Once people encounter the natural world and become aware of its intricacy, fragility, beauty, and significance, they will recognize the need for conservation.

The fascinating development of natural history studies in North America is portrayed through the life stories of 22 naturalists. The 19th century saw early North American naturalists such as Alexander Wilson, the "Father of American Ornithology," John James Audubon, and Thomas Nuttall describing and illustrating the spectacular flora and fauna they found in the New World.

Scientists of the Smithsonian Institution and the Canadian Museum of Nature worked feverishly to describe and catalogue the species that exist on the continent. Great nature writers such as Florence Merriam Bailey, Cordelia Stanwood, Margaret Morse Nice, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, and Roger Tory Peterson wrote in depth about the lives and behaviours of birds. Early conservationists such as Jack Miner, the "Father of Conservation," created nature preserves.

Today, noted naturalists such as Robert Nero, Robert Bateman, Kenn Kaufman, and David Allen Sibley do everything they can to encourage people to experience nature directly in their lives and to care about its protection and preservation.

Val (Valdine) Shushkewich was born and raised in Winnipeg and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba, majoring in history and anthropology. Research and writing have long been a personal interest, particularly in the world of nature. While visiting Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, she was captivated by the statue of Winnie and Harry Colebourn, and was inspired to write about this very Canadian story.

Val currently lives in San Francisco, California, with her husband, Ken.

Val Shushkewich's profile page

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of ornithology and natural history investigation in North America.

Picoides: Bulletin of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists (Winnipeg, MB)

Overall it was fun to read and enlightening to be reminded of the tremendous contributions each of these people made to the study of wildlife in North America.

Canadian Field-Naturalist magazine

This serviceable book might inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

Winnipeg Free Press