I received this book for review purposes from the publisher and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Note: uncorrected proof edition
I would recommend this book only as a gift book to a birder. Coarse language and childlike illustrations make it a “fun” book but not for serious study. Coarse language so prolific, I didn’t finish the book.

I absolutely loved the first book Kracht wrote and purchased it for everyone in my family last Christmas. It was irreverent, funny and totally informative. When I saw this new book for the Whole Stupid World, I couldn't wait to get it!! <sigh> It was such a disappointment. It makes me so incredibly sad to write that but it's true. There was an overload of cursing and I honestly don't mind a full share of it but this was just overkill. The humor was just bleh. In fact, it all was. I'll just stick to North American funny birds and I'd recommend you do the same. So sorry.

Matt Kracht had me laughing from the minute I cracked this book. The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World is snarky, funny, and informative. It's much easier to remember the different types of birds using Kracht's categories (like "lump" and "murder") than the normal types ("perching birds" and "hawklike").I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a laugh, or wants to learn more about birds, or both!

Do you ever need something dumb? Something that sincerely loves its subject enough to know when it's stupid and should be made fun of? Are you acquainted with a dad, or someone that exudes Big Dad Energy?

This book is a small, silly review of some of the birds of the world, and the horrifying ways nature has chosen to present them to us. It's a light, breezy, quick read that would go well with a coffee table, or a gift of a stuffed toucan.

My only gripe is that it doesn't have the space to insult more birds. I've got one that sounds like a machine gun going off outside my house, and I'd love to yell some scientifically accurate imprecations at it.

I liked the humor of this book but found it very similar to the first book. Some of the birds may even have been repeated. It does have some helpful information regarding birding, but is definitely not a traditional field guide. I wish it would have been a little more unique than the first edition.

I can not fault the author because NetGalley is having a problem with it’s protected PDF downloading. This is the 3rd time this has happened. Authors are saying you may not be able to download the book. I really wanted to see this book, b/c it’s funny, but it also identifies beautiful different kinds of birds. I live in a more rural area and every morning people take stunning pictures of different types of birds. I had a decorative small birdcage I put outside for decoration. It has a little cotton matte and 3 small fake eggs. Now a real bird has laid eggs in there and the entire cage is filled up. It is really fascinating.

I always prefer having both the kindle option and the NetGalley app. First, the books I love expire on the NG app. I sometimes can add more days and sometimes not. With the Kindle I always have them. How would I use this book if I have it for a week? Anyway, in this case that would have been fine because I wanted to see if I would like this book enough to order it. Still, I did want to make a post on 2 of my favorite FB Book Sites, since I love nature books and wanted to start a thread on that. I would have included this book. I see the layout and lovely birds and pictures on Amazon, so I think I will just order it.

So thank you NetGalley (please look into the PDF issue), and Matt Kracht, and Chronicle Books for an ARC of this book. I think it is a terrific book. If it can be resent and I can see the material that would be helpful. Otherwise, thank you and I will just purchase the book in November.

I will also give you my mailing address, perhaps you can send the physical book instead and I can also order one in November for our Library. I am going to start working there and add newer books in. This one I believe would interest many people here.

This book was not only hilarious, but also brought back some wonderful memories of summers birdwatching in my front yard with my dad, and all the bird books I borrowed from the library to help identify them. I kinda wish I had this book on hand though, because the personality descriptions of some of these birds is spot on and would have had me rolling!

If you're starting a birdwatching journey just for fun, or even just want a quick laugh in between the (not so serious) birdwatching, this is the book for you! It's jam packed full of snarky facts, and even includes a mini-history lesson! I'll have my eyes out for more from this author!

Okay, this was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. It is even a little bit educational, once you get past the cussing, sarcasm and obvious nonsense. Kracht profiles a variety of birds from around the world and gives them slightly different, insulting names that are generally filled with foul language. If you have a problem with foul language or mock insults, this won't be your book. As someone who likes birds, cussing, humor and sarcasm, I got a kick out of it. Most of these books just seem to cram cuss words in without nailing the funny part, but Kracht manages a great balance. Yes, he talks like a 13 year old but he also makes it clear that he secretly knows a lot about birds and likes them, and he's also just good at being funny (okay, especially if you can be entertained by 13 year old boy humor). I'm thinking of getting a copy for my birding husband and I'm sure my kids will also enjoy it. And yes, it gets redundant at times but even the author pokes fun of this and that adds to the appeal. And all the little extras at the end really add to the strange combination of education and parody.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

It's mildly humorous and also mildly informational. I'm not sure I see much value in it. The artwork is good and the names are funny. But I'm not sure it has much value for a library.

Heed the title: this is not a serious book.

That’s not to say you won’t learn anything about birds here; it’s still an informative read, to a point. In fact, I’d be willing to declare this book surprisingly informative.

It takes a little while to actually get to the birds. The first 20% or so of the book is introductory preamble and background information about regions of the world as they relate to bird species. Don’t worry, this beginning section still does its best to be humorous.

