The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession

If you enjoyed Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder, Wild America: The Record of a 30,000 Mile Journey Around the Continent by a Distinguished Naturalist and His British Colleague or anything by Scott Weidensaul, you'll enjoy Obmascik's account of an unlikely collection of birders bent on breaking records. The concept of the Big Year is pretty simple: see as many birds as possible. Since its inception, this simple concept has ballooned into a circus of maxed out credit cards, exorbitant helicopter flights and boat rides, visits to dumps on the Mexican border, and Christmas dinners in isolated Chinese restaurants. This book chronicles three competitors and their attempts at Birdwatching glory: Sandy Komito (the hardcore favorite, record-holding former construction worker), Greg Miller (the longshot computer programmer, working with limited resources) and Al Levantin (the rich, passionate retired chemical company tycoon). As I see it, this book has two real strengths: 1.) For those of us who dream of dropping everything, getting in a car with a pair of binoculars and seeing all the birds that had previously only been pictures in field guides, this book is both fulfilling and inspiring. Fulfilling, in that at the end of a long day, its a passable substitute for having the time to actually go out and see the rare birds. Inspiring, in its affirmation that anybody--even you--can do it, as long as you're willing to sacrifice. 2.) The subjects of the story are developed into character so nicely in journalistic prose. You'll learn to root for the underdog, respect their sacrifice, and pity all of them for their clinically obsessive behavior. I'd encourage anyone interested in adventure or birding to read this book. You won't be disappointed, and probably won't be able to put it down.

"Red-breasted nuthatches! Himalayan snowcocks! Spotted woodpeckers! Nutting's flycatchers! The Big Year is the Gumball Rally of birding - a rollicking, nonstop, transcontinental adventure. Mark Obmascik brings the doggedness of an investigative reporter, the grace of an accomplished storyteller, and thh compassion of a fellow-traveling obsessive to this alluring quest for avian supremacy." (Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players.) "Mark Obmascik understands birders, and in this book he has ventured bravely into the fringes of the hobby to report on a sort of extreme birding; the big year. It's the best and the worst of birding in one grueling yearlong contest, and you have to admire the rare passion and dedication that a big year attempt requires. The rest of us must be content with daydreaming about it, and this book will undoubtedly be the source of many daydreams." (David Allen Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Birds.)

This book is terrific--so long as one doesn't think about the thousands of dollars these three men spend in pursuit of their obsession. I admire their creativity, persistence, and energy, but to max out several credit cards is more the height of irresponsibility than anything else. Even so, I loved reading the book. It is written with just the right mix of humor and excitement--yes, excitement in birding! I'll never do a Big Year myself, but this book puts you right in the thick of the chase.

I read the excerpt of this book in my son's Sports Illustrated (January 19, 2004 issue) and immediately ordered a copy The Big Year. Who would have thought that three bird watchers offer the story for an article in Sports Illustrated. But this is a story of an "extreme" sport. Bird watching at the level described in The Big Year is competitive, compulsive, and compelling. When I received the book last weekend I could not put it down until I found out who won the competition and how the year ended for the three competitors. The writing is outstanding and the picture drawn of the three competitors leaves you thinking you know them. The Big Year is a great read.

To categorize "The Big Year" as simply a birding book is to sidestep the universality of this crisply written narrative. Three men spend 365 days to satisfy a burning desire to observe more species of birds than anyone else in North America. The ultimate prize is no more than bragging rights and a place in the record books. This is obsession, nothing more or less, at its finest.How many people are actually able to pursue their dreams? Going after a big year record takes the willingness and ability to hop a plane at a moment's notice, to travel to the kind of locales that people a little less loony would eschew, to spend copious amounts of time and money pursuing birds who very well might not be there by the time you arrive.Obmascik captures the whole picture in a lively book that reveals the occasionally desperate spirit of the competition, the nature of the competitors and, with finely researched science and historical writing, enough background information to help the new initiate understand just why this particular sport is interesting and how it came to be. This isn't simply a book for birders. It's an actively written account that transcends birding, one that offers up a unique slice of humanity to the interested reader.