Diary of a Left-Handed Birdwatcher

Very Good paperback.  Previous owner's blind stamp on title page. 

Leonard Nathan is on a quest–to spot the elusive Snow Bunting–and, as with all obsessions, it rules his hours, both waking and sleeping. Within these pages lies an invitation to join him on a lively personal journey–through long hours standing silently in a Druid-like circle of fellow birdwatchers knee-deep in a mosquito-swarmed marsh, in feisty conversations with his ornithologist friend, in dreams where he encounters birds of unimaginable beauty, and in the words of poets who, through time, have praised these fascinating, inspiring creatures of flight.

With great charm, wit, and imagination, Nathan allows readers to discover with him the essence of his quest: the joy in shared passions, the defiance of discomfort in the face of undying hope, and the indefinable shock of recognition as dream birds take shape just ahead.

Dr. Leonard E. Nathan, (November 8 1924 - June 3, 2007) was an American poet, critic, and professor emeritus of rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley where he retired in 1991. Among other honors, he received the National Institute of Arts and Letters prize for poetry, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Phelan Award for Narrative Poetry, and three silver medals from the Commonwealth Club of California.