Birding on Borrowed Time [Paperback]

Phoebe Snetsinger (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1878788418 | ISBN-13: 978-1878788412 | Publication Date: June 1, 2003 | Edition: 1

From the publisher: The posthumously published memoirs of the woman who saw more birds in her lifetime than any other human being in the history of the world. Phoebe's quest to see as many birds as possible only began at the age of 34, when she first laid eyes on a resplendent Blackburnian Warbler. After her belated awakening to the avian marvels around her, Phoebe began traveling across the globe, to all seven continents, observing and learning as much as she could about the world's thousands of bird species. The intensity and urgency of her quest were quickened when a cancer diagnosis led doctors to give her one year to live. Instead of succumbing to despair, Phoebe pursued her passion and strove to live what remained of her life to its fullest. Miraculously, she defied her death sentence, living on to see more of the world and more new birds for 17 more years. Along the way, she faced other hazards: a brutal assault and rape in New Guinea, a shipwreck, earthquakes, and political upheaval, along with recurrences of malignant melanoma. But in the end she triumphed over adversity and fulfilled her lifelong dream by becoming the first person to see more than 8,000 of the world's birds - a remarkable achievement that required passion, knowledge, skill, dedication, and persistence. Both a lively chronicle of birding adventures and a profoundly moving human document, Birding on Borrowed Time is the memoir of a truly extraordinary woman. The book includes 45 illustrations by renowned avian artist H. Douglas Pratt including 16 full-color plates.

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Amer Birding Assn; 1 edition (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878788418
• ISBN-13: 978-1878788412
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story by a great woman, June 23, 2003

By 

Wm Mulligan (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birding on Borrowed Time (Paperback)

This autobiography by the world's foremost birdwatcher is an inspiring story for everyone. Phoebe Snetsinger, at the age of 34, and after being diagnosed with malignant melanoma and given 6 months to live, dedicated herself to birding. For Phoebe this meant not only finding the birds, but learning everything she could about them, and then recording her experiences in great detail. In spite of recurrent episodes of her cancer, a gang rape in New Guinea, and many other misadventures, she succeeded in seeing over 8000 species of birds, a world record that may never be surpassed. She visited almost every area of the world several times, and tells her story with wit and charm. The book has many beautiful illustrations.

For anyone interested in birds this is a must read; others will enjoy reading the well written adventures of an intrepid lady.

Tragically, Phoebe was killed in a bus accident in Madagascar about 2 years ago, shortly after seeing one of her most wanted birds, a red-shouldered vanga.

58 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Title is NOT OUT OF PRINT, July 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Birding on Borrowed Time (Paperback)

This title is NOT out of print. You can purchase new, first edition copies through the American Birding Association's ABA Sales for $17.95 plus shipping. Call 800-634-7736 to order your copy today!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Birding the World to the Max, September 1, 2009

By 

Brian Allen "neotropical birding" (Manistee, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Birding on Borrowed Time (Paperback)

I had read this book a couple of years ago and just finished the other Phoebe Snetsinger book "Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds by
Olivia Gentile.

In this, Snetsinger's autobiography, she is focused more on her birding, her world travels to see the 8,400+ species she found, and some of the reasons and motivations for her accomplishments. Gentile's book details more of Snetsinger's background, family life, and suppositions for her behavior.

I personally found this book the more interesting of the two as I am more interested in world travel and birding. I wanted to know what it would be like if you had the time and money (like Snetsinger)to go wherever you wanted what that life could be like. I appreciated the detail of the travels to Peru, India, Kenya, Australia, Papau New Guinea, rather than the family information presented in Gentile's biography, although other readers that are not interested in birding may find that book more readable.