The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America
Author: Matt Kracht;
Genre: Humor, nature;
Format: Paperback;
Publisher: Chronicle Books (2019);
Rating: 
(2 / 5).
This is a very original, but very irreverent field guide to birds of North America. It would be a great gift for birders who won’t mind the foul language and/or who don’t get offended easily. As long as they have good eyesight…
As a lifelong nature-lover, I own (more than) my share of field guides. The book is modeled after one and the contents reflect that, including “parts of a bird” and silhouettes to help with identification, a birds section with text on the left page and illustrations on the right page, and tips on feeding and housing birds. Each topic is pretty derisive, and although it’s funny for a few minutes, the smart-ass tone gets old very quickly.
The paperback itself is a nice, small size, and the artwork is very clever. My major gripe is the text: it’s teeny-tiny and uses a very thin typeface; it’s extremely difficult for anyone over the age of 30 to read. That would have been easy to avoid, and since the target audience (bird watchers) are mostly adults and seniors, it’s a shame.
Overall, it’s clever, but the attitude isn’t my thing. Plus, I’m over 30 and can’t read the wee print.
I won a copy of the book on LibraryThing and have written this review on my own.
