Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different
The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes
by Matthiessen, Peter
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0374199442
- ISBN 13
- 9780374199449
- Seller
-
New Castle, Colorado, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2001. Hard cover. Very Good/Very Good. 9x6x1. Bateman, Robert L. Remainder Mark top edge, else in Very Good+ condition. Acclaimed writer Peter Matthiessen, a self-professed "craniac," has been observing and studying all kinds of birds most of his life, but his pursuit of cranes is closer to a spiritual quest than a naturalist's exercise. These majestic, mythic, and notoriously shy birds, capable of soaring at heights of 20,000 feet, are often fond of remote and rugged places, so just locating the birds can be difficult enough, determining an accurate number often impossible. Some locales, such as the breeding grounds on the Platte River in Nebraska, boast flocks half a million strong--"by far the greatest crane assemblies on earth"; other areas support only a precious few. Matthiessen's search for 15 different species of cranes has taken him to hidden corners of Siberia, China, Mongolia, Tibet, Sudan, and Australia (where Atherton cranes were not even discovered until 1961). Despite his many years of adventure and wide travels, each crane sighting is still a thrill for him, and his curiosity and contagious enthusiasm bring the book alive. But The Birds of Heaven also serves as an ecological warning: "Perhaps more than any other living creatures, they evoke the retreating wilderness, the vanishing horizons of clean water, earth, and air upon which their species--and ours, too, though we learn it very late--must ultimately depend for survival." Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 â April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, and zen teacher. A co-founder of the literary magazine The Paris Review, he was the only writer to have won the National Book Award in both nonfiction (The Snow Leopard, 1979, category Contemporary Thought) and fiction (Shadow Country, 2008). He was also a prominent environmental activist.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Michael Patrick McCarty, Bookseller (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- SKU2010022394
- Title
- The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes
- Author
- Matthiessen, Peter
- Illustrator
- Bateman, Robert L
- Format/Binding
- Hard cover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0374199442
- ISBN 13
- 9780374199449
- Publisher
- Farrar Straus Giroux
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2001
- Size
- 9x6x1
- X weight
- 27 oz
Terms of Sale
Michael Patrick McCarty, Bookseller
All books sent media mail unless otherwise requested. International shipping at cost (please ask for shipping quote). All items returnable if not as described. Please notify us immediately with any problems.
About the Seller
Michael Patrick McCarty, Bookseller
Biblio member since 2005
New Castle, Colorado
About Michael Patrick McCarty, Bookseller
Buy with confidence! We have been full time booksellers for over 25 years.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- Remainder Mark
- Usually an ink marking of some sort which indicates that the book was designated a remainder. In most cases, it can be found on...