Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds [Hardcover]

Olivia Gentile (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2009

A frustrated housewife sets out to see more bird species than anyone in history—and ends up risking her life again and again in the wildest places on earth.

Phoebe Snetsinger had planned to be a scientist, but, like most women who got married in the 1950s, she ended up keeping house, with four kids and a home in the suburbs by her mid-thirties. Numb and isolated, she turned to bird-watching, but she soon tired of the birds near home and yearned to travel the world. Then her life took a crushing turn: At forty-nine, she was diagnosed with cancer and told that she had less than a year to live. Devastated, she began crisscrossing the globe, finding rare and spectacular birds that brought her to the heights of spiritual ecstasy. But as it turned out, she beat the cancer. She eventually went to more than a hundred countries, had frequent brushes with danger, became a hero in the birding world, and set a record for the most species seen. Life List is a powerful portrait of a woman who found refuge from society’s expectations in a dangerous and soul-stirring obsession.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this biography of bird enthusiast Phoebe Snetsinger, former journalist Gentile wonders whether there is a line between dedication and obsession, and when does obsession cross the line into pathology? Married, with four children, Phoebe was a frustrated 1950s housewife who began experiencing a depression that felt like she was inside a tomb. Her introduction to bird-watching by another shy, brainy housewife, seeing a warbler through binoculars, was a revelation; it was as if she'd seen a blinding white light. With the help of a local birding club, Phoebe began her life list of birds and gradually began traveling farther afield in search of new sightings. Diagnosed in her late 40s with incurable cancer and less than a year to live, she threw herself into birding, traveling worldwide, ignoring injury and danger to work on her life list for another 18 years, until killed in a bus accident in Madagascar at the age of 68. Gentile's ambivalence, celebrating Snetsinger's having lived so fully and with so much spirit but noting that she had lost the capacity to take into account her family, her health and her safety, adds a reflectiveness that Phoebe herself may have avoided in life. (Apr.)
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Review

“After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore, Snetsinger stayed home with [her] four children, a dedicated but dissatisfied mother who might have served only as a cautionary tale for feminists if, one day in 1965, she hadn’t encountered—in her own backyard—a Blackburnian Warbler. Snetsinger’s very ordinariness is part of the charm of Life List, Olivia Gentile’s provocative biography of an amateur ornithologist … That Snetsinger flew the coop was both a point of pride and a point of friction for her family, and Gentile does not cast judgment but simply describes what she sees. By documenting the tension between the obligation to others and the obligation to oneself, Gentile has written a book as much about the life of women as about a woman’s life.”—Christian Science Monitor

"Except for one thing, this book would rate as a great adventure novel and fictional psychological portrait, about a woman's obsession with bird-watching, its effect on her relationships with her husband and her four children, and the horrifying mishaps that she survived on each continent--until the last mishap.  But the book isn't that great novel, because instead it's a great true story: the biography of Phoebe Snetsinger, who set the world record for bird species seen, after growing up in an era when American women weren't supposed to be competitive or have careers.  Whether or not you pretend that it's a novel, you'll enjoy this powerful, moving story."—Jared Diamond, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse

"[A] fascinating biography … a beautiful story of intellectual passion, love of nature, self-education, self-reinvention, and high adventure." —Slate

“Gentile’s tale of a desperate but determined housewife with a passion for birds and adventure is engrossing, sharp, and affecting—a touching portrait and great read.” —Susan Orlean, author of The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup and The Orchid Thief

"Gentile tells Snetsinger's staggering story with clarity and verve. She reflects incisively on the shadow side of Snetsinger's quest—the perverse metamorphosis that turned a liberating passion into a devouring addiction, and perceptively elucidates and celebrates her accomplishments. A remarkable woman of tenacity, courage and transcendence, Snetsinger leaves a profound legacy, which will now be more fully appreciated and treasured thanks to Gentile's enthralling, provocative and inspiring biography." —Chicago Tribune

"After she heard about the Snetsinger legend, Gentile spent eight years pursuing Snetsinger as earnestly as Snetsinger pursued birds. The result is a wonderful book … Snetsinger's story is an adventure story, a psychological drama, a tragedy—and a triumph." —Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Riveting." —New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Compelling … [A] fascinating portrait of a woman torn between her obligations to her family and her life's passion: birds.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“If you think … [Snetsinger] was a nice little lady who puttered around her back yard with binoculars, think again. Or better yet, read Life List, author and journalist Olivia Gentile’s engaging and often exciting biography of Snetsinger … [Snetsinger was] a rare species well worth observing.” —St. Petersburg Times

