David GessnerSoaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond

Gessner ratchets up the action with this true-life adventure. He demonstrates that a very skilled writer on a shoestring budget is able to blend ornithology, international adventure, beer, smokes and derring-do into a terrific book that teaches the reader to devour life while pursuing knowledge. The combination is odd, but I found this page-turner exciting and informative. Both people and ospreys come under Gessner's neb as he breaks a few U.S. State Department rules about travel to Cuba to see for himself where thousands of Ospreys (and other birds) migrate. His interest focuses on a particular bird he follows from Cape Cod to Cuba's La Gran Piedra. Achieving this, he risks life and limb to travel to Venezuela where kidnappings and murders are not quite as numerous as the ospreys he so adores, and borrows money to consummate his passionate quests. I reluctantly set this book aside to run an errand that took me across the Megler Bridge over the Columbia River through an estuary near Astoria, Oregon. As if on cue, an Osprey plunged into a mud flat and arose with a small flounder less than 50 yards from the highway. Had I not been reading this book, I would have missed the event, but Gessner's memorable descriptions of Osprey behavior are enriching my life. I now see ospreys all the time. Gessner's books have given me my wings, my vision is sharpened and I think I may be turning into an osprey magnet, I really think so.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Ospreys and wants to know more about their migration. Gessner sucks the reader into the narrative. Read the entire book in a day! It was that good.

This is a fun, funny, informative and sometimes moving adventure story by a guy who is obsessed with ospreys. Gessner's previous book, "Return of the Osprey" was a lyrical tribute to one of the most amazing raptors in the avian world. This book is a more personal story about Gessner's quest to follow the ospreys on their migration from New England to South America via Cuba. In some ways it mocks TV nature documentaries as Gessner, with no outside funding or support, tries to outwit and outpace a BBC crew that is also trying to follow the osprey migration. But the author's real purpose is to share his admiration and love for these birds, and in that he succeeds admirably.

Great book for anyone who loves birds and the natural world (especially those magnificent ospreys!)

A wonderfully readable story of one person's obsession with osprey migration that led him to Cuba. I especially enjoyed learning about a webcam osprey nest site.

The book made me want to follow an osprey on its migratory flight. Lots of good science in an easy-to-read book that isn't too much science for the unscientific reader.

great book.

Fascinating and wonderful book that I have shared with many friends. They all love the book too and those who have waterfront homes have now installed osprey platforms to watch these amazing birds. A great, memorable read.

A1

livre broché souple moyen format de 2007 relatant le voyage migratoire d'un balbuzard entre le Massachussets et Cuba et même le Vénézuela; carte dessinée en n&b en garde, puis dix chapitres de taille variable (26 à 30p) racontent cette merveilleuse aventure; pas d'illustrations ni de photos; ce livre, passionnera par son sujet tous les amoureux des oiseaux, naturalistes amateurs ou plus scientifiques; nombreux ceux qui, cependant, regretteront l'absence d'illustrations et son caractère austère.