The story of China’s Chairman Mao is a salutary one: he took on nature and lost. Mao’s war against the humble tree sparrow for eating grain seed resulted not just in the bird being wiped out, but the deaths of millions of his own people, too, in a terrible famine: the worst human-made disaster in human history. Crops were left vulnerable as the sparrows had controlled the insect population, particularly locusts. Emperor penguin At turns entertaining, fascinating, informative, and horrifying. Stephen Moss is a great storyteller. I didn't agree with everything he said, especially about the bald eagle, but it definitely got me thinking. Also new to me was Mao's Sparrow campaign--how did I never hear of that? Stephen Moss’s Ten Birds That Changed the World is a model of contemporary nature writing. Its blend of science, history, and the cultural significance we human animals attach to the other life around us had me riveted. When I closed this book, the emperor penguins I watch online, the eagles that soar my local river, the wild raven who’s befriended me—all these and more had taken on a depth of meaning and relevance I never quite grasped before.” For the whole of human history, we have shared our world with birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food; worshipped them in our religions; placed them at the heart of our myths and legends; poisoned and persecuted them; and celebrated them in our literature, art and music. Even today, despite a very worrying disconnection between ourselves and the rest of nature, birds continue to play a role in our lives. To start with, the author displays the typical left wing Brit's juvenile understanding of American politics by attempting to comment on the January 06, 2021 riot at the U. S. capitol, which in and of itself is completely unnecessary in a book like this. The author further undermines both his credibility and the quality of this book by furthering myths about the incident and citing disreputable left-wing political "experts." On top of all this, at the end of chapter, the author attempts to mislead readers by implying that comments made in 2018 interview in Rolling Stone magazine were uttered at the Jan 06 protests.

Ten Birds That Changed the World | NHBS Good Reads Ten Birds That Changed the World | NHBS Good Reads

This was an informative and decent book about birds until the author bizarrely decided to insert political commentary during the chapter about bald eagles. I have always had a special place in my heart for birds in general. From birdwatching, identification, nature walks, bird calls, and just being surrounded by nature. The book concluded with some hopeful observations about species recovery when humans correct ill-advised actions like DDT dissemination and harvesting feathers for apparel. I found myself motivated to take action toward improving the lot of species in my own area, but the book did not encourage or guide its readers to act upon their own examinations of conscious. Ik heb mezelf (terug) wat voor de gek gehouden, ik dacht dat het boek vooral ging gaan over vogels uit vogelperspectief, maar het boek gaat meer over de wisselwerking tussen bepaalde vogels en mensen een beetje als de boeken van Sally Coulthard, op zich boeiend maar anders dan mijn verwachtingen , …Sapiens kan soms behoorlijk vermoeiend zijn , een beetje mensenmoe , Legendary ravens that humans can't decide whether to admire or fear. Pigeon war heroes and pooping on statues. Turkeys feeding settlers and giving us food poisoning. Dodos first inspiring the theory of extinction, their lost bones and fraudulent taxidermy. Darwin's (uncited) finches evolving before the Grants' eyes, awesome discussion of how evolutionary ideas 'evolved and radiated'. Guanay cormarant fertilising poop harvested for the benefit of agriculture and sufferance of labourers. Egrets vs Marie Antoinette-esque fashionistas. Bald Eagles as political and ancient symbols of power: the Aztec 'thunderbird', Roman standards, Napoleon, Nazis and Trump. The Not-Great Sparrow Campaign massacre by the Chinese Communist party (then in Oz, Emus 1 Humans 0. Emperor Penguins and the worsening impact of climate change: on the 'stay' side of 'should I stay or should I go' migration behaviour.

Moss writes with the scope of a scholar and the confidence of a careful observer, finding fresh and fascinating insights into the lives and legacies of ten iconic birds. A thoughtful, thought-provoking, and thoroughly enjoyable book.” Soon, birds were not just providing food but spiritual and social nourishment, too. Without the sustenance the wild turkey provided for the early European settlers of the Americas, it is likely that the colonisation of the New World might never have come about. It soon became the centrepiece of Christmas feasts in Britain and Europe, and Thanksgiving in North America. Dodo For the whole of human history, we have lived alongside birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food; venerated them in our mythologies, religions, and rituals; exploited them for their natural resources; and been inspired by them for our music, art, and poetry.

