Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond - Hardcover

Gessner, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807085782 ISBN 13: 9780807085783

Publisher: Beacon Press, 2007

Synopsis

One September, after writing about ospreys on Cape Cod for years, David Gessner impulsively decided to follow the birds on their annual migration. Each fall these graceful raptors, with wingspans of up to six feet, cruise over the eastern United States, then soar over Cuba and winter in South America, returning north with the spring. In 2004, Gessner went along for the ride, traveling illegally into the mountains of Cuba and deep into Venezuela as he competed with the crew of a BBC documentary to be the first to follow the full migration, trailing the birds by car, boat, foot, and plane. He called his favorite osprey Fidel.

Soaring with Fidel is about the exhilaration of migration, but it is also a deeper meditation on the nature of human happiness. In describing the thrill of travel, the antics of these swashbuckling birds, and the cast of characters he meets (and drinks with) along the way—including scientists, students, tour guides, and an online group of birders—Gessner gives us a profound lesson in the importance of following what you love.

About this title

About the Author:

David Gessner is the author of several books, including most recently Sick of Nature. His Return of the Osprey was chosen by the Boston Globe as one of the top ten nonfiction books of the year. Gessner is currently the editor of Ecotone, a literary journal, and teaches at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He lives in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, with his wife and daughter.

Review:

From the tidal marshes of Cape Cod to jungle lakes in Venezuela, David Gessner lets nothing—not language barriers, not empty pockets, not steely-eyed Cuban bureaucrats or American embargoes—stop him from following the migration of the osprey. Just reckless enough to be lucky, Gessner wins over everyone he meets—and he'll win you over, too. Soaring with Fidel has wings.—Scott Weidensaul, author of Living on the Wind

"Because of its robust passion and focus, Soaring with Fidel would have probably been a favorite of Teddy Roosevelt’s. It’s Gessner’s finest book, unpredictable in the best way, and funny, too; an adventure book and much more—a book of contact, written by a writer who quickly becomes an audible and visible presence. Soaring with Fidel demonstrates that you can ‘pick up one thing and find the rest of the world hitched to it.’ If you’ve experienced a passion that you failed to follow—or that you did follow—then this is your book."—Clyde Edgerton, author of Solo

"Exhilarating, hilarious, tender, this is David Gessner at his best. Call it whatever you want—osprey lust, wanderlust, migratory unrest—but when Gessner decides to follow the birds he loves over thousands of miles of mountain, swamp, and sea, we all benefit."—James Campbell, author of The Final Frontiersman

"Equal doses of Jack Kerouac and Roger Tory Peterson promise to enshrine Soaring with Fidel in the pantheon of great travel writing and natural history."—Keith L. Bildstein, author of Migrating Raptors of the World

"Soaring with Fidel is a grand and cheering journey on the wings of one of nature's most sociable predators. It's impossible to watch an osprey hovering above a crystal calm bay and not envy the great bird's freedom. Now, thanks to David Gessner, we are invited to follow."—Carl Hiaasen, author of Nature Girl

About this edition

• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0807085782
• ISBN 13: 9780807085783
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304