How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher : To the Greater Glory of Life

Look out of the window. See a bird. Enjoy it. Congratulations. You are now a bad birdwatcher. Anyone who has ever gazed up at the sky or stared out of the window knows something about birds. In this funny, inspiring, eye-opening book, Simon Barnes paints a riveting picture of how bird-watching has framed his life and can help us all to a better understanding of our place on this planet. How to be a bad birdwatcher shows why birdwatching is not the preserve of twitchers, but one of the simplest, cheapest and most rewarding pastimes around. In this approach to ornithology, self-confessed bad birdwatcher Simon Barnes gives readers the confidence and motivation to get pleasure from one of the simplest, cheapest hobbies there are - watching birds, without letting birdwatching get in the way An expose of what goes on behind the ancient walls of London's inns of court, Harry Mount's account of his hellish year as a "pupil" - a trainee barrister in The Temple - dares to reveal the grim secrets of one of England's most archaic institutions. The following passage is taken from my diary.