Oh, wow--some really nice reviews

Now that my book has been out a full year, I've been getting a little resigned to it languishing on shelves, but suddenly it's had a spate of reviews. Birder's World gives it a mention in the current issue, I just got some clippings of a review by Catherine Ferguson that appeared in newspapers in New Jersey, and I just discovered a review on Bird Forum by Grant McCreary, from March 7. There's also Nick Upton's review from East Yorkshire in Great Britain from February 6.

And that wonderful Ric Zarwell posted some really generous words about my book on the National Wildlife Refuge listserv and the bird education listserv today. He wrote:

Bird Education Colleagues:

For far more than 101 important reasons, author Laura Erickson's wonderful book, 101 Ways to Help Birds is a superb book for today's bird educator!! This book provides all of the information needed to directly involve students in at least 101 learning activities that are important steps toward helping the birds we all enjoy and seek to help.

Laura is a multi-talented lady, a radio show host, and a long-time effective advocate for wild birds. She is also a careful researcher, and a very gifted writer with several excellent books to her credit. This latest book is extremely relevant and timely because of the continuing steady decline of Neotropical Migrants and other species of birds. But Laura doesn't lay guilt on her readers. Instead she uses a positive approach that is sure to inspire people of all ages - bird educators, as well as students of birds.

101 Ways to Help Birds is divided into five appropriately chosen sections:

Part I: Helping Birds at Home

Part II: Enhancing the Natural Habitat of Your Backyard

Part III: Supplementing Backyard Habitat

Part IV: Helping Birds Away from Home

Part V: Helping Birds on a Larger Scale

No, I'm not getting a commission for promoting Laura's book!!! But I did have an opportunity to review this thoughtful and comprehensive treatment of bird-human relations when it was published about a year ago. Last year I wrote that this is the book I wish I had written. I feel even stronger that this is so after digging even deeper into Laura's exceptional work.

In a nutshell, 101 Ways to Help Birds is by far the best book I know of for the bird educator or lay person who wishes to learn what can be done for wild birds, and how each of the 101 ways of helping birds can be accomplished.

The 101 opportunities are practical, proactive, lifestyle-type stuff that young and old can readily learn from and implement in their own lives.

Wow. I feel really honored!