Rating: 
Summary: A tale of obsession, competition and, oh yes-birds!
Review: The Big Year : A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik chronicles the 1998 "Big Year" Birding competition through the experiences of three participants. After reading the book I decided that Obmascik got the title a bit out of order. What this actually is is a book about fowl obsession, Men and, lastly nature. For those who don't know-which I expect is most everyone-The Big year competition is a largely unregulated contest to become recognized by the American Birding association as the person who cataloged sightings of the most bird species in North America in a given year. Given that there are few rules, no referees and no real prize other than the acknowledgement by the Birding association, you'd think this would be a fairly laid back, congenial affair. You'd be badly mistaken. This is a frenetic, cutthroat and exceedingly expensive undertaking for those who want to win. Obmascik follows three men who really want to win. Two are well heeled retirees and one a I wage slave. All three have, to be honest, lost their marbles and have abandoned life as they knew it in search of the prize. It's a fast paced, interesting if somewhat inexplicable tale that Obmascik gives us, full of tidbits about birds and their habits as well as the in's and out's of the hunt. Obmascik has a clipped, fast paced writing style that actually enhances the rendering of this tale, mirroring the angst, intensity and obsessive nature of the competition. He deftly sprinkles in his info on birds, heir habits, best locations for various sighting and such in a manner that compliments rather than distracts from the underlying quest story. He's objective-he doesn't allow the text to color our opinion of the story, which is good as he doesn't have to do that. The insanity of this quest stands quite well on its own. In the end Obmascik has provided a psychological window into a peculiar obsession as well as a fairly through review of the current state of north American birds. All in all a quite informative and compelling book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read
Review: THE BIG YEAR tells the stories of three men determined to set a new record in North American birding. Not exactly the sort of topic that sounds like it would have mass appeal, right? I will say at the outset that yes, I am a birder, but no, I have never attempted a Big Year, or even a Big Day. Still, when I read the write-up of this in a book club catalog, it was too much for me to resist. I'm glad I allowed temptation to take hold. As a birder, I certainly identified with the excitement each of these men felt upon sighting a new or unique species. I enjoyed the more avian terminology. Most of all, I enjoyed reading about three men obsessed with their goal to the point of maxed out credit cards, strained relationships and loss of work. In other words, I enjoyed the stories of those who dared to follow their obsession to the extreme. Anyone who has ever wished they could just take a break from their regular life to follow a dream will find this an enjoyable read. The three men chronicled are as different from one another as they could be. Sandy Komito is a self-made working class man, who already had attained a Big Year record. Brash, charismatic and determined to have a leg up on the others, he muscles his way to birding "hot spots" ahead of the others, often leaving a greeting with other birders to say "Sandy says 'hi.'" Al Levantin is recently retired and a devoted husband, whose wife tells him that now is the time to follow his dream. His birding exploits look a bit like the XGames as he cycles, hikes and packs into difficult viewing venues across the continent with an ease and grace belying his retired status. Greg Miller is a recently divorced, out-of-shape, computer specialist racing the clock to bring everything into Y2K compliance at a New Jersey nuclear power plant. It is the interplay of the three very different men, and their very different approaches to meeting the same goal, that is the real core of the book. I found myself cheering on one in particular, but another reader may find themselves pulling for one of the other two. Obmascik does an excellent job of detailing all the salient character traits of each birder, while maintaining a fair and neutral stance toward each. Favorites are not played, which allows readers to choose for themselves. Along the way, we experience birdfall at spring migration along the Gulf Coast, the vexing gray owl in the northern Minnesota boglands I remember from my own youth and the harsh extremes of Attu Island in Alaska, as birders seek to add rare bird sightings from migrants blown east from Asia. In the end, one birder sets an incredible record of 745 bird sightings in 1998, a record unlikely to ever be surpassed. Want to know who it was? Read THE BIG YEAR.
Rating:
Summary: Not for birders only!
