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Birding Under the Influence
- Cycling Across America in Search of Birds and Recovery
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
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Publisher's summary
At a personal and professional crossroads, a man resets his life and finds sobriety, love, and 618 bird species, cycling his way to a very Big Year.
In Birding Under the Influence, Dorian Anderson, a neuroscience researcher on a pressure-filled life trajectory, walks away from the world of elite institutions, research labs, and academic publishing. In doing so, he falls in love and discovers he has freed himself to embrace his lifelong passion for birding.
A North American Big Year—a continent-spanning adventure in which a birder attempts to see as many species as possible in twelve months—is a massive undertaking under any circumstances. But doing it on a bike while maintaining sobriety? That’s next level.
As Dorian pedals across the country, describing the birds he sees, he confronts the challenges of long-distance cycling: treacherous weather, punctured tires, speeding cars, and injury. He encounters eccentric characters, blistering blacktop, dreary hotel rooms, snarling dogs, and an endless sea of smoking tailpipes. He also confronts his past struggles with alcohol, drugs, and risky behaviors that began in high school and followed him into adulthood.
Birding Under the Influence is a candid, honest look at Dorian’s double life of academic accomplishment and addiction. While his journey to recovery is simultaneously poignant and inspiring, it is ultimately his love of birds and nature that provides the scaffolding to build a new and radically different life.
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- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
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Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
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Where's the Next Shelter?
- By: Gary Sizer
- Narrated by: Gary Sizer
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Where's the Next Shelter? is the true story of three travelers on the Appalachian Trail, a 2,000-mile hike that stretches from Georgia to Maine, told from the perspective of Gary Sizer, a seasoned backpacker and former marine who quickly finds himself humbled by the endeavor. If you long for the horizon or to sleep under the stars, then come along for the hike of a lifetime. All you have to do is take the first step.
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If You Liked AWOL, You'll Like This
- By Rebecca on 06-02-16
By: Gary Sizer
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Buried in the Sky
- The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day
- By: Peter Zuckerman, Amanda Padoan
- Narrated by: David Doersch
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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When Edmund Hillary first conquered Mt. Everest, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was at his side. Indeed, for as long as Westerners have been climbing the Himalaya, Sherpas have been the unsung heroes in the background. In August 2008, when eleven climbers lost their lives on K2, the world’s most dangerous peak, two Sherpas survived. They had emerged from poverty and political turmoil to become two of the most skillful mountaineers on earth. Based on unprecedented access and interviews, Buried in the Sky reveals their astonishing story for the first time.
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Sherpas, The True Unsung Heroes
- By Kathy in CA on 07-26-15
By: Peter Zuckerman, and others
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How to Hike the Appalachian Trail
- A Comprehensive Guide to Plan and Prepare for a Successful Thru-Hike
- By: Chris Cage
- Narrated by: John E Broussard
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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If you are planning on (or just thinking about) hiking the Appalachian Trail, this book is for you. Planning an Appalachian Trail thru-hike is overwhelming. I know. I spent months researching every question I could think of before starting the six-month journey. Even after all of that research, there were countless mistakes I made. This book is everything I wish I would have known before starting. Inside is a step-by-step guide to efficiently plan for a successful thru-hike. Complete with personal tips and experiences.
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Exactly what’s missing from all the personal hiking account stories
- By Tracy Anne Buro on 04-12-18
By: Chris Cage
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Mother of God
- An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon
- By: Paul Rosolie
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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For fans of The Lost City of Z, Walking the Amazon, and Turn Right at Machu Picchu comes naturalist and explorer Paul Rosolie’s extraordinary adventure in the uncharted tributaries of the Western Amazon - a tale of discovery that vividly captures the awe, beauty, and isolation of this endangered land and presents an impassioned call to save it.
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This whole book is B.S.
- By bob fields on 09-30-18
By: Paul Rosolie
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The Longest Silence
- A Life in FIshing
- By: Thomas McGuane
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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From the highly acclaimed author of Ninety-two in the Shade and Cloudbursts comes a collection of alternately playful and exquisite essays—including seven collected here for the first time—borne of a lifetime spent fishing.
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Narrator had to catch a train
- By Brandon Taff on 01-11-23
By: Thomas McGuane
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Neither Here nor There
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In Neither Here nor There Bill Bryson brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
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Authentic Bryson, but that might be the problem
- By M. Craft on 08-12-14
By: Bill Bryson
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With an itinerary covering 41 countries, spanning all seven continents, and armed with a backpack, binoculars, and a series of one-way tickets, he sets out on the greatest adventure in the birding world. Along the way he meets a colorful cast of fellow birders—and discovers a world of blood-sucking leeches, chronic sleep deprivation, floods, war zones, ecologic devastation, and conservation triumphs.
