Buy Books or Donate
The best way to support the Big Parade/Banana blog and website is to buy one of my books (scroll down to see what’s available.) If you just feel like throwing a few bucks into the tip jar, you can do that, too.
A note about buying books: I don’t charge anything beyond shipping for a signed copy of one of my books, and you can have it inscribed any way you like (see the order forms, below.) In the US, shipping is free. For Canada, Mexico, and overseas, shipping is via Global Priority flat rate, at cost. The version you’ll get is the hardcover version; the images below, though, are of the paperback editions, which are the ones currently on the shelves of the major booksellers. If you would like a signed paperback instead, or have any questions, please contact me directly, putting “Signed Book Purchase Request” in the subject field.
If you already have a copy of my book and you’d like it signed, I’d be happy to do so. You’ll need to send it to me and include an envelope with return postage. That’s all!
Want a chance at a free book? Anyone donating ten dollars or more to help maintain the website will be entered in a monthly drawing for a free signed book of their choice (if you’re not in the U.S., I’ll have to charge for shipping. Sorry.) Here’s the donation link.
“Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World”
is my current book. The links below can provide more info on what the book is about, and what others think of it.
Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman recommends it.
Listen to my interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air.
Read my own op-ed in The New York Times.
You can get a really good sense of what the book is about from this Huffington Post story.
My other book is “To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, A Son, and a Lifelong Obsession.” It tells the story of my father, who spent most of his life traveling the planet, chasing birds, and doing little else. But the book is as much about the nature of love as it is about nature. Excerpts from reviews are below.
“Marvelous. I loved just about everything about this book.”
—Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman
“A lovingly told story . . . helps you understand what moves humans to seek escape in seemingly strange other worlds.”
—Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak
“Everyone has his or her addiction, and birdwatching is the drug of choice for the father of author Dan Koeppel, who writes affectionately but honestly about his father’s obsession.”
—Audubon Magazine (editor’s choice)
“As a glimpse into human behavior and family relationships, To See Every Bird on Earth is a rarity: a book about birding that nonbirders will find just as rewarding.”
—Chicago Tribune
Buy To See Every Bird on Earth:
And my wife has a book, too – action-packed, true-life adventure on the high seas.
Visit her website.
Hallelujah, I'm a bum
The Big Parade, and all my stairway routes and maps are dogmatically free, as I explain on the routes/maps page. So I feel a bit uncomfortable asking for donations here, but this website isn’t cheap to maintain. Still, I welcome a discussion of whether or not I’m violating the spirit of what I’ve set up. In any case, every month, I’m going to give a free book to a random donor.
Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman 