<B>What drives a man to travel to sixty countries and spend a fortune to count birds? And what if that man is your father?</B> <BR><BR> Richard Koeppel?s obsession began at age twelve, in Queens, New York, when he first spotted a Brown Thrasher, and jotted the sighting in a notebook. Several decades, one failed marriage, and two sons later, he set out to see every bird on earth, becoming a member of a subculture of competitive bird watchers worldwide all pursuing the same goal. Over twenty-five years, he collected over seven thousand species, becoming one of about ten people ever to do so. <P> <I>To See Every Bird on Earth</I> explores the thrill of this chase, a crusade at the expense of all else?for the sake of making a check in a notebook. A riveting glimpse into a fascinating subculture, the book traces the love, loss, and reconnection between a father and son, and explains why birds are so critical to the human search for our place in the world. BACKCOVER: ?Marvelous. I loved just about everything about this book.?<BR> ?Simon Winchester, author of <I>The Professor and the Madman</I> <BR><BR> ?A lovingly told story . . . helps you understand what moves humans to seek escape in seemingly strange other worlds.?<BR> ?Stefan Fatsis, author of <I>Word Freak</I> <BR><BR> ?Everyone has his or her addiction, and birdwatching is the drug of choice for the father of author Dan Koeppel, who writes affectionately but honestly about his father?s obsession.?<BR> ?<I>Audubon Magazine</I> (editor?s choice) <BR><BR> ?As a glimpse into human behavior and family relationships, <I>To See Every Bird on Earth</I> is a rarity: a book about birding that nonbirders will find just as rewarding.?<BR> <I>?Chicago Tribune</I>