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A review by micklesreads
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik
adventurous
medium-paced
2.0
I went on a birding trip and was told by several of the more serious birders that this was a fantastic book.
Honestly, this just made me really dislike one of the three men, who was rude to everyone and just a jerk. I was struck that the book never mentioned race or class or anything about indigenous people or environmental issues. Only once did the author offhandedly mention that "serious birders" were more often men. No hint of recognition that this was because they had wives at home taking care of everything and everyone in their absence.
This cemented for me the kind of birder I don't want to be tbh. It was joyless and competitive with no real sense of wonder.
Honestly, this just made me really dislike one of the three men, who was rude to everyone and just a jerk. I was struck that the book never mentioned race or class or anything about indigenous people or environmental issues. Only once did the author offhandedly mention that "serious birders" were more often men. No hint of recognition that this was because they had wives at home taking care of everything and everyone in their absence.
This cemented for me the kind of birder I don't want to be tbh. It was joyless and competitive with no real sense of wonder.