Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle

An utterly absorbing and fascinating piece of natural history writing. I read this book from cover to cover and enjoyed every word! You may believe that there really isn’t enough to fill a book about feathers but, at the very least, this book will make you realise the truly staggering evolutionary marvel feathers are. In addition to this there is the almost innumerable ways that feathers have been incorporated into human lives, since our earliest times.

The author has split the book into chapters, each of which covers a very different aspect of the topic and covers such things as evolution of feathers, how they grow, whether feathers or flight came first, how flight (may have) evolved – still very much an area of hotly debated opinions – through to the ways that we (and other animals) have exploited feathers natural characteristics of colour and insulation. Before modern synthetic dyes, feathers were one of the very few materials available to humans that had bright, even metallic, colours that didn’t fade immediately, for instance.

From keeping ourselves (and other animals) warm to more prosaic uses as feather dusters and fish lures, feathers have shaped our lives and economies. Indeed, in some cultures feathers were used as currency. Thoroughly recommended.

Book reviewed by Su Gough