New Titles

1) Pearson, Bruce. Troubled Waters-Trailing the Albatross: An Artist's Journey. 2012. Langford Press. Hardbound: 136 pages. Price: £38.00 (about $61.00 U.S.).

SUMMARY: The world’s great oceans are largely beyond most people’s experience and imagination. But for the past three decades or more, a tragedy has been unfolding out of sight on the open ocean.
Hundreds of thousands of seabirds, albatrosses especially, have been snared accidentally by long-line fishing vessels.
     After living and working among an abundance of albatrosses thirty five years ago on a remote island in the Southern Ocean, Bruce Pearson returned recently to see what had happened to some of the birds he had known so well.
     Troubled Waters offers insights into our understanding of the seabird’s lives and the ocean environment, and inspires new engagement and identification with an extraordinarily urgent conservation crisis.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in seabird conservation or enjoy bird art.

2) Warren, Michael. American Birding Sketchbook. 2012. Langford Press. Hardbound: 144 pages. Price: £38.00 (about $61.00 U.S.).
SUMMARY: In this Michael’s sixth book, he has brought together the material collected during years of travelling to all 50 American States. The earliest trips at the beginning of the 1970’s were to research work for an exhibition at the Carl Battaglia Gallery in New York but the majority of trips through the 1980’s and early 1990’s were to gather material for projects initiated by Jim Helzer for the National Audubon Society and Unicover Corporation.
     Some of the locations and birds shown in the book are well known but there are some specialist birds and less visited locations. The book conveys the varied habitats and landscapes and richness of both plant and birdlife to be found on this amazing continent. Michael has been able to combine the enthusiasm of the dedicated birdwatcher with the unique talent of an artist able to portray the atmosphere and often intricate environment in which the birds exist and to convey the varied tapestry of American birdlife.
RECOMMENDATION: A good sketchbook of North American birds.