I've always been pleasantly surprised by the fascination people have with Albert Einstein, not just his science (which most of us can't deeply-understand), but the rest of his life as well --- indeed Time Magazine named him, among quite a panoply, as 'Man of the Century,' and repeated biographies of him become best-sellers.
In American birding we have our own 'Einstein' of sorts: This is the 100th anniversary year of Roger Tory Peterson's birth. I dare say no matter which side of the Ivory-bill debate a person stands Roger, with his many talents, is likely one of one's heroes. Last year, "Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography," by Douglas Carlson, came out to very favorable reviews. During a stop at the bookstore this weekend I was 'pleasantly surprised' again to already find another new biography of the man who started it all for so many of us: "Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson," by Elizabeth Rosenthal. May the treatises on his wonderful life and accomplishments, which made being an oddball kid with a fancy for birds, not so oddball for later generations, keep coming. Attention that is well-deserved, and might one day rival John James Audubon for whom there also exist a surprisingly long list of popular bios.
[ Roger Tory Peterson Institute here: http://www.rtpi.org/?page_id=20 ]
"Reluctant at first to accept the straightjacket of a world I did not comprehend, I finally, with the help of my hobby, made some sort of peace with society." -- Roger Tory Peterson
Over a year ago on this blog I suggested a bumper sticker that I thought had some merit: "WWRTPD" (What would Roger Tory Peterson do?) Yeah, its audience would be limited to be sure, but I'll offer it up again, free for the taking, should anyone wish to run with it in this year of honor for a man who instructed and inspired us all (...and BTW, who, unlike most others, kept the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in his field guides to his very end ;-)))
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