Beautifully written. I am grateful nice people like the author exist. I am not an avid fan of guillemots but it appears that is not a prerequisite for enjoying this book. ( )

This is about birds eggs, just that, and it is like a peek into another world, one of beauty and wonder.

A bit historical, a bit biological and a bit mythical but certainly full of things you didn’t know, things that will not only do you no harm to know but will increase your capacity for awe. Things that will reduce you to that schoolchild sense of discovery and sheer mind boggling gawping.

Non-fiction and non-boring.
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I am reminded of an old joke about a scientist that goes to talk to a group of farmers about recent breakthroughs. The scientist introduces himself then says,"Well, I'm a nuclear scientist and I am going to talk about the theory of cold fusion".

A farmer suddenly stood up and said, "Before you do that would you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Well, " said the farmer, "you know how cows, horses, rabbits eat grass and veggies?" The scientist nodded. "I mean some of the stuff comes out in little pellets and other times it comes out looking like a base ball with little hairs sticking out of it. At other times it comes out runny and flattens on the ground." "How come all the same stuff goes in one end but looks so different when it comes out the other end?

The Scientist was silent for a minute then says, "I really have no idea."

The farmer then said: "You want to talk to us farmers about the theory of cold fusion but you don't know shit?"
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I only relate that terrible joke because we are surrounded by scientists and others explaining the world away when in reality most of their explanations are pure conjecture. They seem to have a fear of wonder? This book will tell you about miraculous processes that we know absolutely nothing about yet the products of those processes are beauty incandescent.

Give it to someone and they will thank you sincerely ( )

Way back in the 1950’s the Egg Marketing Board recommended that we should ‘go to work on an egg’. It was something that the nation took to heart and nowadays we consume over 11 billion hen’s eggs in the UK. They are a healthy nutritious food; though in my household most of them end up in cakes…

Tim Birkhead has been fascinated by birds and eggs for his entire career. In this book, he seeks to answer a variety of questions. Such as how are eggs formed, how are their colours and shapes created, is the pointed end laid first and are some designed to roll in a circle on a cliff face. Using information from his own scientific research and examples from museum collections and from a whole variety of different birds Birkhead sets about answering some of these by beginning from the moment of fertilisation to the point where the unborn chick makes that first chip in the shell.

We learn how the eggs are made in the oviduct, how the shells are strong enough to be sat upon during incubation and weak enough to allow the chick to escape. There is masses of detail explaining how they breathe, whilst still having a protective layer against water and microbes and explains the purpose of the yolk and albumen. As well as the science, he looks at the history and mankind’s fascination, and sometimes obsession, with eggs bringing alive all sort of weird and wonderful facts. There is details on the parasitic birds like the cuckoo who have the ability to mimic other birds shells almost exactly, as well as lots of his passion for the guillemot and their beautifully patterned eggs.

It is a fascinating account of what you would think is a simple entity. He writes well, managing to get the balance between details, clarity and scientific jargon just about right. Throughout the book, he regularly points out that answering one question frequently prompts two more and tells us where more research is needed as we simply do not know the answers. What makes this particularly special is his boundless enthusiasm for his subject, not just in his own research, but also for the history behind this most perfect of things. 4.5 stars
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One of my favourite writers, Tim Birkhead, and a real treat to have him walk me through an egg. Or rather through several eggs. Peppered with great stories and observations along the way, like goldcrest's legs turning red from incubating and TB's awful disappointment at finding out just how Arabella carried an egg in her bosom. Baker friends have enjoyed learning about what that air sac/gap is at the end of their cooking eggs, and I've enjoyed reading other things like a booklet about Eilean nan Roan with a new view on egg-collecting by climmers. One of those books where scraps and lessons will keep coming back as eggs and birds cross my path. ( )

Absolutely stuffed with interesting facts: chicken eggs go down the oviduct pointy end first, then rotate sideways just before laying to come out blunt end first. Nobody knows why; some species, and some individual birds, do it the other way round. As a biologist who tried to learn about egg evolution at one point, I wish I'd had this book. Lots of shout-outs to the kiwi as well. ( )