For April, I set an intention to read two books I had TBR by Black men who became the centres of viral news stories in 2020; I read both during the month but have a slight review lag at the moment. I reviewed Patrick Hutchinson’s “Everyone Versus Racism” last month and now we have Christian Cooper’s book, courtesy of my friend Cari who lives in New York: he’s the Black birdwatcher a White woman called the police on, using racist language, when he politely asked her to keep her dog on a lead in an area where that was mandatory. I acquired this book in February and have actually read and reviewed five of that month’s twelve print acquisitions now.
Christian Cooper – “Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World”
(27 February 2024, from Cari)
Birding Tip: The fastest way to find a widely reported rarity is to look not for the bird but for the coagulation of birders already looking at it. (p. 4)
Part-memoir and part-birdwatching guide, Cooper’s structuring of this book is clever, with the first chapter titled “An Incident in Central Park” describing not the incident of racism and aggression he experienced in 2020 but the tracking down of an interesting bird on his patch. He writes with humour and exactness, bringing an everyday language to the description of birds (a Nene goose sounding like a Canada goose that’s been kneed in the groin was an early giggle) and deep emotion and respect when talking about his fellow Central Park birders – a little update at the end shows some are still going strong into their 90s.
As well as being a birder, he’s been immersed in the world of comics for a long time, talking about how the original Jewish writers and illustrators concealed their identities by changing their names, working surreptitiously himself to insert social justice issues into this world as a gay man, and he shares powerfully how comics and narratives helped him to survive his upbringing and having to keep in the closet through school.
Like Remi Adekoya, he sees racism and/or the need to have someone “other” to look down on as a fundamental flaw in the human psyche, but also discusses the intersectional difficulties of gay and Black people competing on discrimination while he is both; like Patrick Hutchinson, he tries to encourage community and togetherness through education, in his case leading bird walks for Global Majority Community people and school kids.
Like Hutchinson he sets his experience in the global BLM context; in Cooper’s case, his incident happened on the same day as the murder of George Floyd (I don’t think I’d realised that). And his perpetrator did make a form of public apology but never personally to him, as the man Hutchinson rescued didn’t contact him. He gets new opportunities, certainly visiting Alabama, the place in the US where his family originated, with a degree of trepidation.
Anyway, a generally positive and interesting book, again, the story in many ways of an ordinary man with family worries and career difficulties, but one who also wants to share his love of birds (and very good birding tips) along the way.
Helen Murdoch
May 04, 2024 @ 02:52:47
I’ve seen this book around quite a bit so it’s nice to hear that it’s humorous and interesting and I like that he set it in the times so that it feels relevant.
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Liz Dexter
May 04, 2024 @ 15:02:59
That’s good to know it’s been seen out and about: I was alerted to its existence by the friend who sent it to me. It’s a mix of memoir and current stuff, so done well.
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griffandsarahthomas
May 04, 2024 @ 09:49:21
I have read about this book in Country Walking magazine. It’s good that issues are coming into mainstream consciousness through books like this which celebrate our shared humanity regardless of colour or creed. Have you also been persuaded to do more birdwatching?!
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Liz Dexter
May 04, 2024 @ 15:04:20
Oh it’s great it’s been promoted there! I do a fair bit of birdwatching casually but we haven’t been out on a proper trip for a while as other things have consumed our time recently. My husband went to the local reserve a couple of times when we were on holiday in Spain in March, though. It was a nice reminder of the joys of birdwatching!
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Wendy
May 04, 2024 @ 11:11:19
Sounds like a great read. I’m so glad something positive came out of that whole situation.
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Liz Dexter
May 04, 2024 @ 15:05:15
Yes, he’s got lots of opportunities and trips out of the situation which is wonderful. A good read and an important one for visibility of diverse people in pastimes that don’t often include them.
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kaggsysbookishramblings
May 04, 2024 @ 18:16:52
Oh, very interesting Liz. I was aware of the horrid incident but didn’t know he’d gone on to write a book. Sounds like it has an interesting perspective.
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Liz Dexter
May 05, 2024 @ 19:22:32
Yes, I didn’t know till Cari told me about the book. It was lovely to get the full picture.
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Staircase Wit
May 05, 2024 @ 12:44:10
I am surprised news of that incident made it across the pond! I don’t know Christian myself but we overlapped at university and I was pleased to see how many of his classmates rallied behind him instantly. Of course, discovering that was an educated bird watcher and not a random guy in the park was part of what got him support in the first place, I think.
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Liz Dexter
May 05, 2024 @ 19:23:55
I definitely remembering hearing about it at the time and yes, I agree, finding out he was doing this particular hobby got him support but it did build, at least here, on the random guys doing normal things getting racist abuse or worse narrative.
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MarketGardenReader/IntegratedExpat
May 06, 2024 @ 23:03:18
I would have looked at this and thought it wouldn’t interest me because I’m not that interested in birds. But it actually sounds fascinating for the human backstory.
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Liz Dexter
May 07, 2024 @ 07:48:33
It does kind of explain the fascination of birds to the lay reader but it’s not the whole thing, so still interesting outside the bird bit, I think.
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Lisa notes...
May 08, 2024 @ 00:16:13
How fascinating! I didn’t know that Christian Cooper had written a book. I love this framework that he uses. Thanks for bringing this book to our attention. I’ll be on the lookout for it.
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Liz Dexter
May 08, 2024 @ 07:59:22
It’s a clever, open and humane book; I’m really glad I read it.
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heavenali
May 13, 2024 @ 11:06:23
This sounds excellent and such a positive exploration of the issues the author faced. I understand how people get drawn to birding, I think birds are fascinating. I love watching them from my window. I just got a new bird feeder to attract more of them.
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Liz Dexter
May 13, 2024 @ 20:36:26
Oh, lovely, hope you get good results with that.
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