A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All

In this remarkable story, Dempsey takes birdwatching (which, in his words, serves the social use of “keeping those nerdy kids who have no chance of ever making a real friend out of already overcrowded bars”) and makes it cool. While I probably won’t immediately invest in a pair of binoculars, Dempsey has effectively instilled an appreciation of a pastime to which I had never given a single, solitary thought.
On the one hand, the sub-title of this book pretty much sums it up. But on the other, it says nothing. The picture on the cover, if you can see it, only begins to hint at the mirth within its pages. Who knew a book about birdwatching could be hilarious. One reviewer on Barnes and Noble’s website found Dempsey’s humor a show more little derogatory and believes he thinks he is better than everyone else. What this reviewer fails to recognize, however, is that Dempsey pokes as much fun at himself as anyone. He describes himself as having skin “not exactly white, more an off-gray color, like a once vivid photograph that’s been left too long in the sunlight”. He’s a self-proclaimed “beertotaller”, and occasionally dons the cape of “small injustice man” risking bodily injury over trivial matters. This is edutainment at its best, as I unwittingly learned about impact of habitat destruction, global climate change and “dunce families” in National Parks, on bird populations, all while being thoroughly entertained. show less

This could be a great title for so many books, but works surprisingly well for Luke Dempsey's memoir of extreme birding across the United States. I'm a nature nut, and enjoy feeding and watching the local birds, and admit to marking each new bird spotted with a shiny star sticker in my Peterson Field Guide. In winter's doldrums, I'll sit at a window with binoculars and watch the show, but the urge to hit the road for serious birding has never called me.

The urge calls Luke Dempsey, whose friends Don and Donna help coordinate escapes from the city to bird watching hot spots across America. From the first pages, Luke's wry British humor shines through as he takes us along on his adventure, which works quite well as memoir, travel or show more nature writing. I could listen to a lovely British accent all day, and feel likewise about Luke's Bill Brysonesque observations and his witty, informative writing style. This book is funny, delightful, educational (there are even bird pictures!) and highly recommended.

I think I'll be putting my binoculars in the car now, just in case....... show less

A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All is a funny romp through the bizarre world of the bird-watching-obsessed. The twist here is that the author is British and lets loose his biting observations not only upon himself but also on his experiences in the U.S. There are plenty of jabs which thin-skinned or overly-sensitive people won't think are too funny, probably because the barbs hit uncomfortably close to the truth (especially on overweight, out of shape people, although I am one, and I didn't take it that seriously). I find it remarkable that the author could combine humor, birdwatching, and travel writing and actually create an entertaining book from this awkward mix!

I never thought of myself as a show more birder, but I grew up in a family where it was normal to drop everything and bolt toward the window at the sound of any unusual bird call, and to take binoculars along on day trips, so I found this to be entertaining, but not a must read. A great book to keep at your cabin by the lake if you are lucky enough to have one. show less

This book was pitched to be Bill Bryson-esque for the birding world. While the tenor of narrative echoes Bryson, the author lacks the same level of wit as Bryson. That said, it is charming and amusing in its own right.

What I liked most about this work of nonfiction is that Dempsey does not merely discuss his adventures to in birding. He infuses the work with an ecological imperative about the decline of nature and how human beings are negatively impacting the lives of birds. This gives the book a deeper meaning beyond "Hey, birds are cool!" (Which, of course, they are)

I'm not sure about the hard cover edition, but this soft cover edition includes a few pages of color images of some of the birds Dempsey tracks. I almost wish there were show more more color images, however, as the number of birds that Dempsey talks about seeing greatly outweighs the number of images provided.

Overall, if you have a passing fancy in birds, this is a nice personal narrative/memoir worth the time to read. show less

I never know what I am going to get with doing the Early Reviewers program, but this book was such a pleasant surprise. I loved it. It has a little bit of a lot of things, which may annoy some people, but for me, it was like spending time with friends who introduced me to the wonder of birding; and the joy to see a bird just to ... see it. Dempsey is kind of a lost soul, Brit in America, who befriends (and vice versa) two of non fiction's best personalities, Don and Donna Grafitti, and the three traverse the United States in search of "seeing" birds of all stripes. This was a wonderful, layman's introduction to birding and I now find myself looking everywhere I go, to catch a glimpse, and to learn, about the birds around me. Although show more primarily about the birds, their waning habitats and their behaviors, it's also a great friendship story, about how three people keep their passion alive and accept each other for exactly who they are. That is a rare find in fiction or non fiction these days. There are a lot of reviews that bash how there are better birding books out there. Of course there are, this doesn't purport to be the be all, end all or definitive text on any one species. It is one human's joy. I loved the sarcastic view of the various Americans, all the while, Dempsey still makes it clear how much he loves his adopted country. Having been Small Injustices Woman a time or two (recently, in Tulum when an American Dunce Family was feeding iguanas Wonder Bread in front of the bright yellow sign saying how harmful that was to them), that was one of my favorite parts ~ saving wildlife everywhere from Dunce Families. Hopefully, this will spark a movement! Overall though, this is a warm, tender, funny/quirky book and I highly recommend it. show less

Dempsey's writing style is wry and witty, and his stories of major trips to see bird across the country are a great opportunity to show off these skills. Birding has always stuck me as a passtime for eccentrics, and nothing makes a book funnier than eccentricity.

There is a serious message, however, about conservation and vanishing resources. And Dempsey delivers it in a way that will get through to more people far better than a dour green polemic.

It's impossible not ot get a rich appreciation of birds and their marvelous history and appearance from this book. Hard to ask for more than a good laugh and a serious message at this time.

A supremely good idea is to read this finely crafted narrative. It is a story about a trio whose exhilaration comes from tracking down rare and splendid birds. It is also a story about how our own ineptness at loving other people may turn our appreciation toward creatures to whom our human failings won't matter. I rank how funny a book is according to how much the bed shakes as I attempt to stifle laughter so as not to wake my spouse. This one offers numerous minor quakes and several major ones. And for all the laughter, the story is gently, beautifully poignant.