ELI J. KNAPP
ELI J. KNAPP is the author of In the Crosswinds: Birds, Humans, and the Paradox of Place, The Delightful Horror of Family Birding: Sharing Nature with the Next Generation, and Dead Serious: Wild Hope Amid the Sixth Extinction, a 2022 Foreword INDIE medalist. He holds a master's degree in environmental science from the University of Santa Barbara and a PhD in ecology from Colorado State University, and is a professor of ecology at Houghton College. Knapp lives in Fillmore, New York, with his wife and children.
BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
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Birds, Humans, and the Paradox of Place
In the Crosswinds takes readers on a captivating and humorous journey from the woods of western New York to the jungles of Ecuador and the wetlands of Africa, exploring the complexities of land, movement, identity, and belonging. Join ecologist and avid birder Eli J. Knapp on a quest to rediscover how to connect with the natural world. In the face of restlessness and rootlessness, we look to the birds of the world—creatures that are at once migratory and deeply connected to place—for insight and understanding.
With a rollicking blend of avian science and crackling narrative, In the Crosswinds confronts the all-too-human desire to define our place on a changing planet—and reveals instead the wonder and miraculous beauty of being exactly where we are.
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“Sometimes lyrical, sometimes wry, and always deeply thoughtful, In the Crosswinds is a journey well worth taking.”
—THOR HANSON, Close to Home
Wild Hope Amid the Sixth Extinction
Through personal stories of mishap and adventure, historical vignettes, and scenic detours, professor Eli J. Knapp dissects eighteen critical forces that lie behind the earth's sixth extinction. Drawing from experiences across the globe, Knapp peeks into odd and overlooked corners of natural history, showing how ocean-going tortoises and ghost deer can both instruct and inspire. Full of humor, hope, and self-effacing scientific savvy, Knapp's exploration of our home planet provides welcome respite in a deadly serious subject.
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“A very satisfying, very engaging, and ultimately very moving entreaty to stop the seemingly indifferent slide into a sixth extinction.”
—BOOKLIST
THE DELIGHTFUL HORROR OF FAMILY BIRDING
Sharing Nature with the Next Generation
Eli J. Knapp takes readers from a leaky dugout canoe in Tanzania to a juniper titmouse’s perch at the Grand Canyon, exploring life’s deepest questions all along the way. In this collection of essays, Knapp intentionally flies away from the flock, reveling in insights gleaned from birds, his students, and the wide-eyed wonder his children experience.
The Delightful Horror of Family Birding navigates the world in hopes that appreciation of nature will burn intensely for generations to come, not peter out in a flicker. Whether traveling solo or with his students or children, Knapp levels his gaze on the birds that share our skies, showing that birds can be a portal to deeper relationships, ecological understanding, and newfound joy.
“You don’t have to be a birder to love this entertaining and beautifully-written book—although you may become one after you’ve finished it!”
—FORBES