“[Gentile does] a masterful job of investigating and vividly describing the personality, the extreme will to achieve, and the previously unknown life of Phoebe Snetsinger, the famous first lady of world birding ... absorbing and informative.” —Surfbirds

“There was far more drama in Snetsinger's life than one would ever expect, and Olivia Gentile explores that life gracefully and convincingly... Gentile... places this brainy '50s mom nicely in the context of her times, while probing some of the fundamental questions raised by a hobby that turned into an obsession... A well-told story that carries you along as if on wings.”—Hartford Courant

“As much about meaningful living as about sparrows and chickadees, this intimate piece of reportage follows Phoebe Snetsinger, a housewife who in the 1960s takes refuge from banality in bird watching. Gradually sacrificing family ties and personal safety in her quest to see 8,000 birds before dying, she becomes a mythic figure among birders and leads Gentile to ruminate on how obsession with the natural world—so often touted as a scientist’s best asset—can be destructive as well as fulfilling.” —Seed

“Life List is riveting ... the story of a suburban housewife and mother-of-four who became a legend in the testosterone-driven world of competitive birding is more than a biography. It raises themes that echo through all our lives, from the restriction of people’s roles by society, to questions of how best to spend one’s days on Earth. Is pursuing a rare bird a trivial pursuit, or a chase worthy of respect? Ultimately, Life List asks what it means to live, and die, well.” —Nature

“This little book rolls over you like a steam train, slowly gaining speed and intensity, and clattering away in your mind long after you've finished it. With her straightforward, mostly nonjudgmental take, showing without telling, Olivia Gentile raises questions about Phoebe Snetsinger's choices that caused me to examine my own prejudices and boundaries in the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Its penetrating depth is the little surprise of a book that's gripping enough to be a novel, but tells nothing but the truth.” —Julie Zickefoose, Bird Watcher's Digest

“Life List is a great book ... Gentile demonstrates how birding can make us feel more alive.” —Montreal Gazette

“[Gentile's] enthusiasm in sharing her research is infectious ... [and her] knack for characterizing our feathered friends in a way that gives them some personality is matched by Rebecca Layton's illustrations, which are delightful.” —Philadelphia Inquirer

"Lively biography of intrepid, world-traveling ornithologist and cancer survivor Phoebe Snetsinger ... the prose delightfully conveys Gentile’s engagement with her subject. Compassionate and comprehensive." —Kirkus Reviews

"[A] stirring account of an intriguing woman and the life she led." —Booklist

"Gentile's in-depth research and lovely prose is accompanied by 16 equally lovely watercolor bird drawings by Rebecca Layton."—Austin American Statesman

"Diagnosed in her late 40s with incurable cancer and less than a year to live, [Phoebe Snetsinger] threw herself into birding, traveling worldwide, ignoring injury and danger to work on her life list for another 18 years ... Gentile’s ambivalence, celebrating Snetsinger’s 'having lived so fully and with so much spirit' but noting that 'she had lost the capacity to take into account her family, her health and her safety,' adds a reflectiveness that Phoebe herself may have avoided in life." —Publishers Weekly

 

“Snetsinger blended life as a Midwestern wife and mother with that of amateur birdwatcher until she received a terminal cancer diagnosis. Traveling some of the planet’s most remote and dangerous areas, she defied the odds and spent the next 18 years adding to the nearly 8,400 species on her 'life list,' a record that landed her in the Guinness Book of World Records and was only recently surpassed by two (male) British birders … [she was] as dedicated and focused as the best—dare it be said—Ivy League male scientist, a generous leader of her fellow birdwatchers and an advocate who brought attention to the world’s glorious birds and their shrinking habitat.”—BookPage

“Olivia Gentile’s Life List is the remarkable story of Phoebe Snetsinger, a woman trapped by her life as homemaker, who found liberation in bird watching. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, she began traveling the world, not seeking a cure, but in search of rare birds—becoming a kind of ornithologist's heroine, and living another eighteen years. Gentile’s journalistic temperament lures you in, whether you like birds or not (frankly I kind of hate them). The result is a beautifully revealing, sensitive exploration of Snetsinger’s singular obsession. The story slips under your skin—you can’t help but keep reading.”—A.M. Homes, author of The Mistress’s Daughter and This Book Will Save Your Life

"An intriguing portrait of one of the best-known birders of the modern age. I couldn't put it down!"  —Peter Kaestner, America’s top living bird lister

"Phoebe Snetsinger lived a life of high adventure and exotic travel familiar to 19th century explorers - except that she was a 1960s Midwestern housewife who was supposed to be dying of cancer. How she became the world's most driven, globe-trotting birder, what she gained and what she sacrificed to see three-quarters of the Earth's birds, makes Life List an unusually compelling story." ̵...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 345 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596911697
• ISBN-13: 978-1596911697
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #552,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Perils and Joys of an Obsession, October 25, 2009

By 

James D. DeWitt "Alaska Fan" (Fairbanks, AK United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds (Hardcover)

I am a birder. A serious amateur. And a bird photographer. And a big fan of the late, great Phoebe Snetsinger.

Any biography of Snetsinger has to be measured against her own, posthumously published journal, Birding On Borrowed Time. Olivia Gentile had access to many of Snetsinger's family members, most of her papers, and many of her friends and birding companions. She had all the resources. Does she bring anything new?

Gentile makes some excellent points, but the best are left for the reader to glean, not the ones that Gentile forces on a reader. It's hardly news that birders can be obsessive. The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder and To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifetime Obsession are just three examples of the subgenre. What Gentile does establish is that Phoebe Snetsinger was among the very best amateur birders of the 20th century. She was much more than one of those birders who tick them off a life list, after a glimpse or a party member's report; she scorned that kind of birder. And Gentile also establishes effectively that for Snetsinger - at least perhaps until the last few years - the birds were the goal, to be savored and appreciated; not the number on a list.

And when Gentile simply lets family members talk about the impact of Snetsinger's obsession on them and their lives, she does well. Beyond doubt, Snetsinger's was a true obsession, leaving a greatly diminished space in her life for her husband, her children and anything else. But Snetsinger believed that her obsession with birds kept her alive, helped her survive her bouts with metastasized melanoma. And her response to her husband's complaints - that her interest was no different than her husband's earlier focus on his career - rings true.

When Gentile lets the facts tell the story, it shines. But when Gentile indulges in pop psychology and pop sociology, writing in her voice instead of simply letting the facts tell the story; well, for me the biography becomes annoying instead of insightful. Snetsinger survived a brutal rape in Papua New Guinea. Gentile's repeated assertion that Snetsinger "never came to terms with what had happened" is more than simply annoying. It's insulting to the memory of Phoebe Snetsinger. She had the courage not let it stop her.

Phoebe Snetsinger was a remarkable woman, a superbly skilled birder and a wonderful example of what an individual can accomplish, even with a so-called "late start." Her story is also a cautionary tale. But is would be a mistake, I think, to let the cautionary aspects outweigh the brilliance of her work, or the evident delight she took from it. Three stars for the new information Gentile provides on this amazing woman; but I take two stars off for the annoying injection of Gentile's simplistic interpretations.

Recommended, but also read Birding On Borrowed Time.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Warning to Obsessives of Any Stripe, April 21, 2009

By 

Julie S. Zickefoose (Whipple, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds (Hardcover)

Because I'll be reviewing Life List in an upcoming issue of Bird Watcher's Digest, I'll keep this brief. This little book rolls over you like a steam train, slowly gaining speed and intensity, and clattering away in your mind long after you've finished it. With her straightforward, mostly nonjudgmental take, showing without telling, Olivia Gentile raises questions about Phoebe Snetsinger's choices that caused me to examine my own prejudices and boundaries in the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Its penetrating depth is the little surprise of a book that's gripping enough to be a novel, but tells nothing but the truth.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating biography, April 1, 2009

By 

A. Hoey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds (Hardcover)

Although I am not a birder, I loved this book. I am a big fan of biographies and this was certainly a riveting one. The story of Phoebe Snetsinger's life is so fascinating it could be a novel, but it's not. Ms. Gentile's writing style is engaging to read and I found myself unable to put the book down until I had finished it. I would definitely recommend this to birders and non-birders alike.