions of Butterfly Girl, and the nosiness of the people of Moose County does overshadow the mystery that Qwill, along with Koko and Yum Yum are investigating; but for those looking for a quaint read, it is not perturbing in the least, and actually makes for a refreshing trip through a cute community, where we have the opportunity to catch up with new and old friends. Mystery light, but still a delight!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

NOT ON OF BRAUNS BEST
I've read some of the Braun series cat books and this one wasn't one of my favorites. It was boring with no plot and it did mention very little about the Butterfly Girl or who she is. The story didn't make any sense at all. I couldn't get into this one. I read it but was disappointed in it. I'm lucky that I only paid $1 for it towards charity.

Yum Yum Goes Cuckoo for a Yo-Yo
Once again we tune in on the denizens of Moose County and find all in an uproar. In fact there are several uproars going on in this cozy neighborhood located 400 miles north of everywhere. First there is the new art center which most people love but the director somehow expects the farmers in the vicinity to keep their dirt off of the roads. When it rains you see, that dirt becomes mud and eventually gets tracked into the art center. Worse yet, the library has gotten rid of their card catalog and replaced it with a computer. This little innovation even sparks a demonstration complete with a grill for burning protestor's library cards.

Amid all of the normal Pickax City hubbub resides the ever-affable Jim Qwilleran and his mystery solving cats Koko and Yum Yum. In this entry in the series Koko has taken to singing like a bird and communing with his bird friends as often as he can. He has also been on the case again after a suspicious fire claims the life of one of Pickax's oldest citizens. The authorities rule that the fire started with a kerosene heater but Qwill doesn't buy it and neither does Koko. Yum Yum for her part is happy playing with her new yo-yo.

Eventually of course everything works out and as in previous books Qwill looks back to see just how precise Koko's clues were. For those new to the series Koko, although talented can't talk but he tries to tell Qwill what has happened in some odd ways. Usually however Qwill doesn't figure out Koko's clues until he has solved the mystery on his own. The best thing about this series besides the wonderful cast of characters is that the reader gets the same clues as does Qwilleran and if one pays very close attention Koko will tell you who done it long before the solution is revealed.

Overall this book, while enjoyable is just a little darker than most of the previous entries, although the body count is fairly low especially compared to some of its predecessors. I can't put my finger on the difference but there is a slightly different tone to this book and it is not an altogether welcome change. On the other hand this is still a very fun and entertaining read and this is a book that should be on every cozy mystery lover's bookshelf. ... Read more

Product Description
"This is a first-class book that will enable users to identify any bird they encounter in Belize."--Victor Emanuel, President, Victor Emanuel Nature ToursWith nearly six hundred identified species of birds--and an average of five "new" species discovered annually--Belize is becoming a birding hotspot for amateur and professional birders from around the globe. Thousands of birders visit the country each year to enjoy Belize's amazing abundance and variety of both temperate and tropical birds in natural habitats that remain largely unspoiled. But until now, despite the growing need for an authoritative identification guide, birders have had to rely on regional field guides that offer only limited information on Belizean birds. Birds of Belize provides the first complete guide to the identification of all currently known species--574 in all. The birds are grouped by families, with an introduction to each family that highlights its uniquely identifying characteristics and behaviors. The species accounts include all the details necessary for field identification: scientific and common names, size, plumage features, thorough voice descriptions, habitat, distribution, and status in Belize. Full color, expertly drawn illustrations by noted bird artist Dana Gardner present male and female, juvenile and adult, and basic and alternate plumages to aid visual identification throughout the year, while 234 range maps show the birds' distribution and seasonality in Belize. A comprehensive bibliography completes the volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Birds of Belize
I ordered the book as above while still in Belize.

The order was waiting for me upon my return home and in exactly the excellent condition it was reported to be.

I would do business again with this seller.

For anyone interested in the book itself, I highly recommend it.I have seen several books on Birds of Belize and just othe tropical birds, but this is a much larger volume with large, colorful pictures and great descriptions as to the birds and they're habitats, behaviors and more.

Birds of Belize
This IS NOT a field guide!The book is large, heavy and poorly organized.The art work is basic with no fine details.Photographs, descriptions and maps are in three different locations.The maps are barely small ink line drawings that have no detail at all.The information in the descriptions contains a lot of words but not much useful information about habits, habitats or unique charicteristics that would differentiate between similar appearing species.While it may be the best you can get for Belize it is a far cry from many other field guides.I would recommend locating field guides specific to the areas you will be visiting, like Albert Greer's Birds of "Ambergris Caye", which unfortunately does not appear to be available on Amazon.com.

very good guide book
this is a very good guide book (and also really the only one for the subject).it would be nice if it had some behavioral facts for each bird.guidebooks get a little dry otherwise.i like this size of guidebook also.Audubon used to produce smaller guidebooks (not belize i don't think) thinking that they would be more convenient.i find the smaller guidebooks more difficult to page through especially when about a thousand insects are chewing on me in the jungle.

The essential Belize bird book
If you're birding in Belize with one book, this is the book you must have.
What I don't like is the layout. One section is for drawings with short, general habitat descriptions. Then you go to a second for much more complete descriptions. Then to the third section for a limited number of range maps. You have to go to the second section just to find the page number of the range map or if there even is one.

A field guide is for use in the field!
A good and thorough guide, but annoyingly large for field use.Even with the great number of species in Belize, there must be some way to make this book portable. ... Read more

Product Description
In the claustrophobic, mannered world of British India, Linny Ingram seems the perfect society wife: pretty, gracious, subservient. But appearances can be deceptive. Linny Ingram was born Linny Gow, an orphan raised in the gray slums of Liverpool. Sold into prostitution by her stepfather when she was only eleven, Linny clung to the belief that she was meant for something more, something better, than life on the cold, dangerous streets.

