Customer Reviews

Equinox: Life, Love, and Birds of Prey

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Having begun working with birds of prey (in a rehabilitation center) in the last couple of years I have searched for books that gave more personal insights into the practice of falconry. Mr.O'Brien certainly knows his subject and does a fine job of describing the sport and the birds themselves. His accounts of hacking (early training) young peregrines in particular are excellent. I found his descriptions of what can go wrong, as well as right, in the caring and training of these birds quite illuminating and engrossing. His use of falconers-speak is well balanced with the story and the annotations quite helpful for those unfamiliar with the sport.
I unfortunately found the overall concept of a man in midlife attempting to convince the reader that he is on a quest for some sort of middle age epiphany a bit trying. His relationship with his wife - an anesthesiologist who spends the majority of her time in a sleep deprived state, taking hospital call, and generally supporting his rather indulgent and self-centered lifestyle- frustrated me and was distracting from an otherwise interesting story about the training of a gifted young peregrine falcon.
I give much credit to Mr. O'Brien for being a man in touch with nature and clearly environmentally sensitive and conservation oriented. But, as my wife said after finishing the book, he comes across as something of a jerk in his personal life. Given that Mr. O'Brien's skills in describing the beauty of the land he lives on and the animals he has the great privilege of interacting with are most enviable, it's a shame that this aspect diminishes an otherwise excellent story.

I was surprised at how good this book was. I expected it to be a primer for my interest in falconry but found it to be so much more. It is a fantastic account of the training of a raptor and the relationship between man and bird. Obviously passionate about his undertaking the author describes the training process in vivid detail making a compelling story to the end. With an equally interesting personal story that parallels his bird of prey adventure this book makes for a very enjoyable read.

I have had an interest in falconry and raptors in general since adolescence but have never been able to make the total commitment neccesary to care for one. Reading about it and hunting with friends who fly birds of prey has been my best outlet to enjoy this truly remarkable partnership between man and bird. Every facet of the author's story, from his relationship to the land, to the dogs, to the birds,to the prey, to his friends, reminded me of the things I hold dear in my life and that make my time spent here very full. A great read!

This book lured me in from across a gargantuan bookstore before I'd even turned a page. The cover illustration of a peregrine falcon looking with quiet intensity over one of its folded wings told me "you must read this book."

I'm so glad I did.

I'm interested in falconry and hope to pursue that interest as soon as I have the time and financial resources to devote to it. It is a rich, noble sport, although one all too often glamorized and sensationalized by the media. In Equinox, Dan O'Brien takes falconry and firmly anchors it in the "real." It's a challenging pursuit that necessitates being taken seriously.

Alternating between heartbreaking and breathtaking, O'Brien tells readers of a pivotal time in his midlife where he takes an autumn to fly falcons and shake out his priorities. Weaving in hunger-pang-inducing tales of delicious food with quiet moments of sleeping under a star-filled sky, O'Brien tells us about Harley, a skilled and temperamental female peregrine falcon that impresses and entrances O'Brien almost like a lover...only with feathers and razor-sharp talons.

The masterpiece in this book comes from the magic found in everyday life. Faithful dogs. The steady respect and love of a spouse, even across hundreds of painful miles. The companionship of a good friend and the wisdom of telling it straight. Loss, and how it teaches us even as it's breaking our hearts.

Equinox is about more than falconry. As O'Brien has titled it, it is about life and love, as well as birds of prey. It's an inherently gentle story that will resonate deeply for many readers.

"[A]n association with wild things has a way of shining an unexpected brilliant light into the darkest crevices of our lives." So writes Dan O'Brien in this beautiful true story of the symbiotic triangle of falcon, dog, and human.

In O'Brien's clear pungent voice are echoes of Peter Matthiessen and, fainter, Walt Whitman. Under his starry South Dakota sky, we feel our connection with everything natural and free. This is a love song to the earth, and a paean to how slowly our attachments grow and how fragile they can be.

O'Brien takes us into the world of falconry. We see falcons stoop (dive) for their prey at incredible speeds. We feel what it is like to be a falcon, as well as a grouse or a duck seeking escape. He also takes us into the truth of his own life, as he faces midlife and the very human sense of challenges not yet met.

This book's smells, sights, and adventures are thrilling. I love and treasure them.

I liked this book. At times, there may have been too much emphasis on the dogs, or too much on just falcons (red-tailed hawk coverage would have been great, but the author caters to peregrine falcons, so it is obviously his choice). Regardless, the amount of detailed coverage is impressive and written very well. Fortunately, the author eases you into the detail and doesn't toss it in your lap like some books. Whenever a new falconry term is mentioned in the text, there is a small side-bar definition of that term.

Some have said that the author's attitude gets in the way. When I read the few pages from the website, I also got a little of that. However, when I read the rest of the book, I did not get that at all. Often, appearances can be deceiving.

I've never hunted before - game or fowl. I grew up in the city, and have never held a shotgun in my 40 years. I had no understanding of hunting - it's potential for beauty and forging a connection with nature - until I read Dan O'Brien's Equinox.

Dan's connection with nature through falconry is moving, and at times tangible throughout Equinox. He reveals hunting as a truly noble sport - if approached with reverence for nature and respect for predator and prey.

Dan's prose is straightforward, without frills or fancy, well-suited to the rustic life he describes, stalking grouse on the South Dakota plains with bird and dog.

I think most people will enjoy Equinox, regardless of background, but I especially recommend it to people who have negative feelings about hunting but are open to thinking about it in a new way.

I just finished reading the book in two settings, spending most of a Sunday afternoon and Monday evening enjoying this excellent novel. I was captivated by the people, dogs, birds, and environment. This is a must read. I loved it.

I just finished reading "Equinox" and I was inspired by Mr. O'Brien's words on birds of prey, the unique beauty of his home, and the importance of staying in touch with the real and genuine aspects of life. He beautifully captures the essence of the noble practice of falconry and, in the process, passes along a few important lessons about life in general.

His skills as a falconer and observer of nature (both human and animal) appear to be surpassed only by his ability to gracefully convey the haunting imagery of the high plains.

Thank you Mr. O'Brien. I enjoyed this book immensely and I look forward to your future works.

I finished this book last night. I was really wrapped up in it and loved the writing until I reached his little condemnation of the NRA and its "semi-auto-toting cretins" or however he put it. The book had been devoid of (actually transcended) this kind of petty editorializing, but after I hit that entry, I began to find what came afterward (an elitist bird hunting outing in the Northeast complete with truffle dinners and fine wine/scotch, etc.) close to annoying. This guy hunts with both birds and guns, but his "blood sport" is somehow more pure and perfect than that of the next person. As an NRA Life Member, active Izaak Walton League of America, Nature Conservency and Pheasants Forever habitat and wilderness advocate, biologist and outdoor writer and outdoor educator, I was personally taken aback by his classification of "me" as an uneducated auto-rifle-blasting idiot. A previous reviewer hit it on the head with a descripion of the self-indulgence that begins to show through the text. I too have spent time around birds of prey (one of my hunting/fishing buddies and best friends is the South Dakota Master Falconer and Falconry Examiner) and presently spend hours every day afield working or hunting my 2-yr old wirehaired pointer; when the author sticks to the essence of these activities the book shines. He has a gift for describing the animals and this deeply radiates to the rest of us who love birds and gundogs. When he obliquely begins touting his superiority over the rest of the human race, including to some extent, the love of his life who always seems to be cast in a somewhat subserving light (even though she is a physician working with the terminally ill, he has little time for her emotional and career challenges), when the reader can't help but get interested in her character, an accomplished professional woman, bird hunter and dog handler, we leave her. At this point the book gets tiresome and I really lost interest in the final twenty pages or so. I am somewhat reluctant to purchase anything else by this author. Even though he makes a point to mention his friendship with (the writer) Jim Harrison, he is no Harrison or Thomas McGuane; but that may be an unfair comparison since the later take far different approaches when describing The West and thier fellow imperfect beings that comprise this thing called humanity. Negatives aside, this book is a great introduction to bird-of-prey behavior, falconry terminology, and what it takes to participate in handling hunting birds and to a far lesser extent, pointing dogs. If you liked this book, you should love McGuane's The Longest Silence.