Right you lot, rant time. There's particular books that belong on any self-respecting science bookshelf. Given the amount of money that book companies of any description spend on ephemera and ghost-writing I think I'm entirely justified in spending a little bit of somebody else's money on an important book, even if nobody ever buys the thing. This one does gather dust, but I make a particular point of making sure it's dusted and uncreased and that none of the nasty big copies of Solomon's Biology are leaning too hard against it.
It's an odd little number ; just a specialist title on the various disorders afflicting avians of the Canary type whilst held in extended captivity, but the situation of the author is the important point.
This is the book the "Birdman of Alcatraz" wrote. An enormous achievement of a mind focussing on one small part of the Universe for a long time. It's an important book and it's going to stay on the shelf, nice and fresh, even if nobody buys it.
Diseases Of Canaries
Robert Stroud
Oxford University Press (Print On Demand)
ISBN: 9781406795394
For a penny short of £20 it's a big book, nearly a thousand pages, and every one is packed with detailed information and some superb photography of the vast majority of the planet's mammals. Split along the obvious (but easily navigable) lines of the established taxonomical groups, this is both a valuable reference work and also one of those lovely books to dip into at random. If you're anything like me you'll remember discovering at least one book on your parents shelves like this, one that you would pick up and read through for hours on rainy Sunday afternoons.