Tapestry Press
Four Wings and a Prayer
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Tapestry Press
Four Wings and a Prayer
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Four Wings and a Prayer, Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly. By Sue Halpern, 2001. Pantheon Books. 212p. Sue Halpern, a natural history writer caught in the mystery of this remarkable butterfly, shares her explorations. She travels to Mexico, Hawaii, Canada to interview Monarch researchers as they work. Bill Calvert, a philosopher and Daneus plexipus expert, lives, sleeps & collects data from this cluttered pick-up. He records data on butterfly weight, condition and location at fluctuating wintering sites in the mountains of central Mexico and on fire ants as predators in controlled experiments in Texas. David Gibo, a Canadian biologist and glider pilot, works to understand Monarch flight success with glider flights. With trepidation, Sue flies with David in his fixed wing, engineless craft after being towed aloft to 2000ft. She experiences the uplift of thermals that monarchs use so effectively in their impressive migrations. Sue catches the excitement and competitiveness of research on this challenging subject. The reader catches a glimpse of the joy and anxiety of natural history research. Review written October 2003 Back to Book Reviews
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