A stroke of luck granted Linny the chance to re-create herself as a proper middle-class young lady, allowing her to join “the fishing fleet”—young women of good birth who sailed to India in search of husbands. India, with its exotic colors, sights, and smells, is a world away from the cold back alleys of Linny’s childhood. But even there, she is haunted by her past, and by the constant threat of discovery. Soon she finds that respectability and marriage bring a new kind of imprisonment. But having come so far, Linny is not about to surrender easily. In the lush tropics of India she finds not only the means of rebellion . . . she finds that she may be capable of feeling love and freedom after all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Moving
A very moving, intensely narrated story of a girl/young woman subjected to the relentless social rules of her times.The end almost justifies her final revenge, but just almost.

Depressing, Depraved, and Disappointing
If you are looking for a good book where characterization, plot, theme, and setting work in harmony to evoke a satisfying reading experience, then I cannot recommend The Linnet Bird.From its dramatic, explosive beginning when the 11 year old hapless protagonist is forced into prostitution by her step-dad to the contrived conclusion where there is some semblance of normalcy, this is a disappointing book.

Like Poetry
Beautifully written, one of my all-time favorite books.So different and descriptive.The author spares no punches, and introduces the reader to the harsh reality of the day.So interesting, I couldn't put it down.I gave it to a friend to read, but wish I would have kept it for myself.

Five stars
A close friend recommended The Linnet Bird, and I trust her judegment.This story is heart-breaking, moving along at a fast pace.The reader is "hooked" within the first chapter.What a treat to run across such a readable, fascinating plot.I will be on the lookout for other works by this author.

Don't mess with Linny
A very good book. I really enjoyed this character. Linny takes a lot of abuse and comes out on top. It is a very hard road but she always makes the most of every situation that comes her way. I like the fact that Linny gets even with a few of the abusers. It makes you want to jump right in the book and knock a few people around. The abusers learn the hard way don't mess with Linny you will pay for it in the end.This book has all the emotions one can feel. ... Read more

Product Description
R to L (Japanese Style). He loves her blood, but does her love her?!

There is a world of myth and magic that intersects ours, and only a special few can see it. Misao Harada is one such person, and she wants nothing to do with magical realms. She just wants to have a normal high school life and maybe get a boyfriend. All that changes one day when Misao is attacked by a demon. Her childhood friend Kyo suddenly returns to save her and tend to her cuts--with his tongue! It turns out Misao is the bride of prophecy, whose blood gives power to the demon clan who claims her. But most demons want to keep her power for themselves--by eating her! Now Misao is just trying to stay alive...and decide if she likes it when Kyo licks her wounds.

Volume 3: Misao is starting to trust her heart where Kyo is involved, especially after he gives her one of his primary feathers. It isn't just her first present from him, it's a magic talisman that will keep her safe when he's not nearby! Misao is elated to be able to go to school without the fear of being eaten, just like a normal teenage girl. But as her feelings for Kyo deepen, she starts to realize that as his bride she will have to leave her human life behind--including her family! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Old And New Collide In Black Bird
Black Bird Volume Three opens to Misao's new fears amidst her budding romance with Kyo. Complicating matters is the return of Kuzunoha, a demon nemesis from the first volume who claims he's changed his ways and is willing to give Misao the information she wants most dearly. Her worries about what will happen to her if she becomes the bride are overwhelming, especially when she considers her parents and friends. But she isn't the only one worried about her fate, as Kyo and his demon crew are wondering the same thing. And with nefarious plotting and a new demon, everyone has their hands full. The end is another cliffhanger that could change everything, leaving the reader curious.

In this volume, both Misao's parents are featured, as well as Kensuke, a demon connected to a previously featured foe whose intentions may or may not be pure. Kyo is as always focused on Misao, and now especially what will happen when he makes her his bride, something that concerns Misao very much. But with battles and treachery, it seems as if they won't learn anything of value.

This is probably the bloodiest volume yet, so if it's fighting and blood you want, this will be your favorite. The quest for knowledge and the unsureness of the future feature heavily, though there are some funny moments, though there's more that's sweet than giggle-worthy. A good read which really makes you wonder about the future of the series.

Black Bird Vol. 3
Ok, I'll admit it.....I'm addicted to this series. It just keeps getting better! If you are already on Volume 3 you know what I mean! I'm just showing my support!

Someone pinch me please!
Kyo to me is sooo amazing in this Volume! He cares sooo much for Misao and the ending OOOohh Yeeaaa! I can't WAIT for Vol 4!!

STILL MY FAVORITE!!!!
Black Bird is the best manga ever!The romance is simply breath-taking,Misao and Kyo make me want to cheer! I loved it by the second page. You get to see Kyo shirtless and wet,have mercy!And the vassles are back and hotter then ever!In this volume Misao is contemplating the possibility of losing her friends and family if she marries Kyo.I think this volume allows Kyo to break away from his typical self-confident facade and display his more sensitive,and insecure side.We also get to see how truly devoted Kyo is to Misao.Also we see some old friends frome volume 1,but I won't spoil that,we are also introduced to a super sweet new charector! I highly recomend this manga.Enjoy(chu).

Definitely Over the Temperature
You know what? I like this story. It's so paranormal and romantic. You just can't be bored! You can't! I shudder for the gorish parts and I melt for the romantic ones. Man it's good. Ya' gotta love this stuff...I do! ^_^ ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (22)

very good guide
This guide is short on details but quick to use in the field for identification. Illustrations are small but well laid out.

unimpressive
I bought this book thinking it would be similar to the Princeton illustrated checklist for the non-passarines of South America which I thought was very good - brief yes but good quality paintings with range maps and a short description opposite the plates. The illustrations in this book however, besides being tiny, look more like quick color sketches not much better than what one might scribble in the field to aid in identifying the bird later - certainly not time consuming and thoughtful illustrations by a gifted artist. Also the range maps are all at the back of the book and the descriptions of each bird are so short as to be useless and are often not opposite the plates but a page before or beyond.

