The Curse Of The Labrador Duck - Hardcover

Chilton, Glen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1554683629 ISBN 13: 9781554683628

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009

Synopsis

Little is known about the Labrador Duck, which once populated eastern North America but has been extinct for more than 100 years. Stuffed specimens, housed under glass in museums and in private collections worldwide, are rare -- only 55 are known to exist. Even more rare is the kind of scientist who would, given the task of writing a small species account about the Labrador Duck, travel around the globe more than three times in search of every last stuffed bird. And what about the curse? Everyone who has owned a stuffed specimen has come to a bad end, whether going to jail or dying under mysterious circumstances.

But Chilton is a rare specimen himself, and a biologist with a self-professed obsessive personality. (“They say that some children suck their thumb while still in the womb; I spent those nine months chewing my fingernails.”) His pursuit of the extinct species took him to the ducks’ breeding habitat on Canada’s east coast, as well as on many adventures in Europe and America as he searched museums and personal collections. Over the course of his epic journey, Chilton encountered a colourful flock of scientists, journalists and amateur ornithologists. He also endured numerous hangovers, swam naked in a glacier-fed stream and narrowly avoided arrest in New York City.

The Curse of the Labrador Duck is a quest unlike any other, an impulsive journey around the planet in pursuit of a bird no one in our lifetime has seen alive.

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About this title

About the Author:

DR. GLEN CHILTON, professor emeritus at St. Mary’s University College, Calgary, and adjunct professor at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, is an internationally recognized ornithologist and behavioural ecologist, and the world’s leading authority on the extinct Labrador Duck. His detective work for The Curse of the Labrador Duck took him around the world the equivalent of 3.3 times. Chilton now resides in Australia.

Review:

"I've seen my share of strange quests, and have even taken part in a few myself, but nothing matches Glen Chilton’s galloping obsession to corner the market on rare stuffed ducks. A funny, fast-paced and oddly heroic tale.”
— Will Ferguson, author of Happiness

“From the wilds of Nova Scotia to the neglected bowels of decrepit museums, Glen Chilton is in relentless pursuit of evidence of the extinct Labrador Duck. And the curse? You’ll have to read this engaging adventure to find out.”
— Tim Flannery, Author of The Weather Makers

“The Curse of the Labrador Duck is a pleasure to read and not really about a bird at all. It’s about our obsessions, and how they lead us to the most wonderful, unexpected places. Glen Chilton is a funny and engaging writer. He is also a bit insane, and thank goodness for that.”
— Eric Werner, author of The Geography of Bliss

“Glen Chilton is one of those great rarities—a serious scientist who knows how to spin a fascinating yarn. The Curse of the Labrador Duck drew me in from the start and I eagerly followed Chilton’s wild ride through every gritty inner-city back road, grungy gin joint, and dilapidated hotel room in North America and Europe.”
— Tim Gallagher, author of The Grail Bird: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

"The Curse of the Labrador Duck is a fascinating wild goose chase (where the geese are all dead and aren’t technically geese). Glen Chilton—currently my favorite hard-drinking ornithologist—is a wonderful guide, with prose that calls to mind James Herriot and Bill Bryson.”
— A.J. Jacobs, author of The Guinea Pig Diaries and the Year of Living Biblically

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1554683629
• ISBN 13: 9781554683628
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320