Ten Birds That Changed the World - Hachette Book Group

A] penetrating history…The blend of history and science highlights the deep connections between humans and the natural world, and the cultural insights enlighten….This flies high.” In Ten Birds That Changed the World, naturalist and author Stephen Moss tells the gripping story of this long and eventful relationship through ten key species from all seven of the world's continents. From Odin's faithful raven companions to Darwin's finches, and from the wild turkey of the Americas to the emperor penguin as potent symbol of the climate crisis, this is a fascinating, eye-opening and endlessly engaging work of natural history.This is a journey into an extraordinary world—an outwardly familiar world, but one that has been shaped and contoured by birds in ways we can only begin to imagine. Through the stories of those birds, Moss shows us how our lives owe so much to them, and why we should care for their kind a little more.”

Ten Birds That Changed the World by Stephen Moss - Waterstones

In other chapters, the book illustrated how species including the bald eagle, the pigeon, and the turkey changed human habits and cultures. Stephen Moss mentions both Poe and the Mad Hatter in “Raven,” the first chapter of “Ten Birds That Changed the World,” but mercifully doesn’t attempt to solve the riddle. A BBC broadcaster and prolific author, Mr. Moss has made a career out of explaining British birds to a wider readership. In this book he traverses a much larger terrain, starting out close to home, with the ravens in the United Kingdom, but ending as far away as he can get, with a visit to the emperor penguins of Antarctica. Ik lijk wat verloren in mijn zoektocht naar boeken ( met passie geschreven) over andere organismen wat maar snel of traag beweegt, als het maar eens niet over sapiens gaat , planten , insecten, atomen , zoog en andere dieren , spoken is ook goed , AI systemen, buitenaards leven enz voorlopig lijk ik deze boeken niet direct te vinden We learn less about the birds and their behavior than the way that humans have treated them. The stories detailing despicable human actions toward snowy egrets and tree sparrows were emotionally difficult to read, but they illuminated how selfishly and callously humans can behave toward other species. Moss, a British nature writer, broadcaster, and environmentalist who has written more than 40 books and field guides, is an ideal guide to this in-depth look at 10 consequential species and the threats to their continued survival. Spoiler alert: The world-changing birds are the raven, pigeon, wild turkey, dodo, Darwin's finch, guanay cormorant, snowy egret, bald eagle, tree sparrow, and emperor penguin. The contributions of some of these birds are immediately apparent—e.g., carrier pigeons could bring messages from the front lines of battles and wars, changing the course of the conflicts. The historical roles of other birds are more obscure. The snowy egret, prized for its long, feathery aigrettes, was driven to the brink of extinction by the plumage trade, but this led to the first bird protection laws. Moss is good at sorting out the myths from the realities of these birds' places in history. Darwin's finches, for example, were not actually the inspiration for his theory of evolution by natural selection but are still one of the best demonstrations of its veracity. The author also takes note of the prominent places these birds hold in mythology and literature, such as Poe's "The Raven,” but his larger theme is the threat of extinction that hovers over so many species today. As such, the centerpiece of his avian collection is the dodo, which has transitioned from a real bird to “the global icon of extinction." Its disappearance 300 years ago first suggested to the Western mind that a species could go extinct. The author’s thorough and well-argued book brings urgent attention to all the species that now face oblivion due to the global climate crisis. Heidaripour's illustrations complement the engaging, sobering analysis.For the whole of human history, we have lived alongside birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food; venerated them in our mythologies, religion and rituals; exploited them for their natural resources; and been inspired by them for our music, art and poetry.In Ten Birds that Changed the World, naturalist and author Stephen Moss tells the gripping story of this long and eventful relationship through ten key species from all seven of the world’s continents. From Odin’s faithful raven companions to Darwin’s finches, and from the wild turkey of the Americas to the emperor penguin as potent symbol of the climate crisis, this is a fascinating, eye-opening and endlessly engaging work of natural history. Ten Birds That Changed the World by Stephen Moss – eBook Details The RRP is the suggested or Recommended Retail Price of a product, set by the publisher or manufacturer. In Ten Birds that Changed the World, naturalist and author Stephen Moss tells the gripping story of this long and eventful relationship through ten key species from all seven of the world’s continents. From Odin’s faithful raven companions to Darwin’s finches, and from the wild turkey of the Americas to the emperor penguin as potent symbol of the climate crisis, this is a fascinating, eye-opening and endlessly engaging work of natural history. This look at ten species is the writers' choice, and not all species are still in existence. The dodo is not; while it was eaten, he explains that the rats and pigs introduced by seafarers did away with most of the nests. Surprisingly he does not say that a tree native to Mauritius was dying out in recent years, its seeds refusing to germinate, until a botanist had the bright idea of feeding its seeds to domestic poultry to replace the dodo. The seeds passed through and germinated. Other birds endemic to the island were, fortunately, preserved and revived in numbers.