Customer Reviews

Seabirds of Hawaii: Natural History and Conservation

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As the author, I can certify that several of these reviews are spoofs and indicate that the review process is on computer auto control, unedited by human hand.

Not unlike Rousseau on the road to Vincennes, I found my waistcoat soaked with tears after I read this book. The poignant and heartwarming story of a young Finnish-American's experiences in the high-stakes, no-holds-barred world of competitive birding, this book recounts the author's battles against prejudice and how he prevailed despite all the odds against him. Buy this book right now, and feel your heart soar with the author's as he tells the heart-wrenching story of how, nearing the end of his resources, he found a wounded seabird and nursed it back to life, at one point even suckling it at his own bosom. A truly life-affirming reading experience!

After I read this book the first time I was so excited I had to be sedated. It's harder than you might think to spot Hawaiian seabirds where I live, which is in California, but I keep a pair of binoculars handy in the hopes that a Hawaiian sea bird will get confused and wander across the Pacific to my neighborhood. Once I thought I had actually spotted a Hawaiian seabird and, since I felt I should have proof, I set up an antique cannon I found in my grandfather's attic and loaded it with black powder and rock salt. The recoil from the gun, however, knocked it back three feet and smashed two of my toes, and I missed the bird to boot. So, while this book is excellent, I think it should include more practical tips about birding so that other people can avoid my mistake, and a section on first aid would be useful too.

. . . but I was wrong! This book, quite literally, took my breath away and changed my life. I used not to think much about birds, particularly not about seabirds of Hawaii. Now, having read this wonderful book, for the past four years I've spent virtually every waking hour of my day looking for seabirds of Hawaii -- in the skies around my home, on our pond out back, everywhere! I hope everyone will read this book, and will enjoy it as much as I have.