United States
£ GBP
Bill Oddie has been the voice and face of birding broadcasting for more than three decades. Those of a certain age will fondly remember Bill as the shortest and hairiest of the trio of The Goodies, a popular and long-running comedy series that followed hot on the heels of Monty Python. After those heady days, Bill reinvented himself as the face (and voice) of mainstream birdwatching in Britain. He fronted television and radio programmes and wrote widely in the press on subjects close to his heart. Never one to shirk controversy, Bill's writings were always informative and entertaining.
In this new book, Bill has compiled and expanded a collection of his recent published musings about birds and birdwatching, and the wildlife he has been fortunate to see on his many travels over the years. The collection covers a wide array of subjects, from a less than satisfactory press trip to the Galápagos in the 1980s and recent disagreements with his London neighbours over the noisy squadrons of parakeets over their respective gardens, to encounters with Orcas in Argentina and Iceland, and with an invisible Tiger in India. Writing in his witty and inimitable style, Bill is sure to entertain and enthrall his many fans with this new book of thoughts and opinions on the world of natural history. Bill Oddie Unplucked is illustrated throughout with Bill's charming and comic line drawings.
Bill Oddie is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician. Having been interested in bird watching from an early age, Bill Oddie has developed an established reputation as a keen and committed birdwatcher and has written a number of bestselling books on this subject including the legendary Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book. His many television credits include being the first presenter of Springwatch.
"From a press trip to the Galapagos to encounters with orcas in Argentina, the presenter and ex-Goodie reminisces about a life of globetrotting and animal-watching."
– The Daily Telegraph
"As you would expect, there is a lot of humour in his wanderings and wonderings around the world. [...] A great read, helping birding continue its rise and rise."
– Birdwatching magazine
"Written in his witty and inimitable style, this enthralling book is also illustrated throughout with Bill's charming and comic line drawings."
– Birdwatch magazine
"In this compilation of blogs, articles and anecdotes, the genuinely inventive and much-travelled naturalist mines his rich archive of experience."
– BBC Wildlife magazine
"Witty, entertaining, educational and essential – words of passionate wisdom."
– Chris Packham
"This book is Bill Oddie personified [...] not short, stocky and with a beard, but belligerent, hilarious and eclectic."
– Mike Dilger
"Once again the incomparable Bill Oddie turns his quirky gaze on the bizarre world of birds, birding and nature conservation, reminding us what really matters."
– Stephen Moss
"[...] Bill Oddie Unplucked: Columns, Blogs and Musings is a good, light, fun read, although one fairly short and quickly forgotten. It’s a good introduction to a nature writer that I, and I’m sure many other American birders, was not familiar with before. I’m sure this won’t be the last thing I read by Bill Oddie."
– Grant McCreary (11-05-2015), read the full review at The Birder's Library
"Bill Oddie’s Little Black Bird Book was the first book on birding and birders that I ever read, casting a mischievous eye over this seemingly (to outsiders) dull hobby. Since then, birdwatching has become a more mainstream activity and Bill Oddie, the birder, has become a household name. As the subtitle suggests, this latest book delivers some of Bill’s more recent columns and musings, expanding his gaze beyond birds to cover other aspects of the wildlife watching and filming with which he has been involved. As you would expect, it is engaging, funny and, surprisingly often, thoughtful."
– Mike Toms, BTO book reviews
