The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America's Bird

The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird by Jack Emerson Davis is a 2022 Liveright publication.

According to Jack E. Davis the Bald Eagle has never been officially made the National bird of the United States, although our government websites list them as such.

No president or Congress as ever signed a proclamation or passed a law declaring the Bald Eagle to be our national bird.

This is the way Davis begins this book about the Bald Eagle and from there takes the reader on an interesting journey that covers the history of the Bald Eagle beginning with the story of how it became the symbol that graced the Great Seal of the United States, and through to present day.

Davis explores the eagle’s long history, not just as show more an American symbol, but the behaviors of the bird, its habits, etc., dispelling myths, and examining human interactions with the great bird, and how it nearly became extinct, not once, but twice.

“Humans had made the world confusing for the bald eagle. They had saddled the top predator with an undeserved reputation for being a tyrant and shameless coward, and ornithologists had affirmed that reputation. Yet, paradoxically, Americans also put the bald eagle up on a symbolic perch, where it asserted the ennobling virtues of a great nation.”

The Eagle has a split personality it seems- greatly admired and revered by some, but by others, the bird does not impress. Farmers and the Audubon society expressed disdain towards the Eagle.

The native people gave the eagle spiritual connotations, but the bird has often been a frequent target- not just from guns, but from poisons. But the Eagle, with the help of its champions has survived against all odds.

The bird is often a model for artists, there are sports teams named after it, and celebrities have attached their names to the conservation cause.

Thankfully, there were programs put in place that saved the Eagle, and attitudes toward the bird became more enlightened as people have become more conscious and informed about ecology, and about animals’ relation to humans, while stupid myths have been debunked.

Overall, this comprehensive history of the bald eagle is fascinating, but is also an easy and enjoyable book to read. show less

Jack Davis’ The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird delivers more information about the bird than anyone could ask for. Not just the science and biology, but also how the eagle came to represent the United States, and the struggles of the bird since European settlers swept across the continent. Davis writes well, but the book is pretty dry, runs long in some places, and is missing the personal narrative that graces many of the best nonfiction books. Nevertheless, anyone interested in the bald eagle will certainly learn a lot from this book.

With the feel of a microhistory, this book tells much more than the history of this remarkable bird of prey, but the relevant history of the nation that claimed it as a seal symbol. Along the way we learn "bald" is more about its naked thefts from ospreys and humans and not a perceived lack of head plumage. Peaking during the 19th Century this perception of the would-be majestic bird as a low scavenger and thief led to organized and informal hunts including Alaska bounties leading to well over a hundred thousand slain birds. Suffering also from DDT and more, this story charts the acceptance and glorification even to the nest cam era.

Interesting subject but written with an extraordinary amount of adjectives, at times it felt like I was reading Roget's Thesaurus.
This book could easily be 100 pages less without any loss to the topic.
The last couple of chapters were the best as they talked mostly about eagles, whereas the first 5-6 chapters often veered off into narrowly related general history.

Excerpted from a longer article:

Timely Take-aways for Life-long Learning: Bird Species
From eagles and hawks to pelicans and owls, several new works of nonfiction for adults examine the lives of specific bird species. Along the way, they discuss the importance of conservation and strategies being use to save these beloved species.

The Bald Eagle
Jack E. Davis, 2023, Liveright, an imprint of W. W. Norton
Themes: Nature, Animals, Birds, Eagles
This cultural and natural history of the bald eagle takes readers on a journey through time and across America. Of particularly note is how this comprehensive bird biography weaves the story of the eagle into our national narrative from science to politics across generations.
Take-aways: Packed with show more amazing anecdotes and inspirational stories, this fast-paced and often moving account of America’s beloved symbol provides endless examples teachers can use throughout the curriculum.
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Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb show less