Wacky, wonderfully funny (and occasionally alarming) story of the race to win the greatest bird-watching competition of all time - now a major film, starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson.

T. R. Reid "Washington Post's" Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief, regular commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition, " and author of "Confucius Lives Next Door" Here's a rare species: a book on birdwatching that turns out to be charming, engrossing, and educational even for people who can't tell a mudhen from a magpie. It was so much fun, I didn't want the big year to end. When it did, there was only one thing to say: "Where'd I put those binoculars?"

Mark Obmascik has been a journalist for over two decades, most recently at the 'Denver Post', where he was lead writer for the newspaper's Pulitzer Prize. He has also won the National Press Club Award for his environmental journalism. An obsessed birdwatcher himself, he lives in Denver with his wife and sons.