The Readin Roos

Thomas Dunlap's book presents a history of birding through the context of field identification guides. By examining the interests of birders over time, and the symbiotic relationship between birding as recreation and birding as a spur for action on conservation, he shows how guides changed to reflect needs for greater sophistication in identification, better understanding of where and when species can be found, and the importance of ecosystem beyond individual species survival.

This book provides a concise historical sketch of the development of interest in North American birds, from the accounts of early explorers to the modern phenomenon of Big Year listing, a practice that borders on an extreme sport. While providing thumbnail sketches of some of the interesting characters, and this hobby has more than its share, Weidensaul describes the manifold approaches to birding, bird-watching, twitching, ornithology, bird banding, etc. that lead to the hobby being considered one of America’s fastest-growing and most popular pastimes.