by Greg Breitling, Falcon Press, 126 pages .

Bald eagles numbered more than a half-million when European settlers first arrived in America; subsequently our shameful persecution of the birds rendered them nearly extinct. This handsome book celebrates their recent comeback, the result of persistent work by professional conservationists and devoted volunteers alike. The book’s main photographer, Frank Oberle, is one of the latter: He not only has photographed the birds for nearly twenty years but recently donated a twenty-acre bald eagle roosting and feeding site on the banks of the Mississippi. Today there are tens of thousands of bald eagles in the United States and Canada, and they are no longer classified as endangered. In case you want to take a firsthand look, the book contains a valuable directory of the best viewing spots in every state but Hawaii, with directions, local contacts, and brief descriptions. The volume’s striking color photographs suggest why the birds have had such a hold on the national imagination.