Excellent Birding Book
I just got back from a trip to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries in the mountains outside of Mexico City. I'm an avid birder here in the US and knew that being in the mountains we'd get to see some terrific birds along our hikes into the butterfly sanctuaries (which is an absolutely incredible experience I must add).

This bird book was really easy to use with the images of the birds and their names in the first part of the book and the range maps in the back. I had no trouble at all flipping back and forth and even taught our guide how to use it. I ended up leaving the book with him so he can take others on birding walks through the Monarch butterfly sanctuaries as well.

This was the first time he had ever used a bird book and he picked it up quickly too. I wanted to mention that because other reviews that I had read prior to buying it indicated that this was a difficult book to use and it's not at all. Other reviews also indicated that the drawings of the birds were super small and not very good - this is not the case either. They do have a number of birds on each plate but I found this to be a "plus" since it made it easier to compare different birds and figure out which ones I was seeing without having to flip through pages.

It's important to become familiar with any bird book before you go out into the field, study the birds, look at the indicator markings etc. before going out in the field so you aren't trying to process too much info when a bird is zipping by. This book does not point out specific indicator marks but if you look at the pictures you can see the differentiators.

Since I left my copy of this book in Mexico with our guide, I am buying another one to take with me on future trips. I think that's probably the best testament that I can give.

I also have the book by Howell and Webb but it's too thick and heavy to take on a trip where you're wearing a backpack and carrying water and binos and cameras and such.I left the Howell and Webb book at home but it has great images and more information on each bird in it.

Best of both worlds is to study the Howell and Webb book at home before the trip and take this Birds of Mexico and Central America book with you into the field.(For comparison, this book is pretty much the same size and thickness as my Sibleys)

Loved this book
Have taken this book to trips in Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama and it worked wonderfully for all three. I guess that is its strength. Illustrates all birds for Mexico through Panama, including vagrants and migrants. Not a reference book but works as an illustrated check list. Countries like Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala do not have guides which illustrate all their species and this does a wonderful job. There are a couple of errors (Baltimore and Orchard Oriole numbers are switched in illustrations and Striated Heron is shown as juvenile of Green Heron) but overall my favorite book for the region. Compact size.

Great for the field
i bought this book because i wanted to learn some of the birds of mexico. this guide include both mexico and central america in one compact guide. you might think that thats a lot of birds how would each bird get enough space in the book. well thats were the problems come up this book is crammed with 1500 birds and most of thei plumages this includes native birds and birds that occur rarly.the guide does not tell you too much about the birds except a very breif description of their plumages and their habitat. the guide is pretty easy to use all the bird groups are divided into plates and each bird has a number if you want to find the birds range map (all located in the back of the book) heres an example: lets say a bird is on plate 1 and it is number 4 you go to the back of the book to plate 1 and whatever the number the bird is it would be 1.4 and the name of the species is under the map.all those birds together makes comparing them really easy. one thing that is diffrent from most princeton illustrated checklists is that it includes both passrienes and non passerines. i think this guide should not be so broad and cover just one country instead of a lot of them ... Read more

Product Description
Birds of Ecuadorcomprehensively treats the nearly 1600 species of birds that can be found in mainland Ecuador. The authors describe Ecuador this way:

"One of the wonders of the natural world. Nowhere else is such incredible avian diversity crammed into such a small country. . . . Birds are, happily, numerous in many parts of Ecuador: even the downtown parks of the big cities such as Quito and Guayaquil host their complement."

Volume I, Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy, contains detailed information on the ecology, status, and distribution of all species. Introductory chapters deal with geography, climate, and vegetation; bird migration in Ecuador; Ecuadorian ornithology; endemic bird areas in Ecuador; and conservation. Individual species accounts treat habitat, distribution, and taxonomy.

Volume II, Field Guide, contains 96 full-color plates and facing pages of descriptive text, a color map of Ecuador, 2 line drawings of bird anatomy, 115 silhouette outlines, and nearly 1600 distribution maps. All species are illustrated in full color, including migrants and vagrants and visually distinctive subspecies.The text focuses on the field identification aspects of each species, including their behavior, vocalizations, and nest appearance.

The two volumes are available separately or may be purchased as a slipcased set. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Great Buy!
I ordered the book, The Birds of Ecuador, Vol.2:Field Guide before making a birding trip to Ecuador.Though the book was listed as "used", I was extremely pleased to see it was still in shrink wrap and it was evident that it had never been opened.There was not a scratch or mark anywhere to be found.Plus, I expected it to take up to 10 days to arrive, so imagine my surprise when it arrived on my doorstep in less than a week. Thanks, Amazon.com!

Really Good Fieldguide
It's a wonderful guide, but I will follow the advice of several others and have the plates removed and bound separately before I go on my trip.I cannot see myself carrying this entire fieldguide with me into the field.Carrying just the plates should work very nicely. Since I am not leaving until February,the guide offers me plenty of opportunity to acquaint myself with the birds I'll be seeing.

Birds of Ecuador ... a Must!!
I just returned from a 2 week guided birding treck in the cloud forests of Ecuador. BIRDS OF ECUADOR volume 2 was a definite "Must Have". Although some reviewers have said that only the plates are necessary, I found it worthwhile to carrry the entire volume 2 because the bird descriptions and habitat information was often needed to help me identify and learn about a specific bird. If you're thinking of going to Ecuador ... GO, and make room for this great field guide in your pack.
Paul.

