“Obsession leads to quest as Pyle spends a year racing the calendar, zooming from California to Key West, Kauai to the Northern Tundra, hunting for the globe’s elusive butterflies. He is nearly devoured by mosquitoes, almost falls onto the back of an alligator and comes much too close to rattlesnakes. But he also watches the sun set in Hawaii, drinks key lime shakes in Florida and racks up memorable miles in an attempt to see 500 species in his one Big Year. Read it as an adventurous road trip; read it as a colorful nature study. Either way, it’s quite a journey.”—Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, OR
This book was selected by a committee of Northwest indie booksellers for its 2010 Shortlist.