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Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond Kindle Edition
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.
- Print length302 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBeacon Press
- Publication dateApril 1, 2007
- File size1914 KB
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Review
"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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Soaring with Fidel is a grand and cheering journey on the wings of one of nature's most sociable predators."—Carl Hiassen, author of Nature Girl
"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. 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 from Cape Cod to Cuba to Venezuela and back north, 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
"Gessner seldom sets out deliberately to be funny, as Bill Bryson does, but his deadpan, self-deprecating humor ("I had vast experience in not seeing birds") makes him an ideal traveling companion and guide. Soaring With Fidel lets you hover for a while in the thermals of fine language, seeing the same old world from a fresh and invigorating altitude."—Wilmington (NC) Morning Star News
"David Gessner, author of Soaring With Fidel, said, 'There will be a huge hole in the Cape literary community. I have done a brunch for every one of my books and had planned on doing them for each future book. Each time Jack and Bess made it a personal celebration. It was a great way to interact with Cape people, and Cabbages and Kings will be deeply missed.'"—Shelf Awareness
"This probing investigation of the migratory flight of the osprey embraced several unexpectedly, exciting adventures . . . I found Gessner’s book a most interesting read."—NH Union Leader
"This is a thoughtful and loving examination."—Booklist
"Gessner’s account is filled with nitty-gritty details about the days and nights of an itinerant birder and beautifully detailed descriptions of ospreys in action. When actual observations were not possible, he imagined what the ospreys were doing and writes intelligently…A grand adventure, not just for birders and nature lovers."—Kirkus
"Hunter Tompson gone birding, pen in hand." —Hartford Courant --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Product details
- ASIN : B001HBI7PQ
- Publisher : Beacon Press (April 1, 2007)
- Publication date : April 1, 2007
- Language : English
- File size : 1914 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Enhanced typesetting : Not Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Not Enabled
- Sticky notes : Not Enabled
- Print length : 302 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,664,983 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #286 in General Cuba Travel Guides
- #495 in Bird Watching (Kindle Store)
- #696 in Nature Writing
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

David Gessner is the author of eleven books that blend a love of nature, humor, memoir, and environmentalism, including Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness and the New York Times-bestselling All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner and the American West. Gessner currently serves as Chair of the Creative Writing Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the literary magazine, Ecotone. His prizes include a Pushcart Prize, the John Burroughs Award for Best Nature Essay, the Association for Study of Literature and the Environment’s award for best book of creative writing, and the Reed Award for Best Book on the Southern Environment. In 2017 he hosted the National Geographic Explorer show, "The Call of the Wild." He is married to the novelist Nina de Gramont.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2015
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