Shepard Krech's insightful research into historical sources and his deep understanding of birds combine to entrance the reader with scientific insights, Native knowledge, and marvelous descriptions of the American South. This book brings a fresh and fascinating approach to environmental and ornithological history and will be of great interest to historians, indigenous peoples, and birders alike.

—Carolyn Merchant, author of American Environmental History: An Introduction

What a wonderful surprise this book is! With fabulous illustrations and insightful text, Spirits of the Air explores the deep connections between Native Americans of the South and the rich bird life that was so much a part of their environment and lives. For birders, the book provides a thought-provoking opportunity to move beyond identification and ponder our deeper and more universal relationship to these beautiful creatures that we so love and seek out.

—Don and Lillian Stokes, authors of Stokes Field Guide to Birds

This is a landmark work in at least two disciplines. With scholarship of the highest order, Shepard Krech delves into a curiously neglected topic and serves up a rich slice of cultural history, presented in a clear and engaging style. If you're at all interested in birds, Native Americans, or cultural connections to nature, you owe it to yourself to read this remarkable book.

—Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America

Shepard Krech has provided us with a superbly researched and splendidly illustrated tour of Southeastern Indian ethno-ornithology. His bird's-eye taxonomic vision is sharpened by a lifetime of bird watching and a distinguished career as an ecological ethnohistorian. This is no rapid trip on an Audubon autobahn; rather Krech's route is a twisting and turning one with many enlightening detours that restore an appreciation of the past and continuing complex significance of birds in the consciousness of Southeast native peoples.

—Raymond D. Fogelson, editor of Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 14, Southeast

[A] Kindle-defying handful, a heavy and handsome volume that sits solidly on the lap, a delight as much for the eye as for the mind . . . [A] book for the academic office or home library, both a ready reference for scholarly inquiry and a relaxing source of visual pleasure.

—Common-Place

[A]n elegant case for the critical roles birds played in Native American life.

—Archaeology Magazine

The American South has been blessed with a flurry of birds of every kind. In Spirits of the Air Shepard Krech exhaustively surveys for the first time the world of Southern Indians and their birds, and he does so from a variety of perspectives. Anthropologists, environmental historians, and birders will treasure this book, as will lay readers who will admire its beautiful design and charming illustrations.

—Charles M. Hudson, author of The Southeastern Indians

Spirits of the Air: Birds and American Indians in the South is a momentous work. It is the first study of birds in a regional cultural zone of native America . . . Rarely does one find a book that combines such visual pleasure with such superb intellectual endeavor.

—Journal of Southern History