Reviews

The voice of Randall—the narrator of the hilarious viral video “The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger”—is in my head. It’s fitting, since I’m reading his new book Honey Badger Don’t Care, which features the fearless honey badger and 10 additional “nastyass” animals. Some you’ll know—the Tasmanian devil, the opposum; some sound like the sort of thing Randall would make up—like the pink fairy armadillo. If you’ve seen the video, you’ll know to expect profanities and irreverence in the book, but it’s also surprisingly informative and highlights a fascinating mix of creatures that are largely threatened or endangered.

 Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm Petrels of North America,  Steve N. G. Howell, Princeton University Press, 2012.

Tubenoses are tough. The members of this order of highly pelagic seabirds offer birders one of their thorniest identification challenges because they are all similarly shaped and colored, and because most of us don’t get to see them very often. If you want to learn seabirds, you will want this gorgeous new identification guide.

A Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand,  Julian Fitter and Don Merton,  Princeton University Press, 2011

If you are planning a trip to New Zealand, this is the guide to bring with you.

Jeff Palmer (who plays Joe Hutto in the documentary) walking with his turkeys. Photo: Courtesy of PBS.

“Day after day, I saw no one…except my family. It was a family like none that you know.”

So starts “My Life as a Turkey,” a documentary from the PBS series “Nature” about writer and naturalist Joe Hutto and his 18-month journey raising a group of wild turkeys in Florida’s back woods. The 50-minute program aired last night—just in time for Thanksgiving—the fifth of the 30th season of “Nature.”

How’s this for a love story? In the ocean’s vast depths, a male deep-sea anglerfish searches unflaggingly for “the one.” Upon finding her, be it based on a scent or the allure of her dark, scaleless skin, he’s committed for life, sealing the deal with an eternal kiss that would impress even Romeo: His mouth fuses with his partner’s skin. Such contact sets off a series of self-sacrifices, as most of the male’s internal organs degenerate. The female’s bloodstream becomes his sole nutritional source, and he evolves into a sperm-producing factory for the duration of her life. Oh, and she’s 10 times his size.

If you haven’t seen Food, Inc. yet, here’s one more reason to watch it: The Academy Award-nominated film won the Best Documentary prize at the 32nd Annual News & Documentary Emmys this week.

Click through to watch the trailer and read a review of the engaging and enraging documentary.

It's summertime, and that means blockbuster movie season. Instead of forking over a day's wages to pack in with sweaty crowds seeking refuge in a frigid theater, why not rent a flick and kick back in your own comfy home? Here're a few flicks we've reviewed in the magazine, starting with three from the genre everyone loves to hate, horror...

("Protester" Photo credit: T.J.Watt)

In the late 1990s, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a radical environmentalist group, set fire to limber companies, meatpacking buildings, and SUV dealerships. They wanted to make a statement: If big industries weren't going to be gentle with the earth, than the ELF wasn't going to be gentle with them. A new documentary, If A Tree Falls, explores the reasons ELF members took justice into their own hands and follows the federal investigation of the activists, deemed "eco-terrorists." Read Audubon's review here and watch our interview with the director and co-director of the film.

In his new book The Ramble in Central Park: A Wilderness West of Fifth, photographer Robert A. McCabe captures the stunning lake vistas, towering boulders, winding paths and streams, and rustic bridges of this 38-acre forested section of the park. In addition to McCabes photographs, the book includes writing from E.B. White, Marie Winn, and others.
 
For your viewing and reading pleasure, here are photographs and an excerpt from The Ramble in Central Park.

The best reason to read Safina is that he is a polymath. He is a scientist, a conservationist, a fisherman, a chef d’fish, a bird watcher, a jazz afficionado, a traveller, a curmudgeon, and an optimist.