tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.
New and Recent Titles:
Angehr, George R., Dodge Engleman, and Lorna Engleman. A Bird-Finding Guide to Panama. 2008. Cornell University Press. Paperback: 391 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S. [Amazon: $19.77]. SUMMARY: An up-to-date birding guide to Panama. 
Gellhorn, Joyce. White-tailed Ptarmigan: Ghosts of the Alpine Tundra. 2007. Johnson Books. Paperback: 134 pages. Price: $20.00 U.S. [Amazon: $15.60]. SUMMARY: A well illustrated life history study of this alpine grouse species. 
Norment, Christopher. Return to Warden's Grove: Science, Desire, and the Lives of Sparrows. 2008. University of Iowa Press. Hardbound: 215 pages. Price: $26.00 U.S. [Amazon: $17.16]. SUMMARY: The author discusses his research on Harris's Sparrows in the Northwest Territories of Canada. (This book looks fascinating).
Reid, Fiona A. A Field Guide to Mammals of North America 4th edition. 2006. Houghton Mifflin. Paperback: 579 pages. Price: $20.00. U.S. [Amazon: $17.82]. SUMMARY: The best currently available field guide for mammals north of Mexico. 
Smith, Douglas Grant. Pennak's Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States: Porifera to Crustacea 4th Edition. 2001. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Hardbound: 638 pages. Price: $160.00 U.S. [Amazon: $128.00]. SUMMARY: This is the standard reference book for non-insect freshwater invertebrates of the United States. More like this
Those of you on Twitter yesterday probably noticed the explosion of tweets with the hashtag #amazonfail.
Amazon has sent a letter to all of its associates based in Minnesota. All Minnesota based associates are being thrown out of the Amazon Associates program as of July 1st. This is because the State of Minnesota passed a bill that Amazon does not like.
Oil and Gas Projects in the Western Amazon Threaten Wilderness, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples
A vast area of the western Amazon--arguably the most intact and biodiverse part of the Amazon--is now wide open for oil and gas development. This is a new threat to the forest, biodiversity, and many indigenous groups living in the region.
A bunch of people (including Bora) have pointed me to Clay Shirky's take on #amazonfail.
White-tailed Ptarmigan: Ghosts of the Alpine Tundra is fantastic! I can't say enough good things about it. Anyone who has seen, or hopes to see, this bird (especially in Colorado) absolutely needs to read this book.
Return to Warden's Grove does look interesting. That's been added to my wishlist!
Ian, I think your praise of Fiona Reid's Mammals is far too faint: this is a wonderful book, head and shoulders above any other field guide to the furry _ever_ available for North America.
Thanks for the pointer to the Norment book; have to get a copy of that one for sure.
r