Latham's Falconry is considered the great classic in English language books on the Art of Falconry. Syman Latham has long been considered one of the greatest experts ever to live on the sport of Falconry and published his two books on the subject in 1615 and 1618, during a period when Hawking and Falconry was at its height in England. Author Gilbert Blaine described Symon Latham's books "as probably the finest work on falconry in the English language." Original copies of Latham's original work have sold for as high as $13,000, creating much demand for this very affordable modern reprint. This edition is a facsimile of the original 1633 edition and is written in Elizabethan English. Note: This public domain edition is a perfect facsimile of the original edition and is not set in a modern typeface. As a result, some type characters and images might suffer from slight imperfections or minor shadows in the page background. This edition is reprinted in accordance to Federal Law.

De Arte Venandi cum Avibus was written shortly before the year 1250 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Sicily and Jerusalem, in whose court, with its remarkably cosmopolitan and highly intellectual life, may be found the real beginning of the Italian Renaissance. In spite of its title, it is far more than a dissertation on hunting. There is a lengthy introduction dealing with the anatomy of birds, an intensely interesting description of avian habits, and the excursions of migratory birds. Indeed, this ancient book has long been recognized as the first zoological treatise written in the critical spirit of modern science. The sumptuous volume now in hand is, however, the first translation into English of the complete text, originally divided into a prologue and size books. Together, the translators and editors, have at last made available this classic work and have adorned it with notes, comments, bibliographies, and glossary. They have produced a work of great value to zoologists--especially the ornithologist--and also to everyone interested in the history of science and in medieval art and letters.

In this portrait of a man obsessed, “Dickinson presents a clear picture of the strange and fascinating lives of modern falconers” (Ted Floyd, editor, Birding). Falconer Steve Chindgren is a man willing to make extreme sacrifices to continue practicing the sport that has ruled his life. This portrait of him and the world he inhabits conveys a sense of falconry’s allure: the unpredictable nature of the hunt and the soaring exhilaration of success. Further exploration unveils the enormous emotional cost to a falconer who establishes an extraordinary tie to his birds. When, in the space of two days, Chindgren loses two birds that he’d been training for years, he is plunged into a profound depression that is only deepened when Jomo, his best bird, slows down because of old age. In addition to this challenge, Chindgren faces the danger to falconry that the modern world presents. Grouse habitat is being degraded by mining, agriculture, and gas industry interests. And the number of falconers is dwindling—the corps is graying and has few acolytes. Falconry is a sport that requires persistence, stoicism, and sacrifice; in this captivating account, Dickinson illuminates a fascinating subculture and one of its most hardcore personalities.

A remarkable book about a gifted young naturalist and a very special bird. The kestrel falcon accompanied him to war and to POW camps and saved his life on 2 occasions.