Review: Falcon

Falcon by Helen Macdonald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whilst I've never been particularly keen on birds (insert witticism here), personally I am more of a mammal person - Macdonald does an admirable job of making the falcon a fascinating subject matter. Through concise chapters which in turn deal with the natural history, mythology, conservation of falcons she manages to pack a huge amount of information into a slim volume. I had no idea for example that birds were used in the past by the military to finish off any pigeons sending messages from the enemy during the war, and that they are still used today.

The sheer amount of modern iconography that utilizes the image of the falcon is incredible, right down to a pair of birds who decided to nest on the top of skyscraper buildings in New York, mirroring the capitalist stance and outlook of individuals working below (the falcon is commonly seen as a majestic and regal, its predatory practices certainly reflected in the shrewd world of business) therefore having a falcon choose to nest on your building was seen as the ultimate endorsement by nature herself!

Macdonald excels in making very astute observations on the links between culture and how it intersects and adopts the image of the falcon to mirror human behaviour and drives. This enhances the appeal of the book, and I think it would be of interest to someone who wasn't a falcon fanatic. I certainly learnt a great deal.

I have a strong feeling I should have read 'H Is For Hawk' first, and not this... but oh well - I generally tend to read things in the wrong order. I have to admit though, I'm still not entirely sold on birds.

View all my reviews