Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper Christian
Cooper is a brilliant writer who shares his life story that is primarily shaped by his passion for nature and birding. However, this memoir is beyond being a birder. Christian weaves his past and present stories in a beautifully written way, connecting very poignant parts of his life that helped mold the person he is today. He shares personal accounts of his identity as a Black gay man, his family, life at Harvard, his work at Marvel comics, and of course, the racist encounter that made him well-known today. He may have been introduced to the large part of the world for that incident, but because of that, we are fortunate to know more about this remarkable human being. His notability now is used as a means to help build a sense of belonging in the birding community and remind others that birds are for all to enjoy.