As a professional wildlife biologist, I have a unique perspective to wildlife nonfiction. This book illustrated the dedication and care it takes to successfully raise wildlife. A great escape! ( )

When I began reading this book, I was expecting an experience similar to the one I had when I read Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk: profound and moving. Alas, that was not the case with Papa Goose. The bond between Michael Quetting and his birds read more like mutual imprinting than true connection. Add to that the fact that I have ethical issues with purposely imprinting animals on humans for our own scientific use. The book is well-written but did not speak to me ( )

When I worked at a lake as a lifeguard, one of our duties was to clean up the beach before opening and by far the most common thing we came across to clean up was goose poop. If a flock of geese had been on the beach that morning, the beach was a disgusting slick of green and white goose pellets. We face the same problem in the summer in the yard at the cottage. Goose dung everywhere. Besides the prolific pooping, I've honestly never thought very much about geese and I certainly never considered them as individual creatures with unique personalities or as important subjects in any sort of scientific experiment. If anything, I considered them an annoyance at best and a scourge at worst. But for a year, Michael Quetting, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, considered them his family as he raised seven geese from egg to adulthood, a task chronicled in the memoir Papa Goose.

In an effort to find out information about bird (goose) flight mechanics and aerodynamics and real time atmospheric conditions, Michael Quetting fathered seven greylag geese from before their birth, when he talked to them in their incubator to get them used to his voice, to almost a year old. The geese were raised so that they could eventually be fitted with data loggers to provide scientists with this information. Quetting was careful to have the small balls of down imprint on him, becoming their acknowledged parent. He describes all aspects of their lives together from their vulnerable youngest days, their development of individual personalities, their learning to fly, and finally to the days that each of them finally leaves his care for the wider world. The story is one of joy, contemplation, and frustration. Quetting documents the daily life of the goslings, sharing the soft, sleepy whistles they make when tired, the snoozing with their papa goose, the happy swimming, their contented dandelion eating, and more. Being with the birds causes him to slow down in his own life and to look at what is important. Of course the experiment, the reason he is raising these seven little creatures is always in the background, at the very least, but even in raising them towards a goal, he finds immense happiness, like the day all seven geese fly with him for the first time, following him in his ultralight. Quetting doesn't shy away from the difficulties he encounters, from a recalcitrant gander to the constant loads of goose poo but through it all, his heart shines through. He does anthropomorphize the geese occasionally, imagining what they think of him, the horn he uses to call them, and the things he asks of them. The story is quite sweet and simple in the telling and will likely appeal to animal lovers of all kinds. ( )

As a researcher for the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, author Michael Quetting had the opportunity to be involved in an amazing experiment. His mission: to raise geese from hatchlings, teach them to fly, and gather flight data. For eleven months, Quetting took his charges for daily swims and made sure they were well taken care of. Along the way, he learned that each had its own personality from feisty to cuddly. Just like raising human children, the author discovered there were ups and downs to parenting seven little ones. Check out this book and join the adventure of a lifetime.

The Bottom Line: The dedication the author had to see this experiment through was amazing. Filled with humor and packed with information, this is a very quick read that will interest nature lovers and students of biology. ( )

I received a free copy of this book from the LTER give-away in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is an absolute delight to read - I must say that I was already aware of the whole story, because I had seen the documentary about the whole concept on German TV a few years ago. The dedication it took the author (with help from his coworkers) was amazing. Obviously there can only be a partial happy-end with a story involving wild animals, but it is still a great way to learn more about the life and "thinking" of geese! ( )