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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Annelie Geissler

FLIGHT LINES

Andrew Darby

Across the Globe on a Journey with the Astonishing Ultramarathon Birds

As the sun lowered and turned Gulf St Vincent fiery, they each called a high-pitched 'peeooowiii!' as they flashed their black pleats, spread their tail skirts and took flight.
Andrew Darby follows the odysseys of two female grey plovers, as they take ultramarathon flights from the southern coast of Australia to previously unknown Arctic breeding grounds. Will they breed in the Arctic summer, and will they return safely to their old southern feeding grounds? Will they survive the super typhoon off Taiwan's coast? Will China's dragon economy have engulfed their traditional landing spots at the mouth of the Yangtze? He meets the teams of amateurs and professionals who work on these birds, from Russia to Alaska, and the rim of the Arctic Sea to the coasts of the Southern Ocean. He explores the latest tracking technology which reveals more about these intrepid birds that we have ever known before. Andrew Darby's journey to understand the secrets of these extraordinary birds almost ends when he is suddenly diagnosed with an incurable cancer. Then he finds science coming to his rescue too. ANDREW DARBY is the former Hobart correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age. His first book Harpoon was published in 2007.
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Published 2020-02-01 by Allen & Unwin

Comments

The author has captured the magic and might of what is a massive journey for these small birds, and tells other bird migration stories in a compelling way.

The expositional skills of the seasoned journalist kick in, in a rewarding unfolding of the threads of his subjects' lives, threads that have connections across the globe.Ultimately, Flight Lines is a tribute to science and research, uncovering truth through pure inquiry.We need powerful storytellers such as Darby to make meaning of the knowledge we gain.

US: Pegasus (November 2020)

A wonderful book and...a must-read.

Flight Lines takes what appears to be a niche topic and turns it into an immense, heroic and surprisingly uplifting narrative of endurance and survival, with an obvious parallel to his own experience.

A tender account of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Australia's shorebirds in their extraordinary pursuit of eternal spring, and the scientists who fight to preserve their flyways.

A magnificent and personal account of the world we share with migratory shorebirds.

Andrew Darby has written an absolutely beautiful book.

Darby is in awe of nature and humbled by bird, and he makes for a sterling companion and guide. It rips along. Darby has the power to articulate even to non-birders the importance and beauty of these creatures.

An epic journey soaring on the wings of feather-scraps. Exquisitely told.

The greatest story ever recorded in the study of migration.