I enjoyed H is for Hawk and liked this equally. Very informative and peaceful book. Would recommend.

This book is filled with adventures and natural curiosities. After reading (and loving) H is for Hawk, i was very excited to see that Helen Macdonald had written another book. She is a true naturalist and amazing writer. Her use of language to describe birds and the natural world is exquisite.
The subject matter in these essays are varied and always interesting, making me want to do more reading on many of the subjects....(my favorite kind of reading...leaving me curious). She is officially one of my 'must read' authors now. This book doesn't disappoint, just filled me with wonder.

*4 not 5 stars only because I received a digital ARC copy and unfortunately the formatting did not include page breaks and headings which made it more difficult to enjoy this beautiful book.

Vesper Flights seems to be a spiritual ancestor to its predecessor, the wonderful H is for Hawk. Here we get more of Helen Macdonald's views on the world, including how we view and interact with nature. But Macdonald gets more intimate as she discusses politics and her personal life. Nevertheless she is still looking up and out of herself, seeing and admiring the birds that are with her on her journey.

Vesper Flights is a series of essays, all connected by the theme of nature. Macdonald writes so beautifully and movingly, including about her childhood, and how the world has changed so much in such a short period of time. The essays range in subject matter, but all are important and written with Macdonald's clear-eyed, evocative prose. The overarching message throughout the books is one of urgency: we must protect what nature we have left, for if we don't, it will be lost forever.

I listened to the H for Hawk audiobook before I read this new book, and I found I like the first book better. I got more of a sense who the author was, and I admire her love of nature but this book seemed to ramble on and not have a cohesive subject.

I think it is just personal opinion and preference, but this book was just lacking something for me. I liked the way it was written and I liked the overall writing, but it just didn't get a full 5-stars for me. I did enjoy the cover art; it really pulled me in and made me want to read this book. Surely, other people did love it and I am very thankful to have read it. Trust me, I really wanted to love this one because the premise sounds great!

(Review published in September)

Vesper Flights is a series of essays by inspired nature writer Helen Macdonald ( H is for Hawk ). Tackling topics like immigrants, climate change, and nationalism, Macdonald finds deft ways to relate these to the natural world or, in the case of climate change, our experience of pain and denial. (How is it, she asks, can we be in the midst of the prodromal phase of a migraine and deny it is a migraine? How can we stand at the precipice of climate disaster, with category 5 storms forming in 36 hours, and forests on fire all the world over, and deny something is very wrong?) From Swan Upping to the magic of swifts to the titular vesper flights, Macdonald writes luminously.

A treasure of essays for those who love the natural world and birds. I'm gifting copies to several people.

The audiobook, narrated by Macdonald herself, is really lovely.

I received a digital review copy and an audio review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

VERDICT: Highly recommended for all lovers of nature, or simply for anyone eager to expand their horizon and read nourishing passages with a refreshing outlook on life.

H is for Hawk was very personal, as the author presented how her time and experience with a goshawk helped her overcome her grief at the sudden death of her father.

This present collection of about forty essays has some personal dimension, for instance when she relates about her childhood experience, but I found it opening broader horizons, on our current world, on the situation of the environment, or even on the political sphere.

Almost all essays deal with nature, birds for sure (do you know what a Vesper Flight is?), but not only (mushrooms, woods, goats, etc). They are short, easy to read, and yet they offer deep wisdom. Even though some show how alarming our environmental situation is, I found in them as a whole refreshing outlook on life, quite welcome these days.

In many essays, MacDonald highlights the fact that animals exist and need to be considered in their own rights, and not as mirrors of humankind. She invites us to take time to observe truly, and change our perspective.

And obviously, I learned a lot, even on birds which I thought I knew well. I was actually aware of murmurations, but not of Vesper Flights!

What Macdonald does so well in talking about nature is pointing out all the ways we are normally terrible at talking about nature, and then correcting it. So much of the time nature writing is beautiful and lyrical, and not much else beyond a reminder that humans are ruining the world for animals. Macdonald's writing is also beautiful and lyrical, and she certainly doesn't shy away from the many ways that animals' lives are negatively impacted by our actions, but she goes beyond that. This book is so much more introspective and thoughtful than the usual nature preachings. I would strongly recommend to anyone who wants to read short insightful articles and is ok with most of them being about birds.

Since I watched a video in which a Booktuber (probably abookolive) was reviewing H is for Hawk, I want to read Helen MacDonald. So, when I saw this book on NetGalley, how could I resist?

Vesper Flights is a collection of (rather) short essays about different topics, but mostly focused on nature, animals and our relationship with it and them. It also deals with home, immigration, climate change, emotions and how we project them on nature and animals, seeking signs when there is nothing but life and a brief meeting of two different species who can't understand each other but who are part of each other's life for a second, a minute, some more.

This book brought me a different view of life, of nature, of animals - the part about the ostrich in one of the last essays left me ... ill-at-ease? stunned? I love the way the author explains that animals aren't there to teach us lessons, but do it anyway because, partly, of the meaning we give them, of what they represent for us. I loved that she talked about their own lives while trying to remove humans from the equation. We can't understand them because we try to explain their behaviours through our human filter. The world is far richer and Helen MacDonald tries to show this richness to us.
It worked for me. I learned a lot, I was amazed sometimes - I have to admit that, in the very beginning, I was wondering why I was reading a book about birds (because I thought they were the main focus) while I knew nothing about them! I saw the world differently, I discovered things I never thought about, like the effect of a huge flock of birds on people, or what we feel during an eclipse and why, what home means, the fact that birds can fly for months without stopping...

