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david66's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
An interesting tale of adventure of the true story of 3 men who competed in a Big Year of bird watching. Nicely balanced between insights into these men's lives, their adventures across N. America in pursuit of birds and the heavy toll it takes on all of them. There's also the occasional piece of historical data thrown in. In all this was a fascinating account of obsession, but told with humour, and in an easy to read style. Really enjoyed this.
duckinggreyduck's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia
christopherwater's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
mandy_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
I have to admit that I'm interested in bird watching--I know, I know, it doesn't fit into my Devil May Care attitude--and always felt that I had a decent life list. That is until I picked this book up. Who knew that there is Competitive Birdwatching? Certainly not me. And A Big Year? That was a completely new concept to me. Apparently you start on January 1st and count the number of bird species that you see during a calendar year. Prior to 1998, the record Big Year was 721 species. In 1998, three men, Sandy Komito (who held the 721 record), Greg Miller, and Al Levantin found themselves in a neck and neck race to spot the most birds that year. Individually, they traveled thousands of miles from the Dry Tortugas off Florida to Attu in the Aleutian Islands and endured unbelievably harsh conditions in order to score sightings of additional species. Since North America has only 645 naturally nesting species, the lists had to be augmented with rarities and accidentials--birds that normally were not seen in North America. While the birder I was rooting for didn't win, the winner set a new record with 745 different birds. A fascinating book about a little known competitive event. I'm never going to view bird watchers the same way again.
finesilkflower's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Pop journalism treatment of the 1998 American Birding Association "Big Year," when a contest between three serious contenders led to a recordbreaking number of most birds seen in a year by an individual. Sort of a birder's answer to a sports narrative. Obmascik profiles three obsessive competitors: returning champion Sandy Komito, a fast-talking retired contractor with a big personality; recently retired executive Al Levantin, a determined enthusiast making up for lost time; and Greg Miller, the underdog, who balances his stultifying day job as a Y2K bug fixer with intense weekends birding by ear. I had seen the movie based on this book before reading it and I was surprised by how much of the movie is taken directly from the book, including cinematic scenes such as Levantin and Miller teaming up to take a helicopter trip looking for Himalayan snowcocks in the Nevada canyons; Miller reconnecting with his father by looking for owls; and even the humor of Komito rolling up to a remote Alaskan outpost and immediately putting on the favorite pants he left there last time! Obmascik deftly brings out the personalities of the three competitors, provides enough context to get invested in their quest, and interweaves stories of their cross-country adventures and misadventures, making a compelling read. There is a slight "get a load of these weirdos" tone at the beginning that is mitigated by Obmascik's self-professed love of birding and genuine affection for these men.
apetranoff's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
An interesting look into the birding world.
emilym4488's review against another edition
4.0
The Big Year
Mark Obmascik
This is my most blasphemous book review ever….. but I truly enjoyed the movie adaptation more.
The pros of the book are the amazing detailed lists of different bird species and where they were found, but it became too much of “and then he went to x, followed by y, and then to z.” It just flows cleanly in the movie.
For any birder, it’s worth it, but would be very tedious for anyone who isn’t a diehard.
(But anyone can enjoy the movie!!)
Mark Obmascik
This is my most blasphemous book review ever….. but I truly enjoyed the movie adaptation more.
The pros of the book are the amazing detailed lists of different bird species and where they were found, but it became too much of “and then he went to x, followed by y, and then to z.” It just flows cleanly in the movie.
For any birder, it’s worth it, but would be very tedious for anyone who isn’t a diehard.
(But anyone can enjoy the movie!!)