The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Mark Obmascik (Author, Introduction), Oliver Wyman (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2004

A classic in the making -- an account of the biggest year in birdwatching history.

In the USA, some 50 million people lay claim to being bird-watchers or “birders,” spending billions of dollars on birding-related travel and membership fees every year. A select, and utterly obsessed, few compete in one of the world’s quirkiest contests -- the race to spot the most species in North America in a single year. And 1998 wasn’t just a big year. It was the biggest. The Big Year is Pulitzer Prize-winner Mark Obmascik’s account of what was to become the greatest birding year of all time.

It was freak weather conditions that ensured all previous records were broken, but what becomes clear within the pages of this classic portrait of obsession is that while our feathered friends may be the objective of the Big Year competition, it’s the curious activities and behavioural patterns of the pursuing “homo sapiens” that are the real cause for concern. It is a contest that reveals much of the human character in extremes. Such are the author’s powers of observation that he brilliantly brings to life and gets under the skin of these extraordinary, eccentric and obsessive birders while empathizing with and eventually succumbing to the all-consuming nature of their obsession. The result is a wonderfully funny, acutely observed classic to rank alongside the best of Bill Bryson.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In one of the wackiest competitions around, every year hundreds of obsessed bird watchers participate in a contest known as the North American Big Year. Hoping to be the one to spot the most species during the course of the year, each birder spends 365 days racing around the continental U.S. and Canada compiling lists of birds, all for the glory of being recognized by the American Birding Association as the Big Year birding champion of North America. In this entertaining book, Obmascik, a journalist with the Denver Post, tells the stories of the three top contenders in the 1998 American Big Year: a wisecracking industrial roofing contractor from New Jersey who aims to break his previous record and win for a second time; a suave corporate chief executive from Colorado; and a 225-pound nuclear power plant software engineer from Maryland. Obmascik bases his story on post-competition interviews but writes so well that it sounds as if he had been there every step of the way. In a freewheeling style that moves around as fast as his subjects, the author follows each of the three birding fanatics as they travel thousands of miles in search of such hard-to-find species as the crested myna, the pink-footed goose and the fork-tailed flycatcher, spending thousands of dollars and braving rain, sleet, snowstorms, swamps, deserts, mosquitoes and garbage dumps in their attempts to outdo each other. By not revealing the outcome until the end of the book, Obmascik keeps the reader guessing in this fun account of a whirlwind pursuit of birding fame.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

There is a well-known competition among birders called the Big Year, in which one abandons one's regular life for one whole year in order to see more species of birds in a geographic area than one's competitors. Environmental journalist Obmascik follows the 1998 Big Year's three main competitors--a New Jersey roofing contractor, a corporate executive, and a software engineer--as they crisscross the country in search of birds. Whether looking for flamingos in the Everglades, great grey owls in the frozen bogs near Duluth, or Asian rarities on the Aleutian island of Attu, these obsessed birders not only faced seasickness, insects, altitude sickness, and going into debt, they also faced each other. Their drive to win propelled all three past the rarified count of 700 species seen, and the winner saw an extraordinary 745 species--a number that will probably never be equaled. With a blend of humor and awe, Obmascik takes the reader into the heart of competitive birding, and in the process turns everyone into birders. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (February 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739302515
• ISBN-13: 978-0739302514
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 4.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,247,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Obsession is universal, January 23, 2004

By 

"rav10" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession (Hardcover)

To categorize "The Big Year" as simply a birding book is to sidestep the universality of this crisply written narrative. Three men spend 365 days to satisfy a burning desire to observe more species of birds than anyone else in North America. The ultimate prize is no more than bragging rights and a place in the record books. This is obsession, nothing more or less, at its finest.

How many people are actually able to pursue their dreams? Going after a big year record takes the willingness and ability to hop a plane at a moment's notice, to travel to the kind of locales that people a little less loony would eschew, to spend copious amounts of time and money pursuing birds who very well might not be there by the time you arrive.

Obmascik captures the whole picture in a lively book that reveals the occasionally desperate spirit of the competition, the nature of the competitors and, with finely researched science and historical writing, enough background information to help the new initiate understand just why this particular sport is interesting and how it came to be. This isn't simply a book for birders. It's an actively written account that transcends birding, one that offers up a unique slice of humanity to the interested reader.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Big Year is a quick fun read., March 15, 2004

By 

haans Petruschke "Haans" (Kirtland, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession (Hardcover)

As an expeienced birder I often find books about the subject less than entertaining. Not the case with The Big Year. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed every page.

I know one of the characters, Greg Miller, and ran into another, Sandy Komito during one of his numerous chases for rarities 1998, the year the book is based upon. So perhaps my enthusiasm is a little overblown, but not by much.

Mark Obmasik does an excellent job of capturing the obsession that sometimes develops among birders. His style is entertaining and very readable. I especially enjoyed the wild helicopter chase! Birding is an exciting past time. Obmasik captures that excitement.

A big year in birding is like an Ironman length triathlon. Sometimes you just have to gut it out, but in the end it is a memorable experience no matter who wins. Obmasik tells the story in a way that helps you to understand what a big year is like for the participant. Greg Miller's story is especially compelling. He has the smallest budget, the least free time,and is out of shape physically and emotionally. Yet he still manages the astounding feat of seeing over 700 species in North America in a single year.

A fun read for birders and non birders too.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Birders in Sports Illustrated??, February 4, 2004

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"dtodt2" (Friendship, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession (Random House Large Print Nonfiction) (Hardcover)

I read the excerpt of this book in my son's Sports Illustrated (January 19, 2004 issue) and immediately ordered a copy The Big Year. Who would have thought that three bird watchers offer the story for an article in Sports Illustrated. But this is a story of an "extreme" sport. Bird watching at the level described in The Big Year is competitive, compulsive, and compelling. When I received the book last weekend I could not put it down until I found out who won the competition and how the year ended for the three competitors. The writing is outstanding and the picture drawn of the three competitors leaves you thinking you know them. The Big Year is a great read.