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Christian Cooper is a self-described “Blerd” (Black nerd), an avid comics fan and expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, just a subway ride away from where he lives in New York City. While in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper was engaged in the birdwatching ritual that had been a part of his life since he was ten years old when what might have been a routine encounter with a dog walker exploded age-oldracial tensions. Cooper’s viral video of the incident would send shock waves through the nation.
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If you’re not a birder yet, you soon will be.
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Birding to Change the World
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- Narrated by: Cheryl Smith
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Trish O’Kane is an accidental ornithologist. In her nearly two decades writing about justice as an investigative journalist, she'd never paid attention to nature. But then Hurricane Katrina destroyed her New Orleans home, sending her into an emotional tailspin. Enter a scrappy cast of feathered characters—first a cardinal, urban parrots, and sparrows, then a catbird, owls, a bittern, and a woodcock—that cheered her up and showed her a new path. Inspired, O'Kane moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue an environmental studies PhD.
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Not just for bird lovers but for everyone
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The Birds That Audubon Missed
- Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness
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- Narrated by: Mack Sanderson
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
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Raging ambition. Towering egos. Competition under a veneer of courtesy. Heroic effort combined with plagiarism, theft, exaggeration, and fraud. This was the state of bird study in eastern North America during the early 1800s, as a handful of intrepid men raced to find the last few birds that were still unknown to science. The most famous name in the bird world was John James Audubon, who painted spectacular portraits of birds. But although his images were beautiful, creating art was not his main goal. Instead, he aimed to illustrate (and write about) as many different species as possible.
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I LOVE the audible version of this book
- By NYC person on 10-01-24
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The (Big) Year That Flew By
- Twelve Months, Six Continents, and the Ultimate Birding Record
- By: Arjan Dwarshuis, Mark Obmascik - foreword
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
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When Arjan Dwarshuis first heard of the “Big Year”—the legendary record for birdwatching—he was twenty years old, it was midnight, and he was sitting on the roof of a truck in the Andean Mountains. In that moment he promised himself that, someday, somehow, he would become a world-record-holding birder. Ten years later, he embarked on an incredible, arduous, and perilous journey that took him around the globe; over uninhabited islands, through dense unforgiving rainforests, across snowy mountain peaks and unrelenting deserts—in just a single year.
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Disappointing
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The Big Year
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Every year on January 1, a quirky crowd of adventurers storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year: a grand, grueling, expensive, and occasionally vicious, "extreme" 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would be a whirlwind, a winner-takes-nothing battle for a new North American birding record.
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Not for the Birds
- By Anonymous User on 09-18-04
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Birding Without Borders
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With an itinerary covering 41 countries, spanning all seven continents, and armed with a backpack, binoculars, and a series of one-way tickets, he sets out on the greatest adventure in the birding world. Along the way he meets a colorful cast of fellow birders—and discovers a world of blood-sucking leeches, chronic sleep deprivation, floods, war zones, ecologic devastation, and conservation triumphs.
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Birding and travel. Win win.
- By Melinda Wheeler on 11-29-23
By: Noah Strycker
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Better Living Through Birding
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If you’re not a birder yet, you soon will be.
- By Anonymous on 06-19-23
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Birding to Change the World
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Trish O’Kane is an accidental ornithologist. In her nearly two decades writing about justice as an investigative journalist, she'd never paid attention to nature. But then Hurricane Katrina destroyed her New Orleans home, sending her into an emotional tailspin. Enter a scrappy cast of feathered characters—first a cardinal, urban parrots, and sparrows, then a catbird, owls, a bittern, and a woodcock—that cheered her up and showed her a new path. Inspired, O'Kane moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue an environmental studies PhD.
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Not just for bird lovers but for everyone
- By Cathy on 05-28-24
By: Trish O'Kane
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The Birds That Audubon Missed
- Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness
- By: Kenn Kaufman
- Narrated by: Mack Sanderson
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
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Raging ambition. Towering egos. Competition under a veneer of courtesy. Heroic effort combined with plagiarism, theft, exaggeration, and fraud. This was the state of bird study in eastern North America during the early 1800s, as a handful of intrepid men raced to find the last few birds that were still unknown to science. The most famous name in the bird world was John James Audubon, who painted spectacular portraits of birds. But although his images were beautiful, creating art was not his main goal. Instead, he aimed to illustrate (and write about) as many different species as possible.
