Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography

Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography (Mildred Wyatt-Wold Series in Ornithology) (Hardcover)by Douglas Carlson, University of Texas Press, October 1, 2007, ISBN-10: 029271680X, # ISBN-13: 978-0292716803 is a surprisingly enjoyable read for someone like myself whose knowledge of the natural flying world is limited to appreciating that birds have feathers and bugs do not. Carlson's subject, that of a famous ornithologist's life's work, is not for birders only. No, Carlson's biography of the field guide guru is an especially enlightening read for those of an awakening mind, for shining through Carlson's study of the professional Peterson are the universal themes, love, genius, art, joy, freedom and peace. Carlson's studied account of Peterson's life makes articulate for the philosophically-inclined what these abstractions mean, and for this naming treasure Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography is a treat to read. Roger Tory Peterson loved birds because, he imagined as a boy full of romantic notions, birds were the ultimate expression of freedom (Carlson, 8). Peterson's idealization recalls the famous claim by the Christian guru of freedom, Jesus of Nazareth: "Behold the fowls of the air" who do not sow nor reap; neither do they store for tomorrow and yet they have enough food to eat, Matthew 6:26. Peterson, who as a child was brought up, baptized and confirmed Lutheran, his mother a Sunday school teacher, (Carlson, 4) was no doubt influenced by this of all lies. This of all lies: birds are not carefree. Birds are bound, rather, by their need to gather the resources to live, theirs being a subsistence existence. And yet for young Peterson birds represented "the physical freedom to go anywhere they wanted" (Carlson, 260). Peterson eventually discovered that birds did not satisfy as a symbol of freedom because they are "captives of environmental factors and genetically encoded behaviors" (Carlson, 18), which is ironic because so was Peterson bound--bound by cultural expectations of man as provider. Like the birds he studied, thought about, wrote about, and painted, Peterson himself was confined first to earn a living for the clothing, feeding and nesting of his family, and finally to establish his legacy. Publishing revised editions of what became for him his "dreaded" Field Guide, Peterson was not free. Freedom to him was to luxuriate in his studio with paint brush and bird subject (Carlson, 233), but he had little time to let loose the floodgates of his vision with the demands of his life's work, the work that brought him fame and a modest fortune, pressing down upon him. He was, to put it bluntly, no more free than the fowls of the air. Carlson's biography of Roger Tory Peterson builds brilliantly the tragic irony of Peterson's life. And for this too, a cautionary tale equal to the opening scenes of The Bhagavad Gita in which the warrior, Arjuna, because of his attachment, cannot see reality, Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography is an eye-openi

Roger Tory Peterson devoted his life to the study of birds. In a 1996 speech delivered in Houston shortly before his death, he said, "Birds have occupied my daily thoughts, filled my dreams, dominated my reading." He traced his love for birds to his boyhood and a day when he came upon a flicker with its head tucked under one wing. It was exhausted from migration, but Peterson thought the bird was dead and reached out to stroke its back. The bird exploded with life, and took off with a golden flash of wing, leaving the boy filled with wonder at its resurrection, its freedom and ability to fly. Peterson began as an artist and by his early twenties had added his love of birds and nature to his art. A close associate suggested he write a field guide. Peterson took the idea a step further, incorporating his trademark identification arrows and descriptive text describing song, flight patterns, and nesting habits. The first Peterson's guide almost didn't find a publisher. The country was in the grip of the Depression; publishers thought people had more to worry about than learning how to identify birds. Finally Houghton Mifflin took a chance with a small first printing, and in 1934 "A Field Guide to the Birds" was published. To everyone's amazement, the book sold out almost immediately. The Field Guides have continued to be a bestsellers ever since. Peterson was one of the first to recognize the importance of environmental awareness, and was instrumental in getting the 1972 ban on DDT implemented. Additionally, he brought the world's attention to the decimation of the penguin from oil spills, and to the destruction of the bird-rich rain forests of Central America. Painter, educator, photographer, writer, and environmentalist, Peterson lived to the age of 88. He chose as the epitaph on his tombstone: "Birds are the most vivid expression of life." Douglas Carlson's skillful and absorbing biography brings this passionate, energetic man back to life, and celebrates his great gifts to the world of nature.