Buy this book on-line

Matthiessen, Peter : The Birds Of Heaven: Travels with Cranes

North Point Press, New York, 2001

ISBN 0374199442

349pp. Color Photographs. DJ price clipped, 8vo, Fine in Fine DJ

1st Edition

Matthiessen, Peter : The Birds Of Heaven: Travels With Cranes

North Point Press, New York City, NY, 2001

ISBN 0374199442

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 349 pages. Book-length account on subject. One of the most valuable books of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only that sold out shortly after publication. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Peter Matthiessen's "The Birds of Heaven: Travels With Cranes". His glorious book on one of Planet Earth's most beautiful birds. "Cranes are ubiquitous in the earliest legends of the world's peoples, where they often figure as sentinels of heaven and omens of longevity and good fortune. For their great beauty and imposing size - they are the largest of all flying birds on earth - they are held near-sacred in many lands. Their broad wilderness habitat requirements make them 'umbrella species'. Protecting them ensures that other creatures and the earth and water of the ecosystem are also protected. In addition, the enormous spans of cranes' migrations have encouraged international conservation efforts. Peter Matthiessen chronicles his many journeys in search of the world's fifteen species of cranes. He portrays the astonishingly tenacious cranes' struggles to survive in a rapidly developing world in which man is leaving less and less place for other creatures. He also captures the deep loss to humankind should these majestic creatures be permitted to disappear" (Publisher's blurb). "Matthiessen is our greatest modern Nature writer in the lyrical tradition" (The New York Times). After a year-long struggle with cancer, Peter Matthiessen died on April 5, 2014 at the age of 86. An absolute "must-have" title for Peter Matthiessen collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Peter Matthiessen. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. It comes with a pristine copy of the Souvenir Announcement of the event (which was one of his last public appearances) during which his signature was obtained. This title is a great book. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER PETER MATTHIESSEN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374199442.

1
1

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.