Humans, Nature and Birds: Science Art from Cave Walls to Computer Screens

This book invites readers to enter a two-floor virtual ‘gallery’ where 60-plus images of birds reflecting the accomplishments of human pictorial history are on display’, says the blurb on the front cover. An interesting, scholarly book, but one which leaves you wondering quite why it was approached the way it was. Most of the book looks at a range of artwork and discusses various elements, especially how they represent advances in scientific knowledge, but it also contains many examples of ancient bird art, but with a second version painted by one of the authors with ‘photo-realistic’ heads of birds superimposed on the original. Slightly odd!

Book reviewed by Su Gough