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julis's review
2.0
Me, wistfully as I got towards the end of this book: When will I get to read a good book again?
Two problems with this book, one of which is not its fault but also impossible to overlook: It was published in 2006 which with publishing times means it was largely written in 2004 and 2005. I interned in a crow lab in the early 2010s and did my Masters in animal behavior in the late 2010s, ergo, 99% of the interesting things in this book I was already told as part of my coursework 5 or more years ago.
Even if you’re not an animal nerd, a lot of what he presents is common knowledge* by 2024: Crows can transmit information about people to others in their community; crows mob to drive off predators. Like…yeah?
Anyway problem 2 is the writing style, which is somewhere between “academic review paper” and “wikipedia page”. He** is very, very concerned with being neutral and not overstepping his conclusions but like…these are crows. This is a crow book. This is a pop-sci book at best, please tell me more funny crow stories.
*My idea of “common knowledge” is not necessarily common because I am friends with a lot of fucking nerds
**Yes it was cowritten by Angell but my impression is that Marzluff did most of the writing and Angell came along with drawings.
cynicusrex's review
3.0
Quite repetitive at times and one third too thick if you're merely interested in interesting facts about corvids. Also, the illustrations lose their detail in the paperback version.
Not a bad book. It just depends what you're looking for.
Not a bad book. It just depends what you're looking for.
teri_b's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
This book offers an overview over the research that has gone into the ravens and crows in North America. It is informative, entertaining, and this is definitely not the last book I read about crows, ravens and birds.