The Most Perfect Thing: Inside (and Outside) a Bird’s Egg

The title is also a perfect description of the book itself - full of wonder and surprise and beautifully written -- Nick Davies, author of Cuckoo Birkhead’s approach to writing – hard, clear sentences; deep, revelatory looking – has the same effect as his microscope, bringing objects to light that were previously hidden, making us see the familiar with new eyes … After reading The Most Perfect Thing, you’ll never dip your morning soldiers without a shiver of wonder at the complexity and resourcefulness of the humble egg. -- Alex Preston * Observer * Eye-opening … Thoroughly engaging, it also gives us a thrilling sense of the vast, unmapped territories that lie beyond, waiting to be discovered * Sunday Times * Superb ... like having the top of your own head lifted off and its contents deliciously stirred: no one after reading this book could think it was possible to know too much, no one could think science removes us from feeling * Observer * What Birkhead does is show to anyone interested in nature why any such object is a source of wonder and fascination … Innovative work. Birkhead has made birds’ eggs interesting again, by giving us a new way of looking at them: not as commodities to be drooled over and collected, but as wonders of natural science … Birkhead answers all the basic questions with panache, but other, stranger facts caught my imagination even more … Yet it is the incredible mechanisms of the life-support system, which Birkhead lays bare with perfect clarity, that are the most wondrous -- Michael McCarthy * Independent * Quirky and revealing … Many fascinating facts … Birkhead writes in a jaunty and compelling style, and is not afraid to deal head-on with the politics of eggs … This book is illustrated with a fine selection of photographs showing the extraordinary variety of shapes, sizes and colours of eggs … Tim Birkhead is one of Britain’s leading zoologists, yet he skilfully bridges the gap between scientists and non-scientists … Impressive – an important contribution to our understanding of the world around us, and its extraordinary natural wonders -- Stephen Moss * Daily Mail * Birkhead has made birds’ eggs interesting again, by giving us a new way of looking at them: not as commodities to be drooled over and collected, but as wonders of natural science * Independent * So full of fascinating facts. The author is to be congratulated on a major step forward in our understanding of eggs that in the past we just accepted and did not query. The reader will never look in eggs the same way again -- Ray Collier * Highland News Group * He takes us on an epic journey, from the outer shell of an egg to its genetic core … It is a voyage packed with astonishing details -- James Attlee * Independent * Justly acclaimed for his brilliance at explaining complex science in a beguilingly lively style … Though it is only April, I suspect that this beautifully written volume will end up the best bird book of 2016 * BBC Wildlife * Excellent … the author is exceptionally versed in the literature on eggs, from speculative 17th-century texts to the sprawling data pumped out by the poultry industry today * Wall Street Journal * Anyone drawn to the natural sciences will relish it … There are curiosities at every stage * Spectator * A wonderful insight into one of nature’s most fascinating processes * Countryside Photographer * A text that bubbles with enthusiasm ... A book that will keep you enthralled from your morning egg to your evening quiche. A delight * New Scientist * Anyone drawn to the natural sciences will relish it … The story of learning delights Birkhead as much as our current accumulation … Birkhead’s telling is joyful -- Horatio Clare * Spectator * Superb … an enthralling, immensely readable book that combines deep scientific knowledge, lightly worn, with an awareness of history and a refreshing willingness to give the early pioneers of British ornithology – notably Francis Willoughby and John Ray – their due -- Nigel Andrew * Literary Review * Birkhead’s enthusiasm for this “everyday miracle of nature” is infectious and his erudition lightly worn … A magical account * Times Literary Supplement * A delightful blend of amazing facts and hard science. You’ll never look at a chicken in quite the same way again -- Stephen Moss * Guardian * From the handsome coloured pictures to the fascinating details about the sex life of birds, this is that rare thing: a scientific book to delight the general reader -- Books of the Year * Daily Mail * I cannot think of a science book that is better written -- John Lewis-Stempel * The Times *