Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq [Hardcover]

Jonathan Trouern-Trend (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1578051312 | ISBN-13: 978-1578051311 | Publication Date: April 11, 2006 | Edition: 1

Early in 2004, Sergeant First Class Jonathan Trouern-Trend of the Connecticut National Guard began a year’s deployment in Iraq. He had been a birder from the age of 12, so naturally he looked for birds during his free time on base and on trips “outside the wire.” From nearly day one until he left Iraq, Trouern-Trend wrote about his sightings in an online journal that attracted thousands of readers.
Now some of the highlights of his “Birding Babylon” blog are collected in this small, beautiful volume, designed to resemble a birder’s journal. Cutting through the politics of war like birdsong, it reminds us of our imperishable connection with nature; of how birds and their journeys tie the world together; of the persistence of life even in a wasted land.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Online journals by soldiers in Iraq often get a lot of readers, and one about bird watching proved just as appealing. Trouern-Trend's book is an edited selection of journal entries he posted while serving in Iraq with the 118th Area Support Medical Battalion in 2004. A birder since age 12, Trouern-Trend saw an opportunity in his deployment and recorded his discoveries. As he makes a defensive perimeter around a humvee with a flat tire, the contrast between his activities during his deployment is striking: "I'm lying on the ground with my eye on some guy racing around in a pickup truck, wondering if he's going to take a potshot at us (which would have been suicidal), while a pair of crested larks were not even 10 feet from me, the male displaying and dancing around." As Trouern-Trend finds comfort in familiar species and an appreciation for Iraq's unique specimens, readers will enjoy a fresh perspective on a place and an experience that continues to impact many.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jonathan Trouern-Trendserved with the 118th Area Support Medical Battalion in Iraq and currently works for the American Red Cross Blood Services in their Epidemiology and Surveillance program. He lives in Marlborough, Connecticut, with his wife and their five children

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books; 1 edition (April 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578051312
• ISBN-13: 978-1578051311
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,055,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Middle East > Iraq

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration and hope from a soldier's birding journal, April 10, 2006

By 

NatureLover - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq (Hardcover)

This is a lovely book--What inspired me about Jonathan's observations was that they brought home the reality that those whom we send to war take all their human passions and loves with them. Too often we think of soldiers as 'just' soldiers--and this book reminds us how wrong we are when we do that. The author's journal entries show us a world full of nature's resilience, and we don't only learn about the birds of Iraq, we see another side of a soldier's life overseas. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in birding, or who wants a view of Iraq that is different from what we see on the nightly news. And for anyone who needs a healthy dose of inspiration, this is a great read too--when was the last time you read something about Iraq that made you hopeful?
And you can't beat the price--I'm buying a couple copies as gifts for friends, and definitely one for my dad for Father's Day.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Birding Babylon-Simple Beauty in Wartime, August 17, 2006

By 

Beth Hall (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq (Hardcover)

This is a small, beautiful book. The natural phenonomena and bird-life that Jonathan Trouern-Trend desribes with such simple elegance in Birding Babylon is both comforting and poignent as it all takes place in Iraq near the beginning of our most recent conflict there.

I salute Mr. Trouern-Trend, both as a fellow "birder" as well as a poet. His writing is spare and unembelished, yet the warm sentiment he awakens in the naturalist' heart is undeniable. Here, again, poignance was the feeling he inspired, as well as admiration for a job well-done.

I love this little book. I bought 3 more copies as soon as I read it to give to friends.

Thank you, Sergeant Trouern-Trend. I salute you! Beth Hall, San Diego, CA

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book, May 4, 2006

By 

NYreader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq (Hardcover)

This book is great! Part birding journal, part soldier's diary, and fully a reminder that Iraq isn't just a place on a map or in the newspaper. It's a quick read and you really get the feeling that you are just reading the author's notebook that he had in his back pocket while on patrol--really interesting. There's also a list of the 122 species that he saw while in Iraq, which was very enlightening--it's not just a desolate war-torn area over there--there are real signs of life! And the book itself is a really pretty hardcover book; there are even illustrations of all the different birds he saw.