Onto the birds themselves, as with the author’s first bird field guide, each illustrated entry is both informative and insulting to the bird. Make no mistake, that is the whole point of this book: pick on birds for the sake of comedy. The author does it well, and I found this book to be as enjoyable as the first field guide, but it’s probably not for everyone. If you like birds, or animals and nature generally, and you don’t mind poking fun at how silly they can be, then you might like this. It’s quite entertaining if it’s your cup of tea.

Content note: this book contains foul language (f-bombs abound), so this probably isn’t for kids unless they’re old enough or you’ve prepared them for this kind of content.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC.

After reading The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by the same author, I had to follow up and read The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World. Same premise. Sprinkled in among the sarcasm and language are some interesting facts about the birds. Certainly not for the easily offended. I read this book with a smile.

So happy to see this second volume from Chronicle Books! I adored the first and gave it to all of my bird-loving relatives for Christmas several years ago. Glad to know what to get them this holiday season!

Do you care nothing for birds and have no desire to possess any knowledge of them? This book is not for you. Are you a serious ornithologist who can wax on for hours about birds in minute detail? This book is also not for you. Offended by cursing or crass language? You guessed it. Stay away from this book. But if you are someone who enjoys some casual bird watching and possesses a healthy sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself, this might just be a book you would enjoy perusing.

In the sequel to The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, Matt Kracht takes us through another adventure in The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World. No longer must we contain our distain of various bird habits to a single continent but can instead shake our heads at birds around the world. Kracht effortlessly slides in factual information while having us quietly chuckle along with his outrageous descriptions of our fine-feathered frenemies.

If you have a love of Ornithology and sarcasm, this is definitely the book for you. The scientific term, common name, synopsis, and nickname for each bird species is given, along with an illustration to help you spot the bird in the wild. The humor helps the book to be entertaining as well as informative, so the casual birder can also enjoy it.

Thanks to Chronicle Books and Netgalley for an ARC.

his book is anyone who calls a Yellow-Rumped Warbler a "Butter Butt", or who has never managed to get a clear photo of a Marsh Wren, or manages to catch a view of the east end of the bird who is headed west. That said, I'd recommend it as an additional amusing bird book, or a book for the young birder whose sense of humor runs to the messier side. This is because Matt Kracht is one cranky birder, and he's willing to share his opinions, along with choice swearing, with the reader..

He knows enough about why the scientific classiications for birds exist, and to think it's a seriously annoying thing. He's annoyed by birds and how they don't cooperate with his attempts a birding. This comes out with his names for the birds, where he uses wods like "butt", "poo", and others that puts the book into PG territory.

I just wish he'd ben a bit more clever with his bird names--I was able to guess what wods were going to be used just by the actual name of the bird. The birds in art portion of the book seems to be pasted on--as if the bird description pages ran out before the required pagecount.

These are minor quibbles, and i'll be buying copies to send to my grandnieces and nephews, Hey kids--just don't tell grandma, okay?

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World by Matt Kracht caught me by surprise. I was new to this author and his art and writing style. The book was incredibly funny. I had not expected the sarcasm and dry humor as each bird was mocked in the author's descriptions. I will say that I am uncertain about the usefulness of the work beyond a one time humorous read through. Because none of the descriptions are accurate or useful for bird watching or on the field use, it seems like more of a gag gift or flip through book.

Kind of dumb, but I was chuckling all the way through. I probably wouldn't read this one cover to cover again, but I'd love to have a copy so I could flip through it occasionally.

Received via NetGalley.

The gimmick wears a little thin by the end, but the illustrations are gorgeous, some of he jokes did make me laugh, and there's actually some cool information about birds, adaptation, behavior, and birdwatching in here. I will probably buy a copy of this for my seven year old.

Bird watching for an easy A science credit in college. . . made a lot of sense. But those darn birds - they'll get you every time. My college bird-watching course garnered me my first and worst grade on my college transcript, so while I did learn a bit of appreciation for ornithology, it's veiled behind a bit of resentment. Matt Kracht's The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World comes from a similar place in his heart.

Love and wonder for the birds of the world, in all their glorious and yet terrible, boring, or even sometimes stupid glory. His book is a farcical look at the famous fields of my college course (organized just so by ornithologists). It doesn't take itself too seriously, brings to mind many familiar birds we may tolerate or despise, and shows off a smidge of actual bird knowledge, while never being stuffy or presumptuous.

The humor and farce were pleasing & will be enjoyed by most amateur bird enthusiasts, but I can't recommend too highly due to the crassness of the comedy. The alternate names chosen for every bird are not much more than the daily string of potty-talk rhymes my boys could conjure if I let them and the use of the f* word and other profanity is rampant. While it might have been funny a few times, it felt relentless and unnecessary. Sadly, ruined the fun for our family-minded home. If you're more tolerant of language and crudity, and hold even a small grudge toward any of our feathered-friends, the comedy of this book will be quite engaging.

I am not a big fan of birds, but I found this book to be interesting. It is clear that this is book falls under humor. There were some parts that were funny to me, but there were parts where the jokes became a bit repetitive. The book is broken down into four sections. My personal favorite section was the third section which was about birds throughout history.