North American Males
(Henry Holt & Co.)
A distant cousin to the Audubon Guide to North American Birds, my
daughter's book offers handy descriptions of over 50 species of boys, along
with descriptions of their plumage, mating calls, sexual and agonistic
displays, courtship rituals and habitats.Now, this does not sound like the sort of book that would come from the pen (or word processor) of the Ayatollah Khomeini of feminists. How could this happen? Well, I'll let her speak for herself:
"It would be great if we could take a
confirmed sleazy male and put a tag around his leg, the way the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service does to wild Hawaiian nenes, so that other women would
know to avoid him. Unfortunately, this is illegal. Likewise, it would be
good to use Doppler radar to measure how quickly a given male runs away
when threatened with a commitment, or how quickly he runs toward a
recording deal or Twinkie or fashion model. Unfortunately, this is
impossible. Females therefore need to learn to distinguish the different
species and their foibles, and share the information with other women."
"In the past, only men were allowed to look. Today women can leer and
dissect as much as boys can. But since female ogling has only recently been
socially sanctioned and is still not often encouraged, women may need a
little guidance, a little direction to the appraising stare. The Field
Guide's tone is reassuring (you can develop your skills!) as well as
inspiring (you'll learn something!) while offering enough common sense
warnings (certain species are dangerous, and here's how to tell which ones)
to prepare the emerging naturalist.
But seriously, folks, this is a funny book. No one makes me laugh like my darling daughter. And no one brings tears to my eyes like she does.
Check it out for yourself. The website for the book is
You can scan pages from the book and save the paltry $9.95 it will cost you at the bookstore. Or order it at discount from
To learn more about Marjorie Ingall, check out her personal website at