All Things Reconsidered

September 18, 2006
Once, when Peterson was in a Nairobi restaurant, the headwaiter addressed him as "Bwana Ndege," or "Mr. Bird." And Mr. Bird he was: naturalist Peterson's 1953 classic, A Field Guide to the Birds
, introduced a quick way of identifying live birds that is well known and used today as the Peterson Identification System. The Peterson Field Guide series is used by experts and novices alike. But Peterson also wrote a regular and delightfully personal column for Bird Watcher's Digest
from 1984 until his death in 1996. This selection of small gems, carefully collected by current Digest
editor Thompson, displays many of Peterson's little-known interests as well as fascinating descriptions of birding adventures in the wilds of Africa, Mexico and New York City. Peterson also displays an elegant and precise writing style. While there's often a certain elegiac quality to Peterson's last essays, in which he recalls some of his naturalist friends and peers who have died, this collection overall stands as a tribute to the joy he experienced through birding: "To take a chance once in a while and to get away with it is to feel alive." 80 color photos.