Birding Babylon - A Soldier's Journal from Iraq
Birding Babylon - A Soldier's Journal from Iraq - Jonathan Trouen-Trend
Very fast read - in another time, this might have been called a slight tome. The concept was interesting - what sorts of birds could a birdwatching soldier posted to Iraq observe? He does a great job cataloguing the various birds, setting up the circumstances of his opportunities to birdwatch, and commenting on the war only as it relates to or interferes with his ability to birdwatch. I like books that explore wars from different perspectives, and this did that. The only criticism I have is that I'm not a bird lover, and this didn't change my opinion of the vicious creatures at all. Perhaps a great book would have convinced me to appreciate, if not love, the foul winged beasts.
February 2007.
Very fast read - in another time, this might have been called a slight tome. The concept was interesting - what sorts of birds could a birdwatching soldier posted to Iraq observe? He does a great job cataloguing the various birds, setting up the circumstances of his opportunities to birdwatch, and commenting on the war only as it relates to or interferes with his ability to birdwatch. I like books that explore wars from different perspectives, and this did that. The only criticism I have is that I'm not a bird lover, and this didn't change my opinion of the vicious creatures at all. Perhaps a great book would have convinced me to appreciate, if not love, the foul winged beasts.
February 2007.
posted by Rhon | 3:22 PM
1 Comments:
Those vicious foul (or is it fowl)winged beasts make the book sound terrifying. And to think that when I hear about the horrors of war I rarely consider soldiers quaking in fear of pigeons and plovers.
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