The real James Bond loved birds and the West Indies, and he was an advocate for protecting them both -- especially preaching the need to end the slaughter of rare species in the Caribbean.

The headline above was from an article in The New York Times in the mid-1930s. Bond was a noted ornithologist with a brand-new book, "Birds of the West Indies," by then. (But contrary to the sub-headline) he had no doctoral degree ... )

The introduction to the book went into great detail about the dangers facing the birds of the West Indies -- from humankind to hurricanes.

 One of the goals of this book is to raise awareness -- and money -- to help the environment in the Caribbean. To that end, all proceeds from talks and appearances generated by this book will go to The Nature Conservancy's Caribbean initiative.

I am very excited about the launch event for my book at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

The event will include my talk, a short question-and-answer session with Academy's Nate Rice, a book signing, and displays of James Bond memorabilia -- including first editions and birds he collected for science (still used for research today).

The photo above (from ANSP Archives Coll. 457) is of Bond in 1969 in his office at the Academy.

You can reserve a seat here.

Back in August, when Schiffer Books announced a publication date for "The Real James Bond," writer Matthew Chernov contacted me immediately about an interview.

I said, "Sure -- but closer to when the book arrives."

Well, time flies, and here we are.

This online interview is the first in-depth look at the book, and hopefully worth waiting for.

You can read it here.

The book arrives in four weeks -- on Friday, Feb. 28. You can order a copy from Schiffer now by clicking the book's dustjacket in the top right-hand corner.

(The photo of me is by Kevin Watson. Thanks, Kevin!)

The real James Bond was an advocate for the environment in the West Indies and the Bahamas and did some amazing research on Grand Bahama and the Abacos; that's why I plan to donate all proceeds from my talks about "The Real James Bond" to The Nature Conservancy's Caribbean Initiative.

At present, the far greater need is hurricane relief efforts in the Bahamas. A list of places to donate to relief efforts is at the end of this post.

TNC's Bahamas Program Director Shenique Albury-Smith writes:

Dear Colleagues,

As you know Hurricane Dorian affected the Northern Bahamas, in particular, the islands of Abaco, Grand Bahama and adjacent cays, over the last week. 

Dorian was a strong category 5 hurricane when it made landfall on Abaco with sustained winds at 185 mph and gusts well in excess of 200 mph.  One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit The Bahamas. 

From Abaco, Dorian moved to Grand Bahama and, much to our disbelief, decreased in speed until it was stationary over the island, staying for approximately 40 hours.  While over Grand Bahama, Dorian’s impact was catastrophic with storm surge up to 25 ft and extensive and widespread flooding.