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Review: ‘Feathers’ by Thor Hanson

A Note from Kim: This review is a guest post from my friend Erin, a grad student in journalism at UW-Madison, who studied science communication in the protrack MA program. Erin says she is prone to tripping her geek alarm over all kinds of topics, including physics, astronomy, dinosaurs, evolution, and the history of science. She also blogs about the science behind things in our daily lives at her blog, Astronaut Ice Cream. Make Erin feel welcome!

FeathersHere’s basically what I thought when I saw Feathers sitting on Kim’s bookshelf:

Feathers!!!!! They are awesome!

Here’s an exchange I’ve had several times since taking the book:

Me: I’m [about to read/reading/just finished with] a new book.
Other Person: What’s it called?
Me: Feathers.
Other Person: What’s it about?
Me: Feathers. Actual feathers.
Other Person: …Oh.

That’s right: this book is called Feathers and it’s about actual feathers like are on birds.

In addition to the delightfully descriptive title, the interior of this book is also pretty awesome. In 352 pages, Thor Hanson, a field biologist, looks at a variety of feather-related questions, each of which could probably be its own book, including: How did feathers evolve? What do feathers do for birds? What role do feathers play in human culture?

Hanson does a good job with restraining the potentially-almost-infinite range of his inquiries in exchange for some depth, so you don’t feel like you traveled everywhere but only saw the inside of the airports. And though some parts of the book retread what was already really familiar ground to me (the discovery of archaeopteryx, for instance), in the context of the book I was perfectly fine with covering it again, even though Hanson didn’t have much new information for me.

In large part that’s attributable to Hanson’s style, which was clear, explanatory without being didactic, and often funny. Hanson unites the book’s five topical sections by using his own experiences in researching the book as well as anecdotes which introduce or add color:

“There’s a—” I began, but my mind went blank… It was an obvious bird, really, hardly worth mentioning to a group of pros like this. “By the fence there. It’s a—” I reached for the name again, but got nothing. A mental dial tone.

“It’s a robin,” the man next to me said acidly, lowering his binoculars. The others turned away too, and there was a moment of awkward silence. I was leading an Audubon Society field trip, and I had just forgotten the name of the American Robin, possibly the most common backyard species on the continent. In the bird-watching community, this was a faux pas akin to an astronomer’s forgetting the name of the Earth.

Recurring themes in Hanson’s anecdotes, including his chickens and experiences in school/research, further contribute to keeping the book from fragmenting even while the topical sections take very different approaches. I also really enjoyed that throughout the book Hanson’s interest in feathers is as much emotional as it is scientific: feathers are just cool, and Hanson doesn’t try to hide that he feels that way.

Feathers isn’t flawless—one important explanation of feather formation left me totally confused until I saw the illustration on the next page, for instance—but on the whole my dissatisfactions were minor and didn’t significantly impact my enjoyment of the book.

Feathers‘ unifying feature is ultimately feathers, not its narrative, so at least a passing interest in knowing more about feathers is probably necessary to enjoy reading it. But the book doesn’t require in-depth knowledge, and Hanson keeps it engaging and interesting throughout, especially if you’re the kind of person who thinks things like: Feathers!!!!! They are awesome!

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Eva August 2, 2011, 7:26 am

    Erin, you sound like my kind of reader! 😉 I’ve added this to my wishlist, because I secretly kind of want to be a field biologist. Or at least, lead the life a field biologist leads in my imagination…

    • Erin August 4, 2011, 8:45 am

      Thanks Eva! I’m right there with you on the field biology thing, too 🙂 Instead of the above quote I almost picked the one in which rotting zebra intestines explode on Hanson, which tempers the appeal a bit.

  • Lu August 2, 2011, 7:39 am

    I loved this review! This is a book that I would pick up just because it is such a specific topic. Not something I’ve necessarily thought about learning more about, but now that you mention, it does sound intriguing!

    • Erin August 4, 2011, 8:48 am

      Thanks Lu! I didn’t realize either until I saw the book how little thought that wasn’t along the lines of “awesome” I’d given feathers, and I’m really glad I did read the book and find out what I was missing!

  • bermudaonion (Kathy) August 2, 2011, 11:30 am

    Great review, Erin. I don’t know that I have enough interest in feathers to read the book.

    • Erin August 4, 2011, 8:50 am

      Thanks, Kathy!

  • softdrink August 2, 2011, 2:09 pm

    I can honestly say I’ve never had that thought about feathers. Still…fun review!

    • Erin August 4, 2011, 8:50 am

      🙂 Thanks softdrink!

  • Amy August 3, 2011, 8:52 am

    I love the sound of this book! The fact that it is actually about feathers definitely intrigues me!

    • Erin August 4, 2011, 8:59 am

      Thanks Amy! It’s been interesting because I see birds around a lot, but after reading this I’m find myself actually *looking* at them instead of just registering their presence.

  • Christy (A Good Stopping Point) August 3, 2011, 8:13 pm

    Your description of the author’s enthusiasm for his subject reminds me of The Cloudspotters Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. The guy loves clouds.

    But I feel so bad for Hanson from the anecdote, even though it’s funny the way he writes it. But blanking out like that is totally something that would happen to me.

    • Erin August 4, 2011, 9:05 am

      I’d never heard of The Cloudspotters Guide but it looks interesting! And a couple weeks ago I forgot the name of my school, so… I think only a lucky few haven’t been there.

  • Care August 5, 2011, 8:36 am

    I sent the link to this review to a friend who picks up and keeps every feather she finds and I she was as geekily excited as I expected her to be. It’s funny that ever since I found out about her obsession, I keep finding feathers. Of course, I pick them up and give them to her. 🙂