Análisis de diario de la biblioteca
| This unforgettable memoir, featuring fun birdsongs between chapters, is well narrated by Cooper, the science and comics writer who was falsely accused of threatening a white woman in Central Park in 2020 as she was walking her dog and he was bird-watching. Listeners who only know Cooper from that viral video will be delighted to discover that the Central Park encounter is not even close to being the most interesting thing about this self-described "Black gay activist birder." Cooper shares his captivating life story in a pleasant, raspy voice, from his Long Island childhood and college experiences at Harvard to his globetrotting adventures, while elegantly exploring weighty issues such as generational trauma and Black and LGBTQIA+ intersectionality. One of Marvel's first openly gay writers, Cooper describes how he struggled to come to terms with his sexuality and how his hobby helped him develop the skill set that helps him to travel more easily through the world as a gay Black man. VERDICT This brilliant multidimensional nonfiction debut by Cooper, now the host of National Geographic's Extraordinary Birder, should be cherished by all memoir fans and will strike a chord with his fellow sci-fi and comics fans.--Beth Farrell |
Análisis semanal de editoriales
| Cooper, a Black birder who first gained media attention after sharing a video of him being falsely accused by a white woman of threatening her in Central Park in 2020, debuts with a lively, thoughtful memoir in which he defines himself by the hobby he was pursuing the afternoon he made headlines. Identifying himself as a "Black gay activist birder," Cooper recounts his longtime love for the winged creatures, nurtured during his Long Island childhood and college years at Harvard. With colorful and sometimes snarky commentary ("southern screamer" birds are "not to be confused with a vocal Alabamian in the throes of excitement"), Cooper reflects on how his hobby provided skills, including sensory sharpness he's since deployed at protests and other potentially hostile confrontations, that have helped him navigate the world as a gay Black man. In addressing the Central Park incident, he elegantly frames it within both his own bird-focused narrative and a broader conversation about racism and police brutality: "I have lived my whole life as a Black man in the United States. I don't have to go all the way back to Tulsa and Rosewood and Emmett Till to know what it means for a white woman to accuse a Black man, and who would likely be believed." These more sweeping arguments are never made with a cudgel; instead, they organically emerge from his captivating personal story. Meanwhile, his passion for birding could make hobbyists of even the most avian-agnostic. This rewarding memoir adds heft and heart to the headlines. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. (June) |