Big Heavy & Great!
A great bird book for Ecuador - well, maybe the only "real" bird Guide to Ecuador! It is very complete but very big and heavy to be lugging around. We tend to use the plates more in the field for ID work and the write-ups back at base-camp. So ... we cut out the section containing all the plates and had it re-bound at Staples for a couple of dollars - re-glued with protective covers and added a bunch of blank pages at the end of the re-bound book for field notes. We taped the remaining two sections of the book back together and - voila, two seperate books - one, a hundred pages of great plates and the other, a lot more pages of species info. Then in the plate book, using a code, we marked the species to be expected in a particular area (M = Mindo, G = Galapagos, etc.) Works great that way.

BEST of SA birding books
I love the book, going to SA for 7 months birding & exploring. The book has the best color plates, I also like having the range maps on the same page. It is so comprehensive, but some text would be helpful on the plate/map page. Also a quick index on the last pg. would be helpful. Overall a great great guide, the best out there.
Mike Lenney ... Read more

Product Description
Spot the silhouette of a Northern Goshawk in flight. Identify the raucous call of the Red-winged Blackbird. Discover the secret of picking out a Chipping Sparrow from its look-alike cousins. It's simple with this classic field guide, a treasured favorite among amateur bird lovers and exacting professionals. Recognized as the authority on bird identification, this invaluable resource provides:

-All of North America in one volume
-Over 800 species and 600 range maps
-Arthur Singer's famous illustrations featuring male, female, and juvenile plumage
-Sonograms that picture sound for easy song recognition
-Migration routes, feeding habits, and characteristic flight patterns
-American ornithologists' classifications
-Convenient check boxes to record birds you have identified
-Color tabs for quick references
... Read more

Customer Reviews (61)

Love those birds
I am very please with the book Birds of North America, Field Guide.I have used it serveral times already.Since I moved from the Mid west to South Texas, the birds normally found here are very different from those up north.I live near water and am not familar with water fowl.I enjoy learning about them and those that are native to the area.

Substandard Printing
If you are at all interested in birding or being able to use this book in the field, do not buy this version.

I have this same book from 1966, learned to bird with the plates and information, and it was very useful to me as a beginner's field giude.I wanted an updated version, and the information in this new printing is indeed updated.But the pictures are very badly reproduced.My 44-year-old version looks brand new in comparison.The plates are blurry and over-exposed, making them look washed out and destroying important nuances.Also, the range maps that accompany each species are virtually unreadable (white against pale grey).It looks like a cheap black market knock off.

As a fan of the original, I'm totally disappointed.

Great bird book for watchers of all ages!
I have used a version of this book since I was quite young.It has pictures of every bird in the US, has fairly accurate maps of where they can be found, compares birds to similar birds to help determine which one it is and gives characteristics of the birds.I've never understood the order of the book, but birds of a certain type are all together (all ducks are together, warblers are together, etc.). They also regularly update the names of birds that have changed (why do they change the names of birds?).I love this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting a book to take with them across the US.

best field guide
This is the best field guide I have ever found. Have used it for over 30 years in the original form and new revised version is just as good.

Great Content, Poorly Printed
I have an edition of this guide from the 1960s and I love it - great content and well organized.I purchased this edition as several taxonomic changes have occurred over the past several decades and I wanted an updated version.The difference in printing quality between the 1960s version and this version is dramatic, from the lighter paper stock to a weaker binding and washed-out images.The plates in the current version are faded, off-color facsimiles of the original and look awful in a side-by-side comparison.Overall, I would have expected the same quality in printing that helped me to fall in love with the earlier edition. ... Read more

Product Description
After completing a tour of duty (thirty-five missions) in B-17s, Bert Stiles transferred to a fighter squadron. Just four months later he was killed in action on an escort mission to Hanover, Germany, on November 26, 1944. Stiles' book was written in the period between his two tours. Serenade to the Big Bird portrays the tragedy of war, and specifically the loss to the world of a fine, sensitive, talented writer who had only a short time to prove his merit. He died at twenty-three. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Accurate & interesting
Based on my fathers stories, this is a very good source about how the fliers felt and how they lived. Anyone wanting to know more about what it was really like should read this book.My father was stationed at the same airfield (322nd Sqd) around the same time as the author, and flew on several of the same missions.

Row On Row
This is a well written story of young man who, in the midst of risking his life on an almost daily basis for purposes that sometimes seemed obscure, reflects both upon his war mission and upon his life. I've read some reviews that don't see this as great writing nor much more than self obsessed musing. Perhaps it isn't great writing, but it is a well written narrative by someone who was in a unique position to carefully reflect on issues of life, death, and purpose; the backdrop for this introspection is that gray, unfocused world of exhaustion, death, survival and routine. The man and the book deserve five stars.

More or less a big dissappointment
After reading all the great reviews, this seemed a no-brainer.I waited for weeks for this book to arrive.What a disappointment.It's a very short read. Only 152 pages. I can't argue with those who were "there" who say "this is the way it was".Perhaps, but the book is rather boring.There are pages of text that include Stiles' musings while staring at the sky during the wait to load up the B17, or on days without a mission.He was thinking to be sure, but there is no deep philosophical thought here. Just: "I hate the ware and wish it was over" type stuff.It might have been "real", but it was boring. He has some flair in writing, but nothing really remarkable....certainly no Heminway by any stretch. I found myself just skipping paragraphs and then pages of boring material. If you expect this book to grip you with the intensity of the european air war, look elsewhere.It's just not there. Stiles was by his own account, a below-average co-pilot who didn't do much more than ride aboard his B17.I just can't see what all the fuss is about for this book.Mediocre at best.

Never received
Paid for with American Express to date have not received. Seller states that they will give refund, guess we will see.

