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- Aliens Among Us: Probing Hillbillies and Freaking Shut-ins, How Netflix’s “Encounters” and Hulu’s “No One Will Save You” Prep Us for the Coming Alien Apocalypse, Kind of
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- Day 25: On David Quammen's "Spillover": Terrific Book That Foretold Our Pandemic, Kind of
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Tag Archives: Birding
Review of Kevin Grauke's "Shadows of Men," Plus a Northern Harrier To Boot
So last Sunday my review of Kevin Grauke’s debut collection of short stories, Shadows of Men, appeared in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s an excellent book—at times funny, at times touching, and pretty much hits the nail on the … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, Photography, The West, writing
Tagged Birding, Book Reviewing, Good Fiction, Photography, The West, Wildlife photos
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While Reading Melanie Challenger's "On Extinction," Life in "The Other Season"
So I’ve begun reading Melanie Challenger’s On Extinction, to review for the Dallas Morning News, a timely book when Climate Change is panting its hot breath down our neck like an oily wolf: the weather has been so warm this … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, The West, Water Crisis, Weird Weather
Tagged Birding, Book Reviewing, Climate Change, Drought, The Bird Saviors, The West, Water Crisis, Wildfires, Wildlife photos
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On David Quammen's "Spillover," Today's Election, and the Great Horned Owls Beside Me
So I’ve been reading David Quammen’s new book, Spillover (2012), on emerging diseases (and particularly zoonotic viruses, a la Ebola, Marburg, HIV, SARS, etc.), and I keep feeling sicker and sicker. It’s like I’m catching Ebola from reading this book. But … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Owls, Photography, The West, Water Crisis
Tagged Birding, Climate Change, The West, Water Crisis, Wildlife photos
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Review of "The Bird Saviors" in the San Antonio Express-News, and Miles & Miles of Texas
So I’m on a book tour of Texas right now, and have actually driven 1,400 miles so far, from Texline in the northeast part of the Panhandle to South Padre Island at the very southern tip of the state. And … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, The West, Uncategorized
Tagged Birding, Book Reviewing, The Bird Saviors, The West
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On Jessica Karbowiak's "These Things I Know" & Simon Winchester in the NY Times
So one of my former students, Jessica Karbowiak, has a knockout book out right now, titled These Things I Know. And though I know much about the book I don’t want to be a Spoiler and give it all away, … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, The West, writing
Tagged Birding, Book Reviewing, Good Fiction, Simon Winchester, Wildlife photos
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Review of David McGlynn's "A Door in the Ocean"
So my review of David McGlynn’s just-published memoir, A Door in the Ocean, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a good book, and gives an interesting insider’s viewpoint of competitive swimming, how grueling and isolating it can … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, Photography, The West, writing
Tagged Birding, Good Fiction, The West, Wildlife photos
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On Frozen Penises and Rivers Coated With Pelican Feathers: Reading Stephen Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage," About the Lewis & Clark trip of 1804-6
So I’m heading up to Montana/Wyoming in a month, to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and to get warmed up for it, I’m reading Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage (1996), which is in some ways a retelling of the Lewis & … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, Photography, The West, Water Crisis
Tagged Birding, Climate Change, The West
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Richard Muller's "Conversion of a Climate Change Skeptic" in the NY Times, Simon Winchester's "Atlantic," Plus One Glorious Bird
So it’s heartening to see that a climate change skeptic has changed his tune, and makes his case for human-induced climate change in today’s NY Times, here. I was hanging out with my two teenage nieces this week, and made … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, The West
Tagged Birding, Climate Change, Simon Winchester
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The Raptors of Custer County
So living in a high-desert mountain valley, I see a ton of raptors on the telephone poles and fence posts as I drive to and from town. Most of the time they’re easily identified (or guessed) as Red-Tailed Hawks, since … Continue reading
On Simon Winchester's "Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories," Plus That Crazy "Mermaid" Show Last Night
So today is a High Brow/Low Brow blue plate special: Right now I’m reading Simon Winchester’s Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories (2010), part of my summer reading slate of … Continue reading
Posted in Bad TV, Birding, books, Photography, The West
Tagged Birding, Simon Winchester, Western Tanager
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