Customer Reviews

Falconer on the Edge: A Man, His Birds, and the Vanishing Landscape of the American West

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved this book for it really opened my eyes to a sport that I have admired but never really looked into. What really stayed with me was the intensity and absolute devotion displayed by Steve Chindgren, a real fighter and unique individual. Though I've long loved Peregrines and Kestrels, I still learned so much more about them. In fact all the data in this book fleshed out this sport and made me realize how serious it is.

One thing that remained in the background of my reading this book was a disquieting sense of urgency and helplessness at habitat destruction and human sprawl. I fear that this will destroy this unique and spectacular sport. It appears that the masses are mindlessly trampling over yet another endangered and beautiful, not just sport, but a way of life.

Rachel Dickinson explores the sport (or art) of falconry in the western US by profiling Steve Chindgren, a man who has been using falcons to hunt for almost his entire life. The book covers the technical aspects of the hunt, as well as the bond between the birds and their handlers, some of the history of falconry and the laws surrounding it, and the biology of the sage grouse- an important prey item for falconers out west. Dickinson relates first-hand accounts of her experiences with Steve and other falconers and also provides a lot of back story for Steve's life based on her extensive interviews with him.

I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing about falconry, and now I feel like I have a basic grasp of what it is and how it works. I'm not sure how interesting it will be for people who are already familiar with the sport, but for anyone wanting to learn more about this esoteric sport that combines modern technology with anachronistic hunting techniques, I'd certainly recommend this book.

Though I'm not really a "bird person," I was transported into the world of falconry through the author's vivid, detailed descriptions. I developed a new understanding for the falconers and their total (at times obsessive) dedication to the sport. I rooted for them (and their birds) to have a good day in the fields, and at times sympathized with them during emotional moments. Overall, this was an enjoyable and informative read.

I had little understanding of the world of falconry before I read this book, but I was immediately captivated by the world that Dickinson describes. The falconer's loss and his passion for the sport are palpable. The writing is smooth and beautifully descriptive -- I was standing in the fields, feeling the wind, listening to the calls of these mighty birds or prey. Most of all, I felt a new measure of understanding for the people who are involved in falconry and allow it to consume their lives. It's a fine book that stays with you after the final page.

When I was about 10 years old, I saw a movie, My Side of the Mountain, and for many years, I dreamed of running away from home, living in a hollow tree in the wilderness, and raising a falcon and becoming a falconer, like the young hero.

When I was 22, I watched Conan the Barbarian, and this was one of the dialogues I memorized by heart:

Mongol General: Hao! Dai ye! We won again! This is good, but what is best in life?
Mongol: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.
Mongol General: Wrong! Conan! What is best in life?
Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
Mongol General: That is good! That is good.

Apologies to Genghis Khan, but I had to agree with the Mongol rather than Conan in this case ;-)

The circumstances of my life never really came together for me to become a falconer, although for a brief few weeks I helped in a rehabilitation program, and even to this day, I often see kestrels in the most unlikely of places, which I take as a sign. And so I read this book with great relish, and it allowed me to see through the eyes of a consummate falconer, who sacrifices everything for his path in life, Steve Chindgren. I especially enjoyed the fixed emotion-love-intensity he feels for his birds, yes, the zen of it all, and also the romance, as when he formed a celebration and society around King Frederick II, author of the scripture of falconers, Art of Falconry; Being the De Arte Venandi cum Avibus of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. It reminded me of the discipline and intensity we usually reserve in our thinking for samurai and saints.

But this is not an over-romanticized tale; it depicts the challenges of bureaucratic ignorance, and of unbelievable habitat loss, and of the deaths of beloved birds (I didn't know that eagles were such deadly foes of the falcons)...and of sacrifices in the family and human relationships. Essentially, this excellent book is really about the beauty of a life dedicated to the perfection of an ancient art. A great book!

I was really excited to read this book. I love reading about animals, and I also love reading books about specialized little niches that don't get a lot of attention, so this was right up my alley. The author did a lovely job of setting up her quest by explaining how her husband "came out" as a falconer several years into their marriage. She then proceeded to explore the life of Steve Chindgren, one of the most hardcore, dedicated falconers out there as a way to make sense of this specialized, time-consuming hobby that is incredibly serious to its dedicants.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. She did her research on historical falconry, as well as modern practices and legal issues. At times she dips into the gritty, everyday realities of the practice; at others, she explores the environmental issues potentially affecting falconry--to include loss of game habitat due to natural gas drilling in the West. And she chose a fascinating man to focus on in her book; Chindgren seems simultaneously larger-than-life, and yet not reaching beyond the bounds of what is humanly possible.