Review: THE BIG YEAR tells the stories of three men determined to set a new record in North American birding. Not exactly the sort of topic that sounds like it would have mass appeal, right? I will say at the outset that yes, I am a birder, but no, I have never attempted a Big Year, or even a Big Day. Still, when I read the write-up of this in a book club catalog, it was too much for me to resist. I'm glad I allowed temptation to take hold. As a birder, I certainly identified with the excitement each of these men felt upon sighting a new or unique species. I enjoyed the more avian terminology. Most of all, I enjoyed reading about three men obsessed with their goal to the point of maxed out credit cards, strained relationships and loss of work. In other words, I enjoyed the stories of those who dared to follow their obsession to the extreme. Anyone who has ever wished they could just take a break from their regular life to follow a dream will find this an enjoyable read. The three men chronicled are as different from one another as they could be. Sandy Komito is a self-made working class man, who already had attained a Big Year record. Brash, charismatic and determined to have a leg up on the others, he muscles his way to birding "hot spots" ahead of the others, often leaving a greeting with other birders to say "Sandy says 'hi.'" Al Levantin is recently retired and a devoted husband, whose wife tells him that now is the time to follow his dream. His birding exploits look a bit like the XGames as he cycles, hikes and packs into difficult viewing venues across the continent with an ease and grace belying his retired status. Greg Miller is a recently divorced, out-of-shape, computer specialist racing the clock to bring everything into Y2K compliance at a New Jersey nuclear power plant. It is the interplay of the three very different men, and their very different approaches to meeting the same goal, that is the real core of the book. I found myself cheering on one in particular, but another reader may find themselves pulling for one of the other two. Obmascik does an excellent job of detailing all the salient character traits of each birder, while maintaining a fair and neutral stance toward each. Favorites are not played, which allows readers to choose for themselves. Along the way, we experience birdfall at spring migration along the Gulf Coast, the vexing gray owl in the northern Minnesota boglands I remember from my own youth and the harsh extremes of Attu Island in Alaska, as birders seek to add rare bird sightings from migrants blown east from Asia. In the end, one birder sets an incredible record of 745 bird sightings in 1998, a record unlikely to ever be surpassed. Want to know who it was? Read THE BIG YEAR.
Rating:
Summary: Extreme birding
Review: The real treat here is that this book will stoke your own passion for birding. I've had binoculars practically sewn to my face since the day I finished this funny, entertaining and wonderful book. It's not often that a book can materially and tangibly add to your enjoyment of daily life, but this one does. Five stars seems hardly enough.
Rating:
Summary: The Big Year
Review: This book is great. It has action, it has drama, it even has some romance(if you count grouse), in short it has everything you could want and a boat load or humor to go along. Apart from the semi-fictious events, it weaves history and science to create a larger picture of birding on a whole. And it's gets you stoked about birding, I know I dug out my id books and am going to be looking at the birds where ever I go.
Rating:
Summary: What fun to read!
Review: This book is terrific--so long as one doesn't think about the thousands of dollars these three men spend in pursuit of their obsession. I admire their creativity, persistence, and energy, but to max out several credit cards is more the height of irresponsibility than anything else. Even so, I loved reading the book. It is written with just the right mix of humor and excitement--yes, excitement in birding! I'll never do a Big Year myself, but this book puts you right in the thick of the chase.
Rating:
Summary: Obsession is universal
Review: To categorize "The Big Year" as simply a birding book is to sidestep the universality of this crisply written narrative. Three men spend 365 days to satisfy a burning desire to observe more species of birds than anyone else in North America. The ultimate prize is no more than bragging rights and a place in the record books. This is obsession, nothing more or less, at its finest. How many people are actually able to pursue their dreams? Going after a big year record takes the willingness and ability to hop a plane at a moment's notice, to travel to the kind of locales that people a little less loony would eschew, to spend copious amounts of time and money pursuing birds who very well might not be there by the time you arrive. Obmascik captures the whole picture in a lively book that reveals the occasionally desperate spirit of the competition, the nature of the competitors and, with finely researched science and historical writing, enough background information to help the new initiate understand just why this particular sport is interesting and how it came to be. This isn't simply a book for birders. It's an actively written account that transcends birding, one that offers up a unique slice of humanity to the interested reader.
Rating:
Summary: Obsession is universal
Review: To categorize "The Big Year" as simply a birding book is to sidestep the universality of this crisply written narrative. Three men spend 365 days to satisfy a burning desire to observe more species of birds than anyone else in North America. The ultimate prize is no more than bragging rights and a place in the record books. This is obsession, nothing more or less, at its finest. How many people are actually able to pursue their dreams? Going after a big year record takes the willingness and ability to hop a plane at a moment's notice, to travel to the kind of locales that people a little less loony would eschew, to spend copious amounts of time and money pursuing birds who very well might not be there by the time you arrive. Obmascik captures the whole picture in a lively book that reveals the occasionally desperate spirit of the competition, the nature of the competitors and, with finely researched science and historical writing, enough background information to help the new initiate understand just why this particular sport is interesting and how it came to be. This isn't simply a book for birders. It's an actively written account that transcends birding, one that offers up a unique slice of humanity to the interested reader.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Journey
Review: What an eye-opening fabulous journey this book was - - I had no idea the degree to which people sought out birds for their life lists. I have done a little bird watching and found it fun. This was an amazing adverture and I was so swept up by the story I have ordered copies for friends that I want to share this with - - it is much too good to keep to myself!
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