Page 25 - PGA Community News - March '25

March 2025 March 2025 PGA C.A.N.!, Page 25
Book Review

The Backyard Book Chronicles • the very concept of the book—a day by day dated journal
of the author’s experiences watching and inter-acting with
By Nils A. Shapiro the natural lives of the wide variety of bird species that visit
Nils began his career her home’s backyard in the San Francisco Bay area;
as marketing director for a • the author’s writing skills that reflect the wide range
major book publisher. He of emotions she (and we) feel through her experiences; the
has since edited the authors’ more than 130 drawings, sketches and color illustrations Tan
manuscripts’ for more than herself learned to create that include many which compare
20 published books, written favorably to the iconic Audubon paintings,
more than 200 book reviews,
served as publisher of several
million-plus circulation
national magazines, created
the official yearbooks for
teams in Major League Baseball, the National Football That is a period of just over five years in which Amy
League, National Basketball Association and National Tan, and we readers along with her, learn so much and feel
Hockey League, and “retired” as president of a successful so much as she not only watches the many species of birds
telecommunications company. that visit her backyard, but often becomes a part of their
It was a wonderful surprise—and coincidence—when a lives—feeding them, sometimes holding them, protecting
copy of this book arrived at my home one Monday as a gift them whenever possible from predators, trying to outsmart
from my two daughters, Brett the agile and determined squirrels who want their portions
and Hillary. Just a day earlier of the seeds meant for the birds—and each day learning
I had noted The Backyard something wonderfully new which she shares with us:
Book Chronicles at the top of their individual personalities, her avian friends’ food likes
the Sunday New York Times • and even the splendid presentation of this initial edition and dislikes, fears or willingness to be approached, mating
nonfiction bestseller list, and from the publisher, Knopf, with a hardcover binding that is habits, parenting skills, dominance traits, aggression or
Barnes & Noble bookseller slightly flexible and the book’s overall stunning design. shyness—and so much more.
chain’s naming it as their In 2016, unhappy and uncomfortable with the national Throughout the period covered in these pages Tan learned
“Book of the Year.” and international news swirling around her and everyone to identify 62 different kinds of birds that visited her backyard
Such success is not new else—and having always been aware of what she refers to and lists them at the back of the book in such categories as:
to author Amy Tan, whose as her lifelong “obsession” with birds —Amy Tan decided corvids, doves and pigeons, finches, nuthatches, raptors,
ten earlier books include to focus inward, studying the natural life within her own sparrows (which alone covers 10 species), thrushes, warblers,
the novel, The Joy Luck backyard, and to keep a personal journal of that experience. woodpeckers and other songbirds.
Club, which became an She took drawing lessons to brush up on the art skills she Some visit her regularly throughout the year. Others obey
international bestseller and the inspiration for the hit motion had already demonstrated at a very young age. their ancient instincts and migrate thousands of miles around
picture of the same title. After an excellent and informative foreword by the globe as the seasons change, returning the same time each
After learning of the book, I had immediately decided renowned ornithologist David Allen Sibley, who explains year to a warm welcome at Tan’s backyard.
to schedule it for review in my column, thanks to my why birdwatching has become such a popular activity We learn about them not only through her Chronicle’s
daughters’ thoughtfulness, a clear indication that they are throughout the U.S., followed by the author’s preface fascinating and informative text but also from some of the
very much tuned in to my reading tastes, this very special in which she describes a childhood and personal life intentionally rough drawings accompanied by handwritten
book was already in my hands. And now, as I have just interests that have led to this new book, the first entry in notes that are equally interesting and which point out
turned the last page I am in awe of every aspect of this the Chronicles is dated Sept. 16, 2017; the last is dated
remarkable work: Dec. 15, 2022. Book Review on page 26