Mostly, for me, this book is true, authentic and moving. I was close to tears on multiple occasions for different reasons.
Some essays are quite sad: the world is changing and people wreck havok without knowing it sometimes. Species are disappearing and it's a joy mixed with deep sadness that the author and the reader feel when they both have the chance to see a certain bird in a certain place, maybe the last one. It's disturbing to read about hunters, about birdwatchers, about birdkeepers and to try to understand - I still can't for hunters, I admit.
But it's also moving to spend some time with baby falcons unsteady on their feet, to meet a friend who helps save and release baby birds fallen from their nests. I felt pure joy imagining that, living that through the pages.

This book is not only a collection of essays but also part memoir. Indeed, the author writes about her personal experience which adds a genuine tone to it. She feels close to the reader - at least, I felt close to her. I wanted to keep reading, to keep being with her, learning and seeing the world through her eyes, with her words.

I'm really glad I read this book, and I want to read her first one even more now! I think I'll get a physical copy of this one to reread it or just flip through it from time to time. A great discovery!

Sometimes a book is so striking that I have to close my eyes at the end for a good while in order to fully absorb the wonder and beauty of the pages I read. This is the case with Vesper Flights, and I think its concluding scene especially warrants this response! Fabulous!

A truly haunting, poignant and affecting read. Helen Macdonald writes about our relationship with the natural world in a beautiful way, often taking us on strange tangents before leading us back to where we started with a slightly altered view.

At times I struggled with the book as she described species loss and environmental degredation. She doesn't offer us much hope on that front, which isn't necessarily her job, but I had to pause a few times in the reading to gather myself before reading more about the loss of another species or natural environment.

I really would recommend this book to everyone though - not just naturalists.

Overall I found this work to be such an insightful and delightful read. Helen Macdonald’s collection of essays contain such wisdom, humor, and thoughtful reflections. Topics range from childhood experiences with our environment to how socioeconomic status impacts different ways humans connect with birds, I found this work to be written with a lot of heart and humility. I also found myself yearning to go out and learn more about my own ecosystem and reflect on how I perceive the creatures around me. This work feels intimate and as though I am sitting with Macdonald sipping tea and reveling in life in all of its manifestations. I would recommend this work. I received an advanced readers copy of this work to provide my honest opinions.

Books that are collections of essays are not usually my thing, as I prefer a longer narrative that I can really sink my teeth into. However, each story in this book of vignettes is just beautiful. Some have an almost lyrical quality, as if they could be sung to create a song. The book really does encourage you to focus on the life around you, beyond yourself and even beyond other humans. In a constantly connected world that somehow still feels disconnected, I really find this approach refreshing. There is truly beauty all around us despite humanity's sometimes best efforts to destroy us. Reading the essays in this book will encourage you to stop and smell the roses and take in the nonhuman life around us. Just beautifully written!

I adored this book, normally I race through books but I wanted to slow down and savour every sentence. It's quite densely written and requires time and concentration but that's no bad thing. Helen Macdonald makes connections between the natural world and things that seem to have tangential relations to it such as refugees and Brexit. In some ways she almost reminds me of Mrs Marple and how she could extrapolate from the minutiae of daily life to help her solve brutal murders. When I was reading about Helen's experience of migraines, how no matter how many times she experiences the signs she doesn't always recognize that she is about to have one and what that tells us about our ability to read the signs and see our own futures it made me shiver. We are sleepwalking our way into disaster, hopefully this book helps some of us to wake up.

Vesper Flights by best selling author Helen Macdonald is a collection of essays that remind the reader not to take the natural world for granted.

Helen is a talented author, and while I don't normally enjoy the essay-type format for books, the book overall flowed.

This collection of short essays is filled with the kind of facts that you immediately want to share with someone—did you know that queen ants mate only once, but keep laying eggs for up to thirty years? Did you know that swifts spend their entire lives in the air? Since Helen MacDonald ties these natural phenomena to the joys and challenges of her own life, it reads more like a memoir than science writing. But these essays also explore our global relationship to our planet, touching on topics like climate change, Brexit, and immigration alongside deer, solar eclipses, and cuckoos.

In the introduction she states, “What science does is what I would like more literature to do too: show us that we are living in an exquisitely complicated world that is not all about us. It does not belong to us alone. It never has done.” Each essay in Vesper Flights feels like a window into that “exquisitely complicated world”.

Birds !

Essays, life and bird meandering thoughts. I can see using some excerpts of some of these for a high school class..

Like many collections— some prices soared and some were hobbling along for me.

All in all I enjoyed it. But I like most things birds!

Thanks to publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I loved Macdonald's H for Hawk, and Vesper Flights does not disappoint. The essays are beautifully written and detailed in a way that draws me into Macdonald's world. This is why I love Helen Macdonald's writing. She reminds me of a world that is all around me that I've been too busy, too panicked, too distracted to notice. She reminds me that there is this whole other world all around us that we can tune into, one that has nothing to do with our human plight or self-centeredness, but one that is teeming with life, life that we could learn so much from, if we would just stop, listen, and pay attention. Macdonald effortlessly weaves the world of nature into the world of chaos we are living in right now and helps the reader take a step back and contemplate our place in this world. Is the world really all about humans or are we just interjecting ourselves, in many cases forcing ourselves mindlessly, onto an environment that would benefit from our paying attention to, respecting, and more mindfully sharing space with? The publication of this book was perfectly timed. Reading it has helped me to slow down in the midst of the panic of a pandemic and listen to the birds singing outside my window, to seek them out and admire their beauty, their habits, their lives in concert with my own. To me, these essays were written to be savored, slowly, and were a much needed respite.