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I LOVE the audible version of this book
- By NYC person on 10-01-24
By: Kenn Kaufman
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The (Big) Year That Flew By
- Twelve Months, Six Continents, and the Ultimate Birding Record
- By: Arjan Dwarshuis, Mark Obmascik - foreword
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser
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By: Arjan Dwarshuis, and others
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The Big Year
- A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
- By: Mark Obmascik
- Narrated by: Del Roy
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
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Every year on January 1, a quirky crowd of adventurers storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year: a grand, grueling, expensive, and occasionally vicious, "extreme" 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would be a whirlwind, a winner-takes-nothing battle for a new North American birding record.
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Not for the Birds
- By Anonymous User on 09-18-04
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A Wing and a Prayer
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- By: Anders Gyllenhaal, Beverly Gyllenhaal
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Stephen Graybill
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For the past year, veteran journalists Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal traveled more than 25,000 miles across the Americas, chronicling costly experiments, contentious politics, and new technologies to save our beloved birds from the brink of extinction. Through this compelling drama, A Wing and a Prayer offers hope and an urgent call to action: Birds are dying at an unprecedented pace. But there are encouraging breakthroughs across the hemisphere and still time to change course, if we act quickly.
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Memoir disguised as nature
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By: Anders Gyllenhaal, and others
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The Backyard Bird Chronicles
- By: Amy Tan, David Allen Sibley - foreword
- Narrated by: Amy Tan, Evan Sibley
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
In 2016, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world: Hatred and misinformation became a daily presence on social media, and the country felt more divisive than ever. In search of peace, Tan turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard. But what began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.
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Don’t Recommend As An Audiobook
- By AnnSG on 06-02-24
By: Amy Tan, and others
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National Geographic Birding Basics
- Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Great Bird-Watching
- By: Noah Strycker
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Targeted to beginners and beyond, National Geographic's fun, inspiring guide to the art, craft, and science of bird-watching combines practical know-how and expert knowledge. Browsable and bursting with helpful illustrations and photographs, Birding Basics offers new ideas for when, where, and how to get to know the birds in your world.
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Narration is very inviting
- By Anonymous User on 10-31-24
By: Noah Strycker
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A Most Remarkable Creature
- The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
- By: Jonathan Meiburg
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An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.
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I don't leave reviews often, but . . .
- By Steven L Peck on 06-24-21
By: Jonathan Meiburg
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The Life of Birds (Updated Edition)
- By: David Attenborough
- Narrated by: David Attenborough
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Birds. Over 9,000 species, the most widespread of all animals: on icebergs, in the Sahara or under the sea, at home in our gardens or flying for over a year at a time. Earthbound, we can only look and listen, enjoying their lightness, freedom and richness of plumage and song. David Attenborough has been watching and learning all his life. His classic book, now fully updated with the latest discoveries in ornithology, is a brilliant introduction to bird behaviours around the world: what they do and why they do it.
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Delightful and comprehensive, presented with masterful narration by David Attenborough.
- By Steve A on 06-27-24
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What an Owl Knows
- The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds
- By: Jennifer Ackerman
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ackerman
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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For millennia, owls have captivated and intrigued us. Our fascination with these mysterious birds was first documented more than thirty thousand years ago in the Chauvet Cave paintings in southern France. With their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and foresight. But what does an owl really know? And what do we really know about owls? Jennifer Ackerman illuminates the rich biology and natural history of these birds and reveals remarkable new scientific discoveries about their brains and behavior.
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Moving
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What listeners say about Birding Under the Influence
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- HMSAnimalLover
- 11-05-23
Great book. You don’t have to be a birder to love
I pre-ordered the book because Dorian was a speaker at the 2023 Cape May fall birding festival. I was not disappointed.
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- Michael Hubka
- 11-05-23
Fantastic audiobook
I did not know birding existed until I read this beautiful book. I bought the book for cycling the USA and the author's recovery story from addiction. He was a super high-level, brilliant, and functioning addict. Adventure cycling and birding combined with heavy physical exercise and his relationship with his girlfriend helped him quit alcohol, which was the gateway for drugs that would have killed him sooner. The story is fantastic, and the narrator is excellent, too. I've listened twice now. You can read his blog to see this is a real story and also view pics of him and his wife to put faces to the story.
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1 person found this helpful