★Rights sold to USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Spain.

There is no denying that many people are crazy for birds. Packed with intriguing facts and exquisite and rare artwork, Birdmania showcases an eclectic and fascinating selection of bird devotees who would do anything for their feathered friends. In addition to well-known enthusiasts such as Aristotle, Charles Darwin, and Helen Macdonald, Brunner introduces readers to Karl Russ, the pioneer of "bird rooms", who had difficulty renting lodgings when landlords realized who he was; George Lupton, a wealthy Yorkshire lawyer, who commissioned the theft of uniquely patterned eggs every year for twenty years from the same unfortunate female guillemot who never had a chance to raise a chick; George Archibald, who performed mating dances for an endangered whooping crane called Tex to encourage her to lay; and Mervyn Shorthouse, who posed as a wheelchair-bound invalid to steal an estimated ten thousand eggs from the Natural History Museum in Tring. As this book illustrates, people who love birds, whether they are amateurs or professionals, are as captivating and varied as the birds that give flight to their dreams.

Bernd Brunner (Berlin, 1964) is an essayist and author of several books in which he combines history, anthropology, and the sciences to offer wide-ranging insights on unusual subjects like aquariums, bears, the moon, the Christmas tree, the art of resting, and a passion for birds. His works have been translated into English and he is a regular contributor to such publications as Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, The Wall Street Journal, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Huffington Post.