Helen Macdonald

When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer, Helen had 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.

"The falcon: a powerful, beautiful and charismatic predator, and the fastest animal in the world. Whether loved, hated, or feared, whether worshipped as a god, valued as a hunting companion, or used as a corporate or heraldic symbol, falcons have fascinated humans for millennia. This book sheds compelling new light on this extraordinary bird, and on the cultures through which it has flown. It includes falcon myths and legends, the ancient sport of falconry, falcons as denizens of modern cities, falcon natural history and conservation, and how falcons have been recruited as symbols and weapons of war. Illustrated and packed with a wealth of fascinating information, Falcon will be an indispensable guide to a fascinating animal."--BOOK JACKET.