A Passion for Birds-American Ornithology After Audubon by Mark V. Barrow Jr.
A Passion for Birds-American Ornithology After Audubon.-Mark V. Barrow Jr. 1998. x + 326 pp., numerous black-and-white photographs. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. ISBN 0-691-04402-3. $39.50 (cloth).
This book covers the period roughly from the 1860s though the 1930s, and is an historical account of primarily professional ornithology, such as it was, during that period in the United States. There is a heavy emphasis on the history of the American Ornithologists' Union and on other eastern groups, such as the Nuttall Ornithological Club, giving the mistaken impression that not much was happening west or south of the Eastern Seaboard during that time. While it is at times amusing to read about the bickering amongst the Fellows of the AOU and the politics associated with the officers (some things never change), the book is largely a compendium of events, places, and people. The text is only 211 pages long, with 56 pages of notes, a 43 page bibliography, and a comprehensive index. Given the amount of emphasis Barrow puts in the Introduction on the role of amateurs in ornithology, I was disappointed that more was not made of their contributions during that time period, but that may have been outside the scope of this work. This book should be part of any reference library dealing with the history of ornithology.
