upcarta
  • Sign In
  • Sign Up
  • Explore
  • Search

H is for Hawk

  • Book
  • Jul 31, 2014
  • #Memoir
Helen Macdonald
@HelenJMacdonald
(Author)
www.goodreads.com
Hardcover
4.2/5 3.9k ratings
Hardcover Kindle Audiobook
See on Goodreads
3.73/5 53.7k ratings
2 Recommenders
2 Mentions
1 Ask
Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator. When Helen Macdonald's fat... Show More

Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator.

When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer—Helen had been captivated by hawks since childhood—she'd never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk's fierce and feral temperament mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel, and turned to the guidance of The Once and Future King author T.H. White's chronicle The Goshawk to begin her challenging endeavor. Projecting herself "in the hawk's wild mind to tame her" tested the limits of Macdonald's humanity and changed her life.

Heart-wrenching and humorous, this book is an unflinching account of bereavement and a unique look at the magnetism of an extraordinary beast, with a parallel examination of a legendary writer's eccentric falconry. Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator.

(From Goodreads)

Show Less

Number of Pages: 300

ISBN: 0224097008

ISBN-13: 9780224097000

Recommend
Post
Save
Complete
Collect
Mentions
See All
Maria Popova @MariaPopova · Jan 18, 2022
  • Post
  • From Twitter
“The world is full of signs and wonders that come, and go, and if you are lucky you might be alive to see them.” Found myself revisiting years-old, timeless masterpiece on how to live with loss, and how to live with life
Anna Martino @annadixit · Oct 17, 2022
  • Answered to What’s your favorite book about loneliness?
  • From Twitter
Not only about loneliness, but also about it: H IS FOR HAWK, by Helen Macdonald.
Asks
See All
  • Austin Kleon
    • Ask
    What’s your favorite book about loneliness?
    69 answers
  • upcarta ©2025
  • Home
  • About
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • @upcarta