Guardian
This wonderful book explores how the fastest animals in history have carried the dreams of mankind on their wing. . . . Although Macdonald is passionate about birds of prey, and especially falcons, what makes this book so remarkable is not just that it is beautifully written but that it never loses sight of the big picture: the way these exquisite aerial predators—the fastest animals that have ever lived—have been used as constantly changing repositories for human meanings. . . . She weaves a memorable account of this most beguiling of creatures, from its earliest shamanistic uses to Marvel Comics’ first black superhero, the Falcon. A master class on how to write cultural history.
North American Falconers Association
"What Macdonald does with Falcon is bring all of herself to the subject. She breathes life into the work; pulls the lives of falcons and people together into a rare three-dimensional portrait. The effect is beautiful and lasting."
Times Literary Supplement
In the light of her new literary reputation, many will read, and should read, this book who did not read it before.”
The Falconer
"This is a wonderful book. It is not a falconry text, nor is it a falcon biology or a conservation one. Macdonald's slim volume is far more ambitious: it is an attempt to capture and indeed explain the essence of the falcon. This is simply a most beautifully considered social history of the genus Falco. . . . It informs and provokes in equal measure. . . . Macdonald writes beautifully and with a refreshing clarity."
Washington Post - Rachel Hartigan Shea
"This beautifully designed book offers a natural history of this fastest of all the animals as well as the story of how these birds' lives have long intertwined with those of humans."
Globe and Mail - Martin Levin
"A lively and lovely series. . . . This delightful series gives us animals as both alien and familiar. . . . An exhilarating, often astonishing and sometimes moving series of monographs."
International Zoo News - Nicholas Gould
"Does not ignore natural history and falconry [and] also ranges over many other topics."
Times (UK)
"While presenting the falcon as a creature superbly adapted to its environment, Macdonald's scientific but lyrical study also celebrates its mythical, cultural and iconic significance."
Journal of the History of Biology - Mark V. Barrow
"Succeeds brilliantly . . . a smart, engaging, and multidisciplinary account that vividly brings her subject to life. . . . In addition to crisp, imaginative writing, Macdonald has a knack for choosing compelling details. . . . Offers an incisive cultural history of the falcon. . . . A rich and marvelous book, which will interest a wide variety of popular and scholarly audiences. Like its subject matter, Falcon truly soars."
The Spectator - James Fleming
"Marvellous book . . . sheer joy."
