A01=Barbara Allen
Author_Barbara Allen
avian
Camino de Santiago
Category=JBFU
Category=WN
Category=WNCB
conservation
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
feathers
flight
flock
forthcoming
Game of the Goose
geese
imprinting
Konrad Lorenz
migration
myths
ruddy-headed geese
Sir Peter Scott
waterfowl
Product details
- ISBN 9781836392743
- Dimensions: 135 x 190mm
- Publication Date: 01 Sep 2026
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Long dismissed as the dull cousin of ducks and swans, the goose proves to be a bird of astonishing significance. From medieval legends and the myth of the barnacle goose to Konrad Lorenz’s pioneering work on imprinting and the first human-led migration, geese occupy a rich place in science and story. Their quills helped write the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. They wander through haiku, appear in art by Escher and Pissarro and leave tracks along the Camino de Santiago. Geese inspire conservationists, from Sir Peter Scott’s search for breeding grounds to efforts to save endangered species like the ruddy-headed goose. This book is a warm, curious account of a bird that has shaped human imagination, history and community more than we might think.
Barbara Allen is a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia. Her books include Pigeon (2009), Animals in Religion (2016), Pelican (2019) and Lost Animals, Disappearing Worlds: Stories of Extinction (2025), all published by Reaktion Books.
