History of Ornithology in Malta by Joe Sultana & John J. Borg
Hardback- 390 pages – several photographs – 13 chapters – 3 appendices – annotated and illustrated bibliography – index of birds – index of people.
This book traces all written references to bird observation and study in the Maltese islands, from a comment by a 16th century French monk to the latest ground-breaking research EU Life+ projects. It is an account of the evolution of bird study and ornithological literature in Malta, interspersed with brief biographies of the human protagonists. In his book review published in the Sunday Times of Malta (10 January 2016)the historian Judge Emeritus Giovanni Bonello concluded “What a marvellous book this is. Reviewers always, consciously or subconsciously, want to discover some fault in the book assessed, if only to prove to themselves how fairly and thoroughly they have done their job. In this case I fail. The flawless research put in over many years of passionate study by Sultana and Borg, their infectively engrossing story-telling, the lavish illustrations, the rich editorial standards kept up throughout the publication leave me with precious nothing to gripe about, and with plenty to applaud. My only disappointment.”