In this beautifully produced book, the director of the Audubon Society's Living Oceans program offers a magnificent account of the birds and their natural history. He travels to the remote northwest Hawaiian Islands to witness their breeding season, during which parents fly up to 25,000 miles to find food for their single chicks. The birds' increasing vulnerability to modern conditions is documented and their ecological relationships discussed. The author's readiness to rhapsodise and romanticise is balanced by his encyclopaedic knowledge.
"[...] Everyone – birders and non-birders alike – should read this book. It’s educational, entertaining, and simply a superb read. I know that if I’m ever fortunate enough to see another albatross, I will not look at it in the same way.
- Grant McCreary (02-02-2008), read the full review at The Birder's Library
"Safina delivers a message full of wonder at the natural world and concern about the fragility of his subject [...] He cannot contain his delight in birds, fish, and the profusion of life on the islands he visits."
– The New York Times Book Review
"A beautiful, awe-inspiring tableau of our world as you've never seen it [...] a moving depiction of how interconnected life on this planet truly is."
– The Christian Science Monitor
"Thought-provoking, witty and beautifully written [...] This is an honest first-person account of field biology in action."
– American Scientist