Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.8 / 5.0

Birds without borders, lessons unlearned, time unwinding:

If you've read any of Matthiessen's non fiction you'll know that when he's passionate about a subject he has the ability to bring feelings alive with his poetic and vivid command of language. Tie that in with his inclination to be a naturally introspective writer - literally seeking inner truths through nature - and you've got the threads that are woven together here to make THE BIRDS OF HEAVEN a beautifully written book. In describing a glimpse of three Japanese cranes on a misty early evening on the snow... more info

Be in awe of what we have, weep for what we are losing.:

The readers of "The Birds of Heaven" should be prepared for joy, awe, geographic and naturalist education, but also sadness,fear and disgust. Matthiessen travels the world in search of the wild cranes. He is not just an observor, he is part of the effort to study and save these amazing birds. Robert Bateman's drawings are beautiful and serve as references as you read.

Peter Matthiessen travels with George Archibald, from the International Crane Foundation, through Asia revisiting places where cranes were... more info

Gorgeous illustrations; interesting text:

The most striking feature of this book is the color plates, which might make the book a nice gift for a birdlover. This ornithological study works on at least 2 levels:1)it is a detailed study of the current knowledge of 15 species of cranes, most of which are endangered (The Sandhill crane of the US is an exception), efforts for preservation of the species, and ornithological details. To give the briefest example, some of the cranes are migratory,while others are not. Some migrate long distances, as does... more info

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