An Impossible Task

Heavy with illustrations, this cultural history of birds will enliven any naturalist’s bookshelf.

Of course, anything approaching a complete cultural history of birds would fill many volumes and be an on-going project. It would be in as many languages as there are—and ever have been. The human/bird connection goes back a very long way. Was there ever any human culture on the planet that did not eat/think/dream/conjecture about birds? Still, Boria Sax has made a brave effort. He dips into the ocean of myth, folklore, and science about birds and given us notes that allow us to carry on our explorations.

I mean, how could you look at something like this and not think, if this isn’t a messenger from the gods it is surely one of the gods themselves?