Falcon

(Paperback, 2nd Revised edition)

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Description

The fastest animal alive, the falcon deserves attention not just for the combinationof speed, power, beauty and ferocity that have made it an object offascination for thousands of years, but for the light it sheds on the culturesthrough which it has flown. This book, bridging science and cultural history,surveys the practical and symbolic uses of falcons in human culture in newand exciting ways.

Bestselling natural history writer Helen Macdonald follows the movementsof the bird of prey, ranging across the globe and over many millennia, aswell as incorporating the latest scientific discoveries into her tale. There arechapters on falcon natural history; myth and legend; falconry; conservation;falcons in the military, in urban settings and the corporate world. Along theway the reader will discover how falcons were mobilized in secret militaryprojects, their links with espionage, the Third Reich and the space programme,and how they've featured in erotic stories.

Reviews

'While presenting the falcon as a creature superbly adapted to its environment, Macdonald's scientific but lyrical study also celebrates its mythical, cultural and iconic significance' The Times '[a] marvellous book' The Spectator 'This is a wonderful book ... Macdonald writes beautifully and with a refreshing clarity.' The Falconer

Author Bio

Helen Macdonald is a writer, poet, illustrator, historian and affiliate at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. Her books include the poetry volume Shaler's Fish (2001) and the bestselling H is for Hawk (2014).