Serenade
The book arrived amazingly fast and was in the condition as described...............good service, good product. ... Read more

Product Description
At Hog Wallow Middle School, May Ellen Bird was always slightly invisible. Then she went on a long trip to the land of the dead, where ghost towns glowed blue in the dark dusk and spooky specters dwelled in cities on the Dead Sea.

Back on Earth at last, May and her hairless cat, Somber Kitty, are now famous, their faces plastered across souvenirs and sportswear that read "May Bird Went to the Land of the Dead and All She Brought Me Was This Lousy T-Shirt." But, finally in the spotlight, May feels more than ever that she doesn't belong. Every night she sits by her bedroom window, gazing at the sky and dreaming of another place, wishing -- despite herself -- to be back among the ghosts.

And then one night she gets her heart's desire in a way she would never have wished for. Only the Ever After isn't anything like the world May left behind three years ago. The spirits have vanished, and the towns -- once full of every manner of things that go bump in the night -- are deserted. Evil Bo Cleevil has made the Ever After as cold as his own frigid soul, and put up a bunch of tacky malls to boot.

Now, with her friends missing and enemies all around her, May must find her way to the edge of the universe, where night swallows the stars, where allies are few and often have bad breath, where endings can also be beginnings, and where the truest hero lurks in the unlikeliest of souls. But Bo Cleevil's got one last trick up his sleeve -- one that no one on Earth is ready for.

With the worlds of the living and the dead in the balance, will May's courage fail her one last time? Or will she finally become the warrior she was always meant to be? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Semi-satisfying
Nice to have an end to the trilogy, but there's more teen angst and less straight-forward adventure. The endingrings a little hollow, but it's not depressing.

May Bird
I got this set of books for my grand daughter (13) and she liked them very much.

A bittersweet ending to a wonderful trilogy
In truth, the ending is more sweet than bitter but you'll want to have the tissues nearby in any case.The final book in the trilogy brings the series to a wholly satisfying conclusion.It even includes some wonderful and surprising twists, but all loose ends are tied up in the end.Characters will be reunited and sacrifices will be made.

But as with the previous books, it's more than a great story.Warrior Princess leaves you with a full heart and keeps you thinking long after the last page, pondering all the wonderful possibilities of the universe.

I'd say more but writing about the book makes my eyes all blurry.All I want to do is reread the trilogy from creepy start to beautiful finish.

Another winner!
This is the 3rd book in the May Bird series. I found it to be just as wonderful as the first 2. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. It picks up where the 2nd book left off and concludes May Bird's adventures. I don't want to give any details of the story (it would ruin it for those on books 1 & 2). It is (as with the other two books) most highly recommended.

May Bird Needs Tim Burton!
First of all, I agree with the other reviewers who said that this series is screaming for Tim Burton.A movie version of May would be fabulous, especially if she is brought to life by the fabulous Mr. Burton.

That said, I don't think there are too many stories out there like the May Bird series.I have read all three and think they are all wonderful.They are a little on the dark side, dealing with death and the afterworld, so younger readers be forewarned.But the characters themselves are brilliant- the house ghost Pumpkin with his yellow tuft of hair, the "luminous boy" Lucius, brought to the afterworld (known as the "Ever After") by the Boogeyman, and May's loyal companion, SomberKitty.You wind up feeling like they are your friends, too, as you read the story.It's also nice to see a strong female character, very human, that many young girls will relate to (the fact that she feels like she doesn't fit in).

It must be very difficult for an author to write sequels.Everyone always expects them to top the last book.But with May Bird, you don't so much see the stories topping one another.You see May growing and changing, so the stories grow and change with her.They do get progressively darker since she must battle the evil forces (Bo Cleevil) who threaten Ever After.And you have to expect some serious subject matter here, too, because we are dealing with death and dead souls, so by the time you reach "Warrior Princess," there are some extremely sad parts (be prepared for the ending).

If you read the first two books in the series then you HAVE to read this one.After reading the reviews here, I wasn't sure if I should buy this one, but now I am so glad I did.I think the story is beautiful, and much deeper than the other two, as we finally come to a conclusion for May and see what she has learned on her journey.

I HIGHLY recommend reading all three in order.You can read this one without having read the other two, butyou will be missing out on seeing May grow, and that would be a shame. ... Read more

Product Description
South America, though home to about one-third of the world's bird species and twice as many endemic families of birds as any other continent, has the world's sparsest population of birdwatchers. Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica illustrates and describes all the known species--more than 1,000 of them--in a vast swath of this underexplored birder's paradise, from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, southern Brazil, and Uruguay to parts of Antarctica. Just some of the birds it covers are teals, tinamous, chachalacas, conebills, cuckoos, macaws, parakeets, parrots, penguins, nightjars, hummingbirds, ovenbirds, tyrants, and tanagers. The habitats range from torrid rainforests and cloudforests to grasslands, the world's driest desert, second highest mountain range, and ice caps.

The 97 color plates depict each species' male in breeding plumage, with the female and young often shown as well. On the facing page are concise textual descriptions of each species, highlighting not only salient physical features and behavioral patterns but the calls or songs of each. Casual birders and ornithologists contemplating a journey to the region, or simply interested in a one-volume overview of its bird life, will not want to miss this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

It's Not Sibley
For those of us who are spoiled by Sibley and have used the old Golden Birds of America for decades, the lack of maps on the page with the species' image and text is frustrating to no end. This is book is particularly hard to use as the very generalized, gray-tonedmaps do not give any seasonal information and only tell if the bird is common or uncommon in a very grossly defined area.Additionally, the descriptions are short and again provide no information about seasonality.All that said, as we are only traveling in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, the book is exactly what we needed geographically. And, as we have used Princeton guides in Europe, SE Asia, and India and had a good (if at times frustrating)time, we will make do.We wonder how long it will take Princeton to catch on to the idea that maps on the page with the description are doable.

