Jonathan C. Slaght

I’d never heard of this kind of owl before this book caught my eye, and I learned a lot reading it. The writing was fantastic, and I enjoyed his descriptions of the people he worked with on his research project as much as his descriptions of the fish owls and other animals in Primorye Province in Russia. It was fascinating to see how he plotted out his five-year research grant, spending part of each year in Russia doing fieldwork, and spending off-season time in Minnesota, studying and developing skills (like raptor capture!) to prepare for the next season of fieldwork in Russia.

The book was a good one for my chapter-a-day approach to nonfiction, broken up into easily-digested chapters (although once I realized it was a 2-week library checkout instead of 4-week, I had to pick up the pace). He’s a good storyteller, so whatever he was describing—a colorful character he met, an aspect of Russian culture, the hardships of fieldwork in a Russian winter, or his encounters with the fish owls and other animals—it was all absorbing.

If you’re an animal lover or a fan of travel writing, I highly recommend this!… (mere)