Falcon, Helen Macdonald
Falcon, Helen Macdonald
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Falcon

Author: Helen Macdonald

Narrator: Helen Macdonald

Unabridged: 4 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/22/2018

Categories: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals


Synopsis

Before best-selling author Helen Macdonald told the story of the goshawk in H Is for Hawk, she told the story of the falcon, in a cultural history of the masterful creature that can "cut the sky in two" with the "perfectly aerodynamic profile of a raindrop," as she so incisively puts it. In talon-sharp prose she explores the spell the falcon has had over her and, by extension, all of us, whether we've seen them "through binoculars, framed on gallery walls, versified by poets, flown as hunting birds, through Manhattan windows, sewn on flags, stamped on badges, or winnowing through the clouds over abandoned arctic radar stations." Macdonald dives through centuries and careens around the globe to tell the story of the falcon as it has flown in the wild skies of the natural world and those of our imagination. Mixing history, myth, and legend, she explores the long history of the sport of falconry in many human cultures-from Japan to Abu Dhabi to Oxford; she analyzes the falcon's talismanic power as a symbol in art, politics, and business; and she addresses the ways we have both endangered and protected it. Along the way we discover how falcons were mobilized in secret military projects; their links with espionage, the Third Reich, the Holy Roman Empire, and space programs; and how they have figured in countless stories of heroism and, of course, the erotic. Best of all, Macdonald has given us something fresh: a new introduction that draws on all her experience to even further invigorate her cherished subject. The result is a deeply informed book written with the same astonishing lyrical grace that has captivated readers and had everyone talking about this writer-cum-falconer.

About Helen Macdonald

Helen Macdonald is a writer, poet, illustrator, historian, and naturalist, as well as an affiliated research scholar at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. She also worked as a research fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge. As a professional falconer, she assisted with the management of raptor research and conservation projects across Eurasia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Michael on April 09, 2018

"Biografie" ist natürlich Quatsch, denn derartiges bezieht sich ja für gewöhnlich auf ein einzelnes Individuum, nicht auf eine ganze Tierart wie hier. Treffender wäre vielleicht ein etwas sperrigerer Untertitel gewesen wie etwa "Kulturgeschichte der Beziehungen zwischen Mensch und Falken", denn daru......more

Goodreads review by Jerry on December 16, 2015

Macdonald gives us an overview of the role of the falcon in human cultural history more than an ornithological text, and it's fascinating. There is a lot about the association of the falcon with nobility, hunting, and war throughout history and also a lot about the contemporary renaissance of the pe......more

Goodreads review by Will on April 26, 2023

As I read through Helen Macdonald's "Falcon," I was completely captivated by her exploration of the relationship between falcons and military aviators. Her writing is both engaging and insightful as she takes us on a journey through the history of falconry and its connection to aviation. I was parti......more

Goodreads review by Rinin on May 17, 2020

4 words: naturalize sublime Awe elaborate......more