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In 2015, Noah Strycker set himself a lofty goal: to become the first person to see half the world´s birds in one year. For 365 days, with a backpack, binoculars, and a series of one-way tickets, he traveled across forty-one countries and all seven continents, eventually spotting 6,042 species-by far the biggest birding year on record. This is no travelogue or glorified checklist. Noah ventures deep into a world of chronic sleep deprivation, airline snafus, breakdowns, mudslides, floods, war zones, ecologic devastation, conservation triumphs, common and iconic species, and scores of passionate bird lovers around the globe. By pursuing the freest creatures on the planet, he gains a unique perspective on the world they share with us-and offers a hopeful message that even as many birds face an uncertain future, more people than ever are working to protect them. " Birding Without Borders is light-hearted and filled with stories of exotic birds, risky adventures, and colorful birding companions." - New York Times Book Review "Highly recommended for anyone interested in travel, natural history, and adventure." - Library Journal "Even readers who wouldn´t know a marvellous spatuletail from a southern ground hornbill will be awed by Strycker´s achievement and appreciate the passion with which he pursues his interest." - Publishers Weekly

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PW: Strycker ( The Thing with Feathers ), a birder and adventurer, chronicles the record-setting year he spent trekking the globe, succeeding in his aim "to see 5,000 species of birds-about half the birds on Earth-in the ultimate round-the-world journey." He begins in Antarctica on January 1, 2015, and ends on December 31 in Australia, traveling to every continent and spotting more than 6,000 species. Strycker traces his lifelong interest in ornithology to his Pacific Northwest childhood and a fortuitous set of bird-related events that took place in his life at age 10. In this volume Strycker tracks what he saw during his "big year" and describes his planning process and the ground rules he established. Every bird he counted, for example, would need to be "seen by at least one other person." His companions had to be local, too, "living in the same country where we went birding together." This would prevent loneliness on his solo trip and help to give him the inside scoop. Even readers who wouldn´t know a marvellous spatuletail from a southern ground hornbill will be awed by Strycker´s achievement and appreciate the passion with which he pursues his interest. Photos. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Oct.)

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