Hi All
For those who are experiencing surges historical curiosity there are several
books that might be of interest:
Barbara and Richard Mearns, Biographies for Birdwatchers, Academic Press,
1988
Barbara and Richard Mearns, Audubon to Xantus, Academic Press, 1992

Both of the above are collections of short biographies. The first deals with
"lives commemorated in western palearctic bird names", and the second with
"lives commemorated in NA bird names". Both of these books are encyclopedic
in nature. The biographies run from a couple of pages to about 8 pages.

The Mearns also wrote a more extensive history of bird collecting:
Barbara and Richard Mearns, The Bird Collectors, Academic Press, 1998
This book is still in my inbox, so I can't comment on it.

For histories of ornithology, there is
Paul Lawrence Farber, Discovering Birds, The Emergence of Ornithology as a
Scientific Discipline, 1760-1850, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997;
and
Mark V. Barrow, Jr, A Passion for Birds, American Ornithology after Audubon,
Princeton University Press, 1998.

While Barrow's book is also in my inbox, I have read Farber's. It leans to
the academic rather than popular history side. Given the period of time that
he is dealing with, it focuses upon European ornithology. It does provide
some important background about the field of ornithology.

Finally, a good read about a major player (and ego):
William E. Davis, JR, Dean of the Birdwatchers, A Biography of Ludlow
Griscom, Smithsonian Institute Press, 1994.

Cheers
Gail Spitler
Johnsons Landing, BC
spitