or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
48 used & new from $0.26
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Price: $9.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Monday, November 23? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
25 new from $3.25 21 used from $0.26 2 collectible from $13.33

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East (Princeton Field Guides) by R. F. Porter

Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq + Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East (Princeton Field Guides)
Price For Both: $36.35

Show availability and shipping details

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. Eligible products include select Books, Single Copy Magazines, and Home & Garden items. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free. Here's how (restrictions apply)
  • Over a hundred thousand items are eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. How do I find more eligible items?

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East (Princeton Field Guides)

Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East (Princeton Field Guides)

by R. F. Porter
3.7 out of 5 stars (9)  $26.40
The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations

The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations

by Eugene Linden
4.2 out of 5 stars (24)  $10.20
Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age

Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age

by Bill McKibben
3.6 out of 5 stars (31)  $11.20
Democracy's Dilemma: Environment, Social Equity, and the Global Economy

Democracy's Dilemma: Environment, Social Equity, and the Global Economy

by Robert Paehlke
$18.00
Technology and the Future

Technology and the Future

by Albert H. Teich
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  $60.25
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Online journals by soldiers in Iraq often get a lot of readers, and one about bird watching proved just as appealing. Trouern-Trend's book is an edited selection of journal entries he posted while serving in Iraq with the 118th Area Support Medical Battalion in 2004. A birder since age 12, Trouern-Trend saw an opportunity in his deployment and recorded his discoveries. As he makes a defensive perimeter around a humvee with a flat tire, the contrast between his activities during his deployment is striking: "I'm lying on the ground with my eye on some guy racing around in a pickup truck, wondering if he's going to take a potshot at us (which would have been suicidal), while a pair of crested larks were not even 10 feet from me, the male displaying and dancing around." As Trouern-Trend finds comfort in familiar species and an appreciation for Iraq's unique specimens, readers will enjoy a fresh perspective on a place and an experience that continues to impact many.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Product Description

Early in 2004, Sergeant First Class Jonathan Trouern-Trend of the Connecticut National Guard began a year’s deployment in Iraq. He had been a birder from the age of 12, so naturally he looked for birds during his free time on base and on trips “outside the wire.” From nearly day one until he left Iraq, Trouern-Trend wrote about his sightings in an online journal that attracted thousands of readers.
Now some of the highlights of his “Birding Babylon” blog are collected in this small, beautiful volume, designed to resemble a birder’s journal. Cutting through the politics of war like birdsong, it reminds us of our imperishable connection with nature; of how birds and their journeys tie the world together; of the persistence of life even in a wasted land.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 80 pages
  • Publisher: Sierra Club Books; 1 edition (April 11, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1578051312
  • ISBN-13: 978-1578051311
  • Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #301,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #92 in  Books > Computers & Internet > Home Computing > Blogging & Blogs

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Jonathan Trouern-Trend
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Jonathan Trouern-Trend Page

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(3)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more
 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration and hope from a soldier's birding journal, April 10, 2006
This is a lovely book--What inspired me about Jonathan's observations was that they brought home the reality that those whom we send to war take all their human passions and loves with them. Too often we think of soldiers as 'just' soldiers--and this book reminds us how wrong we are when we do that. The author's journal entries show us a world full of nature's resilience, and we don't only learn about the birds of Iraq, we see another side of a soldier's life overseas. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in birding, or who wants a view of Iraq that is different from what we see on the nightly news. And for anyone who needs a healthy dose of inspiration, this is a great read too--when was the last time you read something about Iraq that made you hopeful?
And you can't beat the price--I'm buying a couple copies as gifts for friends, and definitely one for my dad for Father's Day.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Birding Babylon-Simple Beauty in Wartime, August 17, 2006
By Beth Hall (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a small, beautiful book. The natural phenonomena and bird-life that Jonathan Trouern-Trend desribes with such simple elegance in Birding Babylon is both comforting and poignent as it all takes place in Iraq near the beginning of our most recent conflict there.

I salute Mr. Trouern-Trend, both as a fellow "birder" as well as a poet. His writing is spare and unembelished, yet the warm sentiment he awakens in the naturalist' heart is undeniable. Here, again, poignance was the feeling he inspired, as well as admiration for a job well-done.

I love this little book. I bought 3 more copies as soon as I read it to give to friends.

Thank you, Sergeant Trouern-Trend. I salute you! Beth Hall, San Diego, CA
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book, May 4, 2006
This book is great! Part birding journal, part soldier's diary, and fully a reminder that Iraq isn't just a place on a map or in the newspaper. It's a quick read and you really get the feeling that you are just reading the author's notebook that he had in his back pocket while on patrol--really interesting. There's also a list of the 122 species that he saw while in Iraq, which was very enlightening--it's not just a desolate war-torn area over there--there are real signs of life! And the book itself is a really pretty hardcover book; there are even illustrations of all the different birds he saw.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Overpriced and underwritten
The book costs $9.95 but consists of little more than slightly edited versions of what the author put on his blog. Read more
Published 10 months ago by John P. Dunn

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired by nature...
This book and Jonathan Trouern-Trend blog inspired me during a difficult time and was an inspiration for my own project. Read more
Published 18 months ago by N. Crane

4.0 out of 5 stars Birding in war zone
This started out as a soldiers blog, and has more of a travelogue feel, rather than a war correspondent feel of it. Read more
Published on July 15, 2007 by Gary Sprandel

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed hearing about his birding experiences in Iraq
Being a bird enthusiast, AND having a son in the US Army inspired me to buy (and read) this book. I had originally bought it to give to my son (who enjoyed watching... Read more
Published on May 1, 2007 by Terry Mingle

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice perspective on a terrible war
Because I am a birder, a friend bought me this book. It is perfectly aimed, not a pure birding, and no ranting about the war. Read more
Published on June 11, 2006 by Charlotte K. Omoto

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   

So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:






























i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.