Book Review: Owls of the U.S. and Canada

Wayne Lynch

This was my Valentine's Day present from the cats, published in 2007, it was highly recommended!

The photos are absolutely amazing, no question.
I found that the chapters were a bit disconcerting.

I think I am used to the guide books, which are organized by species.

It is beautiful, no question, but if you DO have questions, it's difficult to find the answers.  The chapters can be obtuse, i.e., Son et Lumière, Haunts and Hideaways, The Next Generation. Clever titles, but I'm getting old for games!

 The book has tables comparing species, as another example, e.g., Weight and Wingspan (Anatomy of an Owl, chapter 1, p. 6), Clutch Size and Incubation Periods (Family Life, chapter 5, p.157).
I have had to mark pages with sticky notes to find them easily. There is a marvellously succinct section showing each owl species, Identification Guide (Chapter 1, pp. 25 - 34).
Which leads me to the placement of the page numbers. Where do you look for a page number? Yes, on the bottom, in a corner. In this book, the page numbers are in the centre middle of the margin. Underneath is the chapter title. Now, I am an old dog and can learn new tricks, but I really found it disconcerting. It is clever and creative, and I feel fooled every time I look for something.

The references are clear, complete and extensive, as evidence of Dr. Lynch's professionalism. He began as an emergency medicine professional and quit this in 1979 to work full-time as a science writer and photographer. His photos and knowledge are amazing, both.

There is an index, but it is tedious and as an aspiring editor I would have loved to have had my hands on it, prior to its publishing. I searched forever to find the range of my saw-whet owl, and found nothing.

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