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by: Peter Matthiessen, Robert Bateman
List Price: $27.50Amazon.com's Price: $18.15 You Save: $9.35 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.32
EAN: 9780374199449
ISBN: 0374199442
Label: North Point Press
Manufacturer: North Point Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: December 20, 2001
Publisher: North Point Press
Sales Rank: 199640
Studio: North Point Press
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
A leading naturalist and writer travels the globe in search of a prized-and vanishing-bird
Cranes are ubiquitous in the earliest legends of the world's peoples, where they often figure as harbingers of heaven and omens of longevity and good fortune. They are still held sacred in many places, and for good reason. Their large size and need for wilderness habitat makes them an 'umbrella species' whose wellbeing assures that of other creatures and of the ecosystem at large. Moreover, the enormous spans of their migrations are a symbol of, and stimulus to, international efforts at conservation.
In The Birds of Heaven, Peter Matthiessen has woven together journeys in search of the fifteen species of cranes in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and Australia. As he tracks them (and their declining numbers) in the company of scientists, conservationists, and regional people encountered along the way, he captures the dilemmas of a planet in ecological crisis, and the deeper loss to humankind if these beautiful and imposing creatures are allowed to disappear. The book includes color plates by renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman.
Amazon.com Review:
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.' --Shawn Carkonen
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A stellar book on heavenly birds
The teaming of two giants in natural history - author Peter Matthiessen and artist Robert Bateman - to cover one of the world's most revered and endangered groups of birds produced a book whose appeal reaches well beyond "craniacs" and other bird lovers.
Matthiessen's accounts of his globe-spanning travels in search of cranes incorporate extensive historical, cultural, and scientific background information (from Confucius, Chaucer, and Marco Polo to Bertolt Brecht and Aldo Leopold), ... Read More
Rating: - A wonderful book for everyone who loves the outdoors
The Birds of Heaven is an unusual mix of natural history, travel, personal reflections, and tough lessons in the realities of international cooperation (or lack thereof) in conservation. It is thoroughly engaging, and also has beautiful illustrations and photographs. Everyone who loves the outdoors--not just crane fanatics--should own a copy of this book.
Rating: - Heaven is a Matthiessen book
I first read Peter Matthiessen in the 1970s: "The Snow Leopard", and was so moved by his writing that I began to read everything I could find that he authored. I have never been disappointed. "The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes" is, like his other books scholarly and absolutely sings with his love of the subject. And the included art is breathtaking. With International Crane Foundation as well as other authorities on wildlife conservation, Matthiessen has written another book that will ... Read More
Rating: - Fantastic, well-illustrated book on all things crane
_The Birds of Heaven_ by Peter Matthiessen is a well-written and informative account of the fifteen living species of crane. Matthiessen chronicled in the book his years of experience with these birds, traveling to Russia, China, Mongolia (where six species have been recorded), India, Bhutan, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Africa, England (where the Eurasian or common crane, extinct there since 1653, is at last a breeding species once more), Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Florida to study and write about ... Read More
Rating:  - 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 ... Read More
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