Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for advance access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

I started this book with expectations that probably skewed my attitudes and might have appreciated it more without those expectations. I was all ready for a good birding book. Cooper's love of birds certainly came through, but it was a minor part of the story. It isn't a birding book. It's the memoir of a man who loves birds. I'm not someone who seeks out memoirs. Knowing about the infamous Central Park incident and knowing that Cooper is gay, I should have realized going in that this volume would deal with some heavy stuff. It does. And the heavy stuff needs to be dealt. and the issues were thoughtfully examined. There were tales of casual hook-ups that kind of pushed my rating from "I enjoyed it" to "It was OK." These were never really focused on, but I found them disappointing.

Quick summary:
Interesting and though provoking book. Would have liked more storks and fewer strip clubs.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Wow! Christian Cooper is an amazing man--this made me want to buy a pair of binoculars, travel the world, and march against injustice! I thoroughly enjoyed reading his story and his tips about birding that are also applicable to the rest of life. I also wish that it hadn't taken a racist incident for him to write a book. Even if you are not black, or queer, or pagan, or a birdwatcher (or even if you are some or all of these things), there is something for everyone in Mr. Cooper's story.

To be honest, I mostly read this for the birding parts, as I'm a fellow Central Park birder (though I'm thrilled Christian was able to share more of his life in this novel-- he's great!). If you're a lover of birding, or interested in learning more, Christian writes about the practice in a thoughtful, deeply connected way that I totally understood. Beautiful understanding of this strange habit of ours, and a wonderful exhibit on why people do it.

Received an ARC view Netgalley. I was expecting something more along the lines of how birding can help relieve stress, connect with nature, and be a great way to improve overall wellbeing. However, this book centers more on being black and gay and the author's sexual encounters. I read about 50% and just can't bring myself to finish this book.

While not quite what I expected, Cooper's story was not only captivating, I came away learning a lot. Thank you for the reminder to take a moment, not only to take another look at the world around me, but to make sure I am sharing kindness and knowledge with those I cross paths. Life is short, choose kindness.

Thank you to the publisher, Christian Cooper, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure.

I was somewhat disappointed with this book. It started off interestingly enough, with a bit of information about the author and how he had such a strong interest in birds from such a young age. I enjoyed the "birding" parts very much. There was a lot of personal information which made me start skimming through the book. Because of the title, I expected it to be more about his interest in birding. He covers personal aspects of his life, some of which I am not interested in, nor do I need to read about it. If it were not for the birds, I would be rating this book 2stars. I give it 3 only for the bird stories. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the advance read.

Christian Cooper is an incredibly interesting and fascinating guy. This book was a delight to read, its tone will make a great fit for an audiobook. His perspective is complex and nuanced and well thought out. Cooper talks about race in several contexts, as a gay man growing up in the US, also as a world traveler (his experiences in Argentina and Australia touched home for me), and through the well-known incident in Central Park. There's also his love of birds, and he weaves it throughout this story of his life and his country (and other countries) in a way that is seamless and engaging. A thoughtful book that I will be glad to pass the word about.

This book is such a great mix of memoir, travelogue, and birding.

Cooper has lived such a varied and interesting life. The fact that he had that infamous viral moment in 2020 is definitely not the most interesting thing about him.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Cooper's family, his jobs and freelancing at Marvel, his travels around the word, his spiritual musings, his experiences through 9/11, the Covid Pandemic, and of course the larger story of what happened in Central Park that fateful day.

Filled with empathy, humor, nature, and hard-won wisdom, I recommend this to readers who enjoy well-written non-fiction.

I really enjoyed this memoir -- Christian Cooper has a very good way with words. Growing up Black and gay in Long Island, he sought refuge in birds, comic books, and sci fi at a young age. These interests would follow him throughout his life as he became an passionate birder, world traveler, and worked for Marvel.

