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

Mark Obmascik

Bantam, 2011 - Bird watchers - 320 pages

"Each year, hundreds of people set out across North America determined to set a new record in a spectacularly competitive event. Is it tennis? Golf? Racing? Poker perhaps? No, it s bird-watching, and a contest known as the Big Year a grand, gruelling, expensive (and occasionally vicious) 365-day marathon to identify the most species. THE BIG YEAR is the rollicking chronicle of the 275,000-mile odyssey of three unlikely adventurers who take their bird-watching so seriously it nearly kills them. From Texas in pursuit of the Rufus-capped Warbler to British Columbia in search of Xantus Hummingbird, these obsessive enthusiasts brave roasting deserts, storm-tossed oceans, infested swamps and disgruntled lions (not to mention some of the lumpiest hotel mattresses known to man) as they vie to become North America s number one bird-watcher in what would prove to be the biggest Big Year of them all This captivating tour of human and avian nature, of courage and deceit, of passion and paranoia reveals the extremes to which Man will go to pursue his dreams, to conquer and to categorize..."

What people are saying

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

User Review  - Book Verdict

In this riveting narrative, three competitive birders vie to see the most birds in one year. This enjoyable read was made into a movie starring Steve Martin and Owen Wilson.

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - 13mushrooms - LibraryThing

So, first i saw the movie. and that was good. Then i decided to read the book, and boy, even the names are different! besides all the changes from the book to the movie, i still thought this as a good ...

About the author

Mark Obmascik has been a journalist for over two decades, most recently at the 'Denver Post', where he was lead writer for the newspaper's Pulitzer Prize. He has also won the National Press Club Award for his environmental journalism. An obsessed birdwatcher himself, he lives in Denver with his wife and sons.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
• Author: Mark Obmascik
• Edition: reprint, reissue
• Publisher: Bantam, 2011
• ISBN: 0857500694, 9780857500694
• Length: 320 pages