H Is for Hawk

Written by:
Helen MacDonald
Narrated by:
Helen MacDonald

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
32
Narrator
7
Release Date
March 2015
Duration
11 hours 9 minutes
Summary
The instant New York Times bestseller and award-winning sensation, Helen Macdonald’s story of adopting and raising one of nature’s most vicious predators has soared into the hearts of millions of readers worldwide.

One of the New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the YearOne of Slate’s 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Last 25 YearsON MORE THAN 25 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR LISTS: including TIME (#1 Nonfiction Book), NPR, O, The Oprah Magazine (10 Favorite Books), Vogue (Top 10), Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle (Top 10), Miami Herald, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Minneapolis Star Tribune (Top 10), Library Journal (Top 10), Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Slate, Shelf Awareness, Book Riot, Amazon (Top 20)

When Helen Macdonald’s father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer captivated by hawks since childhood, she’d never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators: the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk’s fierce and feral anger mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel and turned to the guidance of The Once and Future King author T. H. White’s chronicle The Goshawk to begin her journey into Mabel’s world. Projecting herself “in the hawk’s wild mind to tame her” tested the limits of Macdonald’s humanity.

By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement, a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, and the story of an eccentric falconer and legendary writer. Weaving together obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history, H Is for Hawk is a distinctive, surprising blend of nature writing and memoir from a very gifted writer.
Reviews
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msfitz

I loved it!

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Annie S.

Oy... the raving reviews drew me in... I tried to stay with it, I really did. If you are a naturalist with an Anglophile’s sensibility, you may love this book. I did not.

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Cold Country

A forlorn woman's memoir of bereavement begins well, with her memories and comparisons with the life of TH White, but her constant evaluation of every thought, word, and deed quickly becomes tedious, as she slowly devolves into grim self-indulgence and an excuse to behave badly.At first I had compassion for her, but by the end I disliked her justification for every sort of rudeness and demands on other people. Would not recommended this book unless one has a particular interest in training hawks.

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Nancy Krehlik

The first time I listened to this book, I didn't like it very much. The narrator's voice did not hold my interest. I decided to listen to it again and to listen intently. This time I find the book captivating. If ins the information about Hawks / Goshawks very interesting. I am enjoying the author's story along with T.H. White's story . So glad I gave it a second chance!

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