A mandatory book for South American birders
De la Peña & Rumboll's "Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica" is a well illustrated field book with more than 1,000 species of birds from Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, southern Brazil and southern Bolivia, plus Antarctica. Easy to use and carry in the field, one can identify any species fast, being either a male, a female or a juvenile in many cases. Illustrations from Non-Passerine birds are more accurate than Passerine birds. Each plate has the English vernacular name, the latin name and some key informations about the bird sighted as colors (male and female, whether this is the case), habitat and even vocalization in some cases. Unfortunately, the distribution maps for all species are useless and should come after the description of any bird. Despite of the maps, this bookis really a good purchase, a mandatory book for South American birders.

Great field guide for Argentina and neighboring countries.
This field guide was an excellent addition to our trip to Argentina (Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls National Park).It is easy to transport in a backpack (small and not too heavy) and the color plates make it relatively easy to identify the birds we saw.In addition, the geographic plates were useful so we could determine if the birds were usually found in the regions we visited.Furthermore, the names were given in both English and Spanish which made communicating with the local guides much easier.I highly recommend this field guide to anyone traveling in southern South America.

Not too bad considering
There is no bird guide specific to Paraguay which is where I'm going.This guide is not up to Sibley or Peterson standards but is better than nothing.There are maps for each species,color pictures and a brief description of the bird.I am going through the book and marking species I expect to see to make it easier to use in the field.

Excellent images
It has high quality images of birds. It only have family classification, for biolohist it could have the order classification. It is a small book which is good to carry. ... Read more

Product Description
Gooney Bird Greene has a fabulous idea after her teacher reads fables to the class. The children learn that fables are stories with animal characters that teach something important. Gooney’s fabulous idea is that each student create their own fable and tell it to the class! Everyone but Nicholas is excited about their stories and costumes. Can Gooney Bird find out why Nicholas is unhappy and get him to join in the fun? Now that would be truly fabulous! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

She is truly fabulous
When I first selected the "Gooney Bird" series I knew it would be cute since I used Amazon's previous service, but little did I realize that even this 58-year-old Nana would derive so much pleasure for myself.

Latest Gooney story of a win-win girl's ideas.
Lois Lowery's GOONEY THE FABULOUS presents grades 2-5 with a fine easy reader telling of Mrs. Pidgeon, who has been reading fables to her second grade class. But Gooney Greene isn't content with hearing fables: what if each child creates his or her own fable and tells it to the class? Her idea sparks interest and new challenges in this latest Gooney story of a win-win girl's ideas. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Young Birder's Guide
This excellent guide arrived in perfect condition and on time to use as a prize in a bird identification contest.

Great activity for parent/child!
My son and I enjoy going on adventures and this book enables us to learn while we are outdoors. Great book!

Perfect for a youngster
My five year old is fascinated with birds, and this book is perfect. He like to be read from it every night, marks the birds he sees, and spend time looking through the pictures and maps.

Fantastic!!!
This is a great bird book for youngsters.It has excellent pictures, wonderful illustrations, and perfect age appropriate descriptions.Give this to your children and extend the life of your own bird books!My twin 4+ year olds love it and read it constantly on car rides.They have become especially fond of using the space provide for recording what species they have seen and where.They did realize there were species missing (the book covers the 200 most common) but understand why and have yet to see much that is not found in "their" bird book.
I highly recommend this book!

Great for Kids and Adults
My son is 6 and we read this book together. The "gross" facts make itinteresting for kids, especially boys. Even adults can learn from this book. It gives incentive for kids to get OUTSIDE!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Jacqueline Winspear’s marvelous and inspired debut, Maisie Dobbs, won her fans from coast to coast and raised her intuitive, intelligent, and resourceful heroine to the ranks of literature’s favorite sleuths. Birds of a Feather finds Maisie Dobbs on another dangerously intriguing adventure in London "between the wars." It is the spring of 1930, and Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress. But what seems a simple case at the outset soon becomes increasingly complicated when three of the heiress’s old friends are found dead. Is there a connection between the woman’s mysterious disappearance and the murders? Who would want to kill three seemingly respectable young women? As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the answers lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

Linda's Review
Maisie Dobbs is an intriguing and interesting main character in Birds of a Feather. The book is set in post war England. There is a lot history in the story which makes it even more interesting. If you enjoy history and mysteries, you'll really enjoy this book.

Thoroughly enjoyable
Maisie Dobbs is a wonderful character, and this is such a great period piece. I listened to this as an audiobook and enjoyed it very much. Set in the first half of the twentieth century, Winspear does a great job capturing the tumultuous social upheaval in Great Britain, and juxtaposing it against the calm and poised Ms Dobbs. Maisie's remarkable self-possession, particularly in the course of her unusual career choice, shines through. Without being tedious or self-aggrandizing, this novel has Maisie spreading her wings and flying solo as a psychologist / consultant. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Winspear's dissection of Maisie's thought process. In most other novels, the play-by-play of a character's thought process drives me to tears. Overall, the novel personifies some of my favorite British traits through Maisie. Go Maisie!

Interrupted lives
This is the second in the Maisie Dobbs series of period cozy mysteries.The series is set in England, between the wars.Like many of her generation Maisie's life had been seriously disrupted by WWI, although Maisie's life alterations had begun even earlier.Born into a working class family Maisie had risen from a tweeny maid to a college student due to the generosity of her employer, Lady Rowan when the war began.Like many other young women Maisie left her comfortable life behind to work as a nurse.After the war was over Maisie returned home to finish her training and begin her career but like many others she discovered that was more difficult than she had supposed.