I really enjoyed all the parts of this memoir, but especially the ones about birding, My father is an avid birder so I’ve grown up with birding and I remember as a kid there was a phone tree for rare bird alerts. Now these are all done quickly online, but in the 1980s it would be a phone tree. I remember the thrill of the rare bird alert call, and my dad calling the next people on the phone tree.

Christian Cooper does such a good job of capturing this excitement, and showing why birding is so appealing, and all the amazing things it can offer. His descriptions of the specific birds are so lovely, you can tell how much he truly appreciates their beauty, and the writing is so lyrical.

I also really loved his descriptions of ear birding, something I have experienced often with my dad. He also captures the sense of community and sharing within birders - like my dad experienced with the rare bird phone tree.

Christian Cooper describes all of his travels, both birding and non birding trips. I loved reading these travel adventures. I wish I could go to all the places he describes, as well as to Central Park and see it as he does.

It was also incredible to read the Central Park incident from his point of view, as well as the discussion he wrote about racism in our country.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Chris Cooper has led a very interesting life. This book is part autobiography and part birding tips. It was interesting to learn that there are birders in NYC. I hadn’t thought there would be many birds in an urban park, but I was wrong. It’s interesting to learn that there is a whole community of birders there!

Chris Cooper begins the book by sharing autobiographical details of his life. He learned to love birds at an early age. That love of birds has led him on many interesting travel adventures, which he shares in the book.

Cooper has led a very interesting life. He worked for Marvel Comics. He has traveled extensively all over the world. He has climbed to Everest Base Camp! He has birded in so many places! His early life as a gay Black man was interesting too, since his story gives insight into the experiences that can only come from having lived them. He writes about these experiences in a very insightful way, which helped me to understand more. I enjoyed his stories of working at Marvel too.

Cooper’s writing style is easy to read. He injects plenty of humor into the narrative. He gives detailed background so the reader can understand what he’s trying to explain. He builds up the story gradually and uses lots of anecdotes to get his points across. It is insightful reading and a very interesting story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a good book!

Part memoir, part birding instructions Cooper lets us into his life. Giving us more context to the horrifying and viral video where a white woman threatened Cooper in Central Park, Cooper shares his story of growing up as a gay Black man and his love of birds. Sharing anecdotes and childhood experiences that shaped him this is an honest and captivating read. It's an interesting way to learn about birding as well as Cooper and see things a little different.

Many of are likely familiar with the Central Park Birder and yet I was so surprised to learn how Cooper is truly a birding enthusiast. I honestly had no idea that a birding community existed in the middle of the concrete jungle. It was fascinating to read about the bird migrations and the tight knit community brought together by them.

Cooper does a wonderful job of weaving his life story and his encounter as a Black man with stories about birds.

Christian Cooper starts his biography by describing what it was like to be a Black, gay kid growing up on Long Island, NY in the 1970s. As a child, Cooper used his fascination with birds and comic books as forms of escapism; he continues to be fascinated by both as an adult. In between describing his travels and various jobs, Cooper describes the joy of birding and what it is like to birdwatch in Central Park during spring migration. I found this biography to be interesting but a little slow at times. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

A fascinating memoir and natural history read. Christian Cooper was breaking barriers before it was popular to do so.

Of course I had known who Chris Cooper was...the Black Man accosted by a white woman while birding in Central Park.
However, I had no idea what a great life he has lived.
I knew I was going to like this book within the first three pages when he mentioned the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. For those that don't know...the Ivory Billed Woodpecker was thought to be extinct, yet people have reported to possibly, maybe have seen one.

This book is part travel book...
part birding
part social justice
part nerd
ALL Chris Cooper.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt that I really got to know the author and how he got into birding, how he feels about comics, being gay, being pagan, being in nature.
At times it was humorous, at times sad.

Yet through it all I was able to feel the need to see the most exquisite birds, the humblest of places, the rarest of places...base came of Everest.

Chris is a wonderful writer and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about birding, nature, comics, and social justice.