What is so compelling about falconry? Tim Gallagher mines his
lifelong obsession with falcons for an answer in this engaging
volume interweaving memoir, history, and travelogue. An entire
subculture exists outside the mainstream of American society
consisting of obsessed individuals Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and
film-writer Tony Huston among them who still use the ancient
training techniques and language of falconry. Gallagher finds that
his personal story connects on many levels with that of Frederick
II, the thirteenth-century Holy Roman Emperor, legendary falconer,
and notorious freethinker who brought the full wrath of the
medieval church down upon his dynasty. While following Frederick''s
footsteps through southern Italy, Gallagher ponders his personal
history as well. What salve to his spirit did falconry provide when
it ignited his passion at age twelve? Beset by a turbulent
childhood dominated by a brutal and violent father, Gallagher
turned to this sport for emotional release. He offers us a unique
glimpse into the contemporary falconry subculture, and the result
is a surprisingly frank and revealing personal story.
目錄:
Introduction
PART Ⅰ MY BACK PAGES
1 The Falcon Dreamer
2 Rex and Rowdy
3 The Biker
4 Blow Up
5 Flying Free
6 Centerville Days
7 The Long Spiral Downward
8 Desolation Row
9 O Tank
PART Ⅱ MY FREDERICK ll YEAR
10 In Frederick II''s Footsteps
11 Winter in Wyoming
12 Highland Fling
13 A Born-Again Falconer
14 Forty Years After
15 The Saracen Citadel
16 The Eye of Apulia
17 Jewel of the Hill
18 On to Sicily
19 Palermo without a Map
20 The Hawks of Herculaneum
21 See Rome and Die
22 Homeward Bound
Epilogue
Acknowledgments