Better Living Through Birding
Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World
1 of 1 copy available
"Wondrous . . . captivating.”—Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of An Immense World
Christian Cooper is a self-described “Blerd” (Black nerd), an avid comics fan and expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, just a subway ride away from where he lives in New York City. While in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper was engaged in the birdwatching ritual that had been a part of his life since he was ten years old when what might have been a routine encounter with a dog walker exploded age-oldracial tensions. Cooper’s viral video of the incident would send shock waves through the nation.
In Better Living Through Birding, Cooper tells the story of his extraordinary life leading up to the now-infamous incident in Central Park and shows how a life spent looking up at the birds prepared him, in the most uncanny of ways, to be a gay, Black man in America today. From sharpened senses that work just as well at a protest as in a park to what a bird like the Common Grackle can teach us about self-acceptance, Better Living Through Birding exults in the pleasures of a life lived in pursuit of the natural world and invites you to discover them yourself.
Equal parts memoir, travelogue, and primer on the art of birding, this is Cooper’s story of learning to claim and defend space for himself and others like him, from his days at Marvel Comics introducing the first gay storylines to vivid and life-changing birding expeditions through Africa, Australia, the Americas, and the Himalayas. Better Living Through Birding recounts Cooper’s journey through the wonderful world of birds and what they can teach us about life, if only we would look and listen.
Bird audio provided by Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Cover images: Christian Cooper by Brittainy Newman / The New York Times / Redux, bird and sky / Getty Images
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 13, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593684719
- File size: 300372 KB
- Duration: 10:25:46
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from April 17, 2023
Cooper, a Black birder who first gained media attention after sharing a video of him being falsely accused by a white woman of threatening her in Central Park in 2020, debuts with a lively, thoughtful memoir in which he defines himself by the hobby he was pursuing the afternoon he made headlines. Identifying himself as a “Black gay activist birder,” Cooper recounts his longtime love for the winged creatures, nurtured during his Long Island childhood and college years at Harvard. With colorful and sometimes snarky commentary (“southern screamer” birds are “not to be confused with a vocal Alabamian in the throes of excitement”), Cooper reflects on how his hobby provided skills, including sensory sharpness he’s since deployed at protests and other potentially hostile confrontations, that have helped him navigate the world as a gay Black man. In addressing the Central Park incident, he elegantly frames it within both his own bird-focused narrative and a broader conversation about racism and police brutality: “I have lived my whole life as a Black man in the United States. I don’t have to go all the way back to Tulsa and Rosewood and Emmett Till to know what it means for a white woman to accuse a Black man, and who would likely be believed.” These more sweeping arguments are never made with a cudgel; instead, they organically emerge from his captivating personal story. Meanwhile, his passion for birding could make hobbyists of even the most avian-agnostic. This rewarding memoir adds heft and heart to the headlines. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. -
If you're aware of who Christian Cooper is, it's likely because of the confrontation between him and a white woman walking her dog in Central Park--a confrontation that went viral and caught national attention. Listening to this compelling memoir, narrated in Cooper's gently raspy voice, we learn much more about him: the great joy he takes in his life's passion, birding, yes, but also his journey of coming to terms with himself as a gay man and his deep love of science-fiction TV, movies, and comics. With his well-paced delivery, Cooper takes us along on adventures near and far, from growing up on Long Island to birding obsessively during the spring migration and eventually traveling the world. Birdsong between chapters is a delightful bonus. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from March 1, 2024
This unforgettable memoir, featuring fun birdsongs between chapters, is well narrated by Cooper, the science and comics writer who was falsely accused of threatening a white woman in Central Park in 2020 as she was walking her dog and he was bird-watching. Listeners who only know Cooper from that viral video will be delighted to discover that the Central Park encounter is not even close to being the most interesting thing about this self-described "Black gay activist birder." Cooper shares his captivating life story in a pleasant, raspy voice, from his Long Island childhood and college experiences at Harvard to his globetrotting adventures, while elegantly exploring weighty issues such as generational trauma and Black and LGBTQIA+ intersectionality. One of Marvel's first openly gay writers, Cooper describes how he struggled to come to terms with his sexuality and how his hobby helped him develop the skill set that helps him to travel more easily through the world as a gay Black man. VERDICT This brilliant multidimensional nonfiction debut by Cooper, now the host of National Geographic's Extraordinary Birder, should be cherished by all memoir fans and will strike a chord with his fellow sci-fi and comics fans.--Beth Farrell
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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