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David Gessner

Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond Hardcover – April 1, 2007

by David Gessner (Author)

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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.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Beacon Press
Publication date

April 1, 2007
Dimensions

5.75 x 1 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

0807085782
ISBN-13

978-0807085783
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the outset, Gessner tells readers that "[t]his is not a bird book"; indeed, it's more about what Gessner came to understand about himself by spending day after day studying one particular species of bird, the osprey. Gessner, who previously wrote Return of the Osprey, which focuses on the effort to rescue ospreys from DDT annihilation, this time turns his attention to migration—why ospreys migrate to Central and South America every winter, and what they do when they're there. He tracked ospreys on one basic migration route—from Cape Cod to Cuba and back. While Gessner weaves in the science of tracking the birds, it's his rowboat-and-binoculars approach to the subject that will most attract readers. Spending days watching ospreys and chatting with other bird-watchers, Gessner discovers the "joy in reducing life to one thing." Gessner writes beautifully, with grace and humor. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gessner insists that this is not a bird book but, instead, a book about the nature of human happiness. Many of the people in it "have turned their attention to things with feathers that fly." Gessner had become obsessed with ospreys while on Cape Cod and decided to follow a flock when the flock left at the end of the summer on its annual migration. The birds fly over the eastern U.S., then over Cuba, and spend the winter in South America. Gessner joined a BBC crew making a documentary, traveling illegally into the mountains of Cuba and then into Venezuela. They traveled by car, plane, boat, and on foot to follow these raptors, whose wingspread measures six feet. Gessner describes the birds' antics and writes about the people he meets along the way. Despite what Gessner says, however, the book really is about birds; he also happens to be the author of Return of the Osprey (2001) and The Prophet of Dry Hill (2005). This is a thoughtful and loving examination of these beautiful creatures. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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 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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beacon Press (April 1, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807085782
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807085783
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,767,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,781 in Bird Watching (Books)

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33 ratings

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David Gessner

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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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4.4 out of 5

33 global ratings

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3 star		9%
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Michael Carmel

Is Gessner the Indiana Jones of Birding?

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 12, 2007

Verified Purchase

Gessner ratchets up the action with this true-life adventure. He demonstrates that a very skilled writer on a shoestring budget is able to blend ornithology, international adventure, beer, smokes and derring-do into a terrific book that teaches the reader to devour life while pursuing knowledge. The combination is odd, but I found this page-turner exciting and informative. Both people and ospreys come under Gessner's neb as he breaks a few U.S. State Department rules about travel to Cuba to see for himself where thousands of Ospreys (and other birds) migrate. His interest focuses on a particular bird he follows from Cape Cod to Cuba's La Gran Piedra. Achieving this, he risks life and limb to travel to Venezuela where kidnappings and murders are not quite as numerous as the ospreys he so adores, and borrows money to consummate his passionate quests. I reluctantly set this book aside to run an errand that took me across the Megler Bridge over the Columbia River through an estuary near Astoria, Oregon. As if on cue, an Osprey plunged into a mud flat and arose with a small flounder less than 50 yards from the highway. Had I not been reading this book, I would have missed the event, but Gessner's memorable descriptions of Osprey behavior are enriching my life. I now see ospreys all the time. Gessner's books have given me my wings, my vision is sharpened and I think I may be turning into an osprey magnet, I really think so.

12 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

You feel like you are traveling with Gessner on his quest!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Ospreys and wants to know more about their migration. Gessner sucks the reader into the narrative. Read the entire book in a day! It was that good.

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Aquadiver

For the Birds, and that's a good thing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is a fun, funny, informative and sometimes moving adventure story by a guy who is obsessed with ospreys. Gessner's previous book, "Return of the Osprey" was a lyrical tribute to one of the most amazing raptors in the avian world. This book is a more personal story about Gessner's quest to follow the ospreys on their migration from New England to South America via Cuba. In some ways it mocks TV nature documentaries as Gessner, with no outside funding or support, tries to outwit and outpace a BBC crew that is also trying to follow the osprey migration. But the author's real purpose is to share his admiration and love for these birds, and in that he succeeds admirably.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

Great book for anyone who loves birds and the natural world (especially those magnificent ospreys!)

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Merryworld

Nature triumphs over politics

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 23, 2007

Verified Purchase

A wonderfully readable story of one person's obsession with osprey migration that led him to Cuba. I especially enjoyed learning about a webcam osprey nest site.

One person found this helpful

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Displaced snowshoer in Arizona

Great book. Fun and packed with knowledge.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

The book made me want to follow an osprey on its migratory flight. Lots of good science in an easy-to-read book that isn't too much science for the unscientific reader.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 27, 2015

great book.

This book will make you love ospreys if you don't love them already

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 19, 2011

Verified Purchase

Fascinating and wonderful book that I have shared with many friends. They all love the book too and those who have waterfront homes have now installed osprey platforms to watch these amazing birds. A great, memorable read.

One person found this helpful

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J. Robertson

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

A1

2nimm

livre d'aventures ornitho intéressant mais non illustré

Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on October 7, 2011

Verified Purchase

livre broché souple moyen format de 2007 relatant le voyage migratoire d'un balbuzard entre le Massachussets et Cuba et même le Vénézuela; carte dessinée en n&b en garde, puis dix chapitres de taille variable (26 à 30p) racontent cette merveilleuse aventure; pas d'illustrations ni de photos; ce livre, passionnera par son sujet tous les amoureux des oiseaux, naturalistes amateurs ou plus scientifiques; nombreux ceux qui, cependant, regretteront l'absence d'illustrations et son caractère austère.

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