As BIRDS OF A FATHER begins it is 1930 and Maisie's business as an 'Investigator and Psychologist' has been doing quite well.She has been able to move into a nicer suite of offices and hire an assistant, Billy Beale, to work with her.Her latest case involves an heiress to a grocery empire who has, once again, disappeared.Although Maisie is puzzled about her client's insistence on the return of his adult daughter Maisie agrees to undertake the case.Once she begins Maisie discovers that there is much more to this case than a headstrong daughter defying her overbearing father.Closer to home Maisie finds that there is trouble in her own extended family as well that she must deal with.

As with most cozy mysteries the ongoing subplots involving the recurring characters are as important as the mystery aspects of the story.Winspear has done an excellent job of summarizing and supplying these back stories so it is not strictly necessary to read the first novel (MAISIE DOBBS) in order to enjoy this one.The details about the time period, particularly about the changing roles of women are woven into the narrative quite well, enhancing rather than distracting from the story.

Smart, Good LookingClever Heroine - We Love Her!
Hooray for Jacqueline Winspear! Maisie Dobbs is a smart good looking detective in post World War I London who uses psychology to solve murder mysteries.If you like your protagonist with more brains than brawn then you will love the Maisie Dobbs books.We do!"

Loved this historical detective, Nancy Drew, grownup series.
Well written historical based fiction. She is Nancy Drew grown up with a psychology degree. A woman on her own at a time in England that was not the standard. ... Read more

Product Description
A New York Times Book of the Year
A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
Winner of the Salon Book Award
A Village Voice Book of the Year

Birds of America is the celebrated collection of twelve stories from Lorrie Moore, one of the finest authors at work today.
 
“Fluid, cracked, mordant, colloquial…. Stand[s] by itself as one of our funniest, most telling anatomies of human love and vulnerability.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A marvelous collection…. Her stories are tough, lean, funny, and metaphysical…. Birds of America has about it a wild beauty that simply makes one feel more connected to life.” —The Boston Globe
 
“At once sad, funny, lyrical and prickly, Birds of America attests to the deepening emotional chiaroscuro of her wise and beguiling work.” —The New York Times
 
“Stunning…. There’s really no one like Moore; in a perfect marriage of art form and mind, she has made the short story her own.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
“Birds of America stands as a major work of American short fiction…. Absolutely mastered.” —Elle
 
“Wonderful…. These stories impart such terrifying truths.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
 
“Lorrie Moore soars with Birds of America.... A marvelous, fiercely funny book.” —Newsweek
 
“Fifty years from now, it may well turn out that the work of very few American writers has as much to say about what it means to be alive in our time as that of Lorrie Moore.” —Harper’s MagazineAmazon.com Review
Lorrie Moore made her debut in 1985 with Self-Help, whichproved that she could write about sadness, sex, and the single girlwith as much tenderness--and with considerably more wit--than almostany of her contemporaries. She followed this story collection withanother, LikeLife, as well as two fine novels, Anagrams and Who Will Run the FrogHospital? Yet Moore's rapid-fire alternation of mirth and deepmelancholy is so perfectly suited to the short form that readers willgreet Birds of America with an audible sigh of relief--anddelight. In "Willing," for example, a second-rate Hollywood starletretreats into a first-rate depression, taking shelter in aChicago-area Days Inn. The author's eye for the small comic detail isintact: her juice-bar-loving heroine initially drowns her sorrows in"places called I Love Juicy or Orange-U-Sweet." Yet Moore seldomsatisfies herself with mere pop-cultural mockery. She's too interestedin the small and large devastations of life, which her actress isexperiencing in spades. "Walter leaned her against his parked car,"Moore relates. "His mouth was slightly lopsided, paisley-shaped, hislips anneloid and full, and he kissed her hard. There was somethingnumb and on hold in her. There were small dark pits of annihilationshe discovered in her heart, in the loosening fist of it, and shethrew herself into them, falling." Elsewhere, the author serves up asimilar mixture of one-liners and contemporary grief, lamenting thedeath of a housecat in "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens" and thedeath of a marriage in "Which Is More Than I Can Say About That." Andher hilarious account of a nuclear family undergoing a meltdown in"Charades" will make you want to avoid parlor games for the rest ofyour natural life. --James Marcus ... Read more

Customer Reviews (88)

short stories for non-short story lovers
I loved this book.I rarely read short stories (except for those by Janovitz) because I rarely feel satisfied when I'm finished. It's like a meal that doesn't fill you up.These stories, however, were very satisfying and stood on their own.I loved the characters andwanted to know them again, but felt they were complete in themselves.Delicious stories

Calling Home
I generally love short story books, because they move quickly and allow me to connect with many characters without forming a lasting relationship with any one of them.

I started this book gladly, and soon discovered how close it was to my life. For this reason, I found it depressing to read, as it reminded me of what I went through in the past few years. I was troubled by stories of characters who were lost or detached in some sense.

Moore has the ability to take a tragedy - such as one man blowing up a house, or the death of a child - and sum it up in a paragraph. These hit me hard, and then I would have to move on, pretending that the tragedy was "normal." Her writing is good, but I agree that she is self-conscious. Most short story writers, though, are; they focus a lot on prose, as each sentence counts.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. Its sad moments hit me too hard for me to faithfully recommend it, and yet I am glad I read it, and I read it (as I do with most short story books) quickly.

Mmmmm.
Perfect.
Please read "People Like That are the Only People Here." Then read it again, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat, for many days.

Then read "Dance in America." Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat.

Too much tragedy
Lorrie Moore is a brilliantly witty writer, but I wouldn't advise anyone to read this book hoping to be cheered up by a few good laughs. You should be warned that children in this collection suffer from Wilm's tumor, cystic fibrosis, Down's syndrome, fatal head injury and death from polio. The adults don't fare much better. It is very brave of Moore to deal with such tragedies, and I suppose one of the duties of a great writer is to show how such things are dealt with, but I think her greatest strength is when she shows people dealing with less obvious afflictions. I still think she was at her best in "Self-Help" when she grabbed attention with the second-person and present tense
She hammers home her points sometimes with convoluted sentences telling the reader what to think. Describing a woman with lung cancer who moves she says:
"Every house is a grave, thought Ruth. All that life-stealing fuss and preparation. Which made moving from house to house a resurrection- or an exodus of ghouls depending on your point of view- and made moving to a house (yet another house!) the darkest of follies and desires?" Alice Munro, William Trevor, Katherine Mansfield, Carver, Cheever or Updike would have let the reader draw his or her own conclusions.

Interesting stories
I read these stories a few years ago now. They are a little dark and disturbing....which is good (for some). I enjoyed them, and think it's about time to re-read them.
Good book...but buy it used. ... Read more

Product Description
The universally respected NPR journalist and bestselling memoirist Scott Simon makes a dazzling fiction debut. In Pretty Birds, Simon creates an intense, startling, and tragicomic portrait of a classic character–a young woman in the besieged city of Sarajevo in the early 1990s.

In the spring of 1992, Irena Zaric is a star on her Sarajevo high school basketball team, a tough, funny teenager who has taught her parrot, Pretty Bird, to do a decent imitation of a ball hitting a hoop. Irena wears her hair short like k. d. lang’s, and she loves Madonna, Michael Jordan, and Johnny Depp. But while Irena rocks out and shoots baskets with her friends, her beloved city has become a battleground. When the violence and terror of “ethnic cleansing” against Muslims begins, Irena and her family, brutalized by Serb soldiers, flee for safety across the river that divides the city.

If once Irena knew of war only from movies and history books, now she knows its reality. She steals from the dead to buy food. She scuttles under windows in her own home to dodge bullets. She risks her life to communicate with an old Serb school friend and teammate. Even Pretty Bird has started to mimic the sizzle of mortar fire.

In a city starved for work, a former assistant principal offers Irena a vague job, “duties as assigned,” which she accepts. She begins by sweeping floors, but soon, under the tutelage of a cast of rogues and heroes, she learns to be a sniper, biding her time, never returning to the same perch, and searching her targets for the “mist” that marks a successful shot. Ultimately, Irena’s new vocation will lead to complex and cataclysmic consequences for herself and those she loves.

As a journalist, Scott Simon covered the siege of Sarajevo. Here, in a novel as suspenseful as a John le Carré thriller, he re-creates the atmosphere of that place and time and the pain and dark humor of its people. Pretty Birds is a bold departure, and the auspicious beginning of yet another brilliant career for its author.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Compelling and convincing
This is the story of Irena, a sniper for the besieged Bosnians, who is 17 and would really rather be playing basketball, reading fan mags, smoking and drinking coffee with her pals. Instead, because Sarajevo has been besieged by the Serbs, she is living in the apartment of her grandmother (shot dead the first day of the war) with her mom and increasingly depressed dad, rarely going out because the streets are so dangerous.

Simon's depiction of the place and time is utterly convincing. You feel like you are stuck in that apartment with them. He also does a decent job getting into the head of a 17-year-old girl, following her evolution into a sniper under the tutelage of a former high school principal turned insurgent commander.

The only flaw is that, unrealistically, every darned character in the book is just as frigging clever as Scott Simon! No conversation is less than sparkling, no description is less than threefold depth. This got on my nerves after a while.

Still, overall, an entertaining, heartbreaking, and mostly convincing book.

Great book, weak ending?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm a radio fan of Scott Simon and can see his point of view here. The story is a page turner but I was a little let down by the ending. It seemed a little too convenient. I would have liked to see something more challenging for the final chapter. I love a good coming-of-age novel and appreciated the historical information as a bonus.

Sad little bird!
I found this book to be interesting for what appeared to be a realistic description of the war in Sarajevo.My family comes from that ethnic region and I know the character of the people was very realistically portayed!The story does not follow a 'cliche' script so you must read to the end to find out how it ends!Thank you Scott Simon.

A difficult story to read, but well worth it
After reading "Pretty Birds" I can say it must have been author Scott Simon's intent to empathize with the people of Sarajevo who suffered profoundly under the siege.His characters - primarily a Bosnian Muslim middle-class family - are not strangers in rags running in a desolate land. Rather, the Zarics resemble the family two doors down: Irena, the Air Jordan-wearing high school basketball star who signs to Madonna and reads Vogue; her parents - Dalila and Milo - who were idealistic college kids swept up in the myriad movements of the 1960s.

As their world deteriorates into chaos, each reacts in their own way. Milo remains inventive in conserving candlewax and rainwater. Dalila combats the ennui of mere survival by looking after her older neighbors in their bombed-out apartment building. Irena becomes a sniper, and much of her internal dialogue is a debate between justifying the retaliatory murders of the Serbian besiegers and appealing to a higher morality that compels her to aim just above their heads.

This book is well-written and would be a quicker read if one did not have to stop every so often as a character after character is brutally silenced by a mortar or a sniper's clever shot. Simon spares no agony here in his brutal illustration of the horrors of war upon a very familiar civilian populace. Nor does he ever let the victims be seen as statistics, going to lengths to describe their personalities as a seasoned journalist knows how to do. I came away from "Pretty Birds" with a tragically personal sense of the thousands of losses the students, managers, clerks, clerics, businessman and housewives endured under the crush of civil war.

Poorly written - okay story
I like Scott Simon on NPR and I really wanted to like this book, but I was disappointed. Character development is poor and I was unable to picture the scenes that Simon was writing about. Descriptions are not clear. There is a lot of dialogue but I didn't find it particularly interestingor engaging. I do enjoy listening to the author a lot on the radio. ... Read more