My main complaint was organization. It's tough to look at a multifaceted issue like this and do it justice. I felt, though, that the book jumped around a bit too much, and at times the author repeated herself. The information is good, but the way it's put together left things feeling a bit disjointed at times.

Still, for the most part it's an engaging read, one of the more interesting books I've read so far this year.

This review is for the advanced reader's copy.

This is a fascinating little book (a mere 220 pages) about a man obsessed with falconry and falcons since he was in his teens. This book was written by the wife of a falconer in upstate New York, as a sort of love story to her own quirky husband.

How she met Steve Chindgren, the man the author profiles in this book, remains a mystery. Chindregn was profiled by Robert F Kennedy Jr in Vanity Fair's May 2007 issue; perhaps that's what perked her interest. To understand her own falconer husband, she had to step outside the marriage to understand the sport better. So she went to see Steve Chindgren in Wyoming.

Mixed with scientific facts about the falcon, its history in the United States-- "once a secretive lot in America"-- and a sentimentality about the West (Wyoming in particular)and sprinkled with a tad of Mormon settler history to Eden, WY, this book had me interested from the start. Even the legal issues involved with falconry and the tangled web of heart ache it can produce did not turn me off to this book at all.

It is well-written and definitely a book for those who love the bird or falconry. My one complaint is that Rachel sometimes switches from present to past tense while writing, which sometimes caused me to have to stop and literally switch over my mental images. This sylistic error does not take away from the book's message, however.

A photo here or there of Steve and his birds would have been nice, though. There is an affection men have with birds that is hard to convey without photographs.

But like all good stories about animals, it has a sad ending that came too close to the end. Anyone who reads this book learns to respect both the bird and the people who love the birds.

While I have loved and admired birds of prey my whole life, much of what is written here never even entered my thinking. I figured that birds hatched, lived and died. End of story! Now, I admire those who save these birds, love them like children, and provide opportunities for others to have a small glimpse of what life is like for a devoted falconer.

Imagine you are reading a great National Geographic's article about falconry. You finish it and find yourself wanting to know more. What about the prey's environment? Who do these people hang out with anyway? How do their families handle the undying devotion to these incredible predators?

This book does not have all the answers. It does provide well thought out perspectives, history, and finally legalistic insight from the side of those that love, care for, and hunt with falcons in Wyoming and Utah. I have loved the journey and have a new found respect for falconers in the American West.

Truthfully, this book changed my perspective about captive falcons, raptors or other birds that hunt for food. At the zoo or local wildlife park, the birds of prey show will never, ever be viewed through the same set of eyes nor the tale of their journey be heard through the same filter. It is proof that education draws our focus to all not yet known.

"Falconer on the Edge" is a fascinating look into a subculture that most people probably know very little about. It's a world filled with hardcore falconers whose lives revolve around their birds and the art of the hunt, an ancient practice that a few passionate souls like Steve Chindgren are keeping alive even in these modern times.

Rachel Dickinson spent time with Chindgren in southwestern Wyoming, capturing the heart and soul of this "small, wiry middle-aged man" sporting a "great shock of reddish blond hair and a craggy, ruggedly handsome face with black-plastic-framed glasses perched on his small nose."

The book is a wonderful narrative that doesn't simply describe Chindgren and his birds; it puts you right into the field with them. After reading "Falconer on the Edge," you'll swear you've been to Wyoming and seen it for yourself. The descriptions are that vivid. I'm glad Dickinson has taken the time to write this book, because the western landscape and falconry itself is changing, thanks to mining, agriculture, and gas industries.

I'll leave you with this passage, describing the scene after Chindgren's bird Jomo has flown directly into a grouse "like a pile driver":

"The soft explosion of feathers falls like a dusting of early-winter snow on the predator and his prey. Disney might portray this whole scene as the circle of life, but this isn't a cartoon, and when we witness it, it pulls on some coded prehistoric gene that still remains from the time when we were hunters and killed because we had to. Steve runs toward the birds to watch the falcon cling to the body of the slain grouse and calmly rip hunks of bloody meat from the still warm breast."

There are three stories here:

1. Story about falconry in the US: history, laws, and subcultures and popularity. Very well researched and well written.

2. Story of falconer Steve Chindgren, his love of hunting and sacrifice of his family. Again this well written, but that's the problem, its hard to empathsize with Mr Chindgren, who has essentially sacrificed his family life so for 6 months solid he can indulge in nonstop hunting.

3. Story of Jomo and the other birds in Mr Chindgren's hunting party. They are well cared for, and loved for what they can do, but one feels Mr Chindgren cannot see their value beyond that. It's sad and rings a little hollow.