Dangerous Birds: A Naturalist's Aviary

Rating:
Summary: Charming, thought-provoking, entertaining
Review: Janet Lembke's birds are "dangerous" in that they challenge her preconceptions, force her to think new thoughts, and are thus subversive and dangerous to the established order. Her book is dangerous in the same sense. She tells of neighbors who shoot birds and how she gets along with them; of birds who show up where they aren't supposed to be, and why that matters; and of the extraordinary things she learns from the very ordinary little feathered creatures she meets every day in her neighborhood. Each chapter is a separate essay and can be read at a sitting, and they all work together to build a portrait of a fascinating area and a highly original writer.