The Life of the Skies by Jonathan RosenYou’ve probably heard that old saw about how it’s better to give than to receive. What if you could do both? That’s what wheelers and dealers call win-win. Well, what if I told you that you could win a free copy of The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature by Jonathan Rosen just by giving someone else a free copy of The Life of the Skies? Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it?

Rosen launches this epic work of birding introspection by advancing the following bold claim:

Everyone is a birdwatcher, but there are two kinds of birdwatchers: those who know what they are and those who haven’t yet realized it.

Could this possibly be true? Probably not, as much as I’d wish otherwise. However, Rosen is right on the money that there are an abundance of birdwatchers out there who haven’t yet picked up their binoculars, as it were. In his surpassing wisdom, he’s also written the type of brainy, literate, sensitive book that just might help these people recognize the glorious truth about themselves. The Life of the Skies is like a gateway drug, potent enough to tempt a person from just reading about birdwatching to actually indulging in it. Wouldn’t you like to be the dealer?

For this final Life of the Skies giveaway, we’re offering not one but two of these magnificent books. The catch is that you only get one copy; the other will go to an individual of your choosing. This person must be someone you know, whose address you have and are at liberty to share. It should also be someone who isn’t a full-blown birdwatcher yet but could be with the right impetus. Present the best case in one paragraph of 100 words or fewer for why your nominee would be the best recipient of The Life of the Skies and not only will he or she get one, but you will too.

Depending on the quantity and quality of submissions, either we’ll evaluate them ourselves or open the judging to the public via a poll. We’d much prefer the latter, so get creative, get generous, and get to work identifying the person, besides yourself, who’d most benefit from a free copy of The Life of the Skies! Send your submissions to mike AT 10000birds DOT com. The deadline for this contest is Saturday, April 12.

While we’re on the subject of free books, congratulations are in order for Michele Kines for winning her copy of this book by commenting on our post about Birdwatching and the Post-Darwinian World. Well done all around on that one. Also, be advised that you still have time to get in the running for a free copy by promoting this giveaway, which, in the spirit of generosity, you’d probably do anyway…

Written by Mike
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.