Eagle by Janine Rogers published by Reaktion in the animal series

Paperback Pages 192

Price £9.99

ISBN 978 1 78023 337 6

This is part of a series which I have only 3 of them! But it would be easy to have all 81 especially the bird ones. The idea is like Birds Britannia and Birds and People but a whole book on one family in this case the Eagle. They start with a look at the whole family from Golden to Harpy Eagles and then move into myths and legends with over 164 illustrations with 64 in colour. Classics like the White tailed Eagle from Peterborough Abbey flying close to the sun made around 1210 AD and some great totem poles from Alaska as well as the seal for the President of the USA. Once you start reading you realise that there is too much for adding to a book on general birds hence the series and boy do they pack it in. Eagles were often thought to be the messengers between the earth and heaven with the Emperors of Rome having their souls taken to heaven by releasing eagles. They were also used as symbols from armies to full nations like the USA but amazingly the Scottish Government refused to use the Golden Eagle as their national birds as some claimed it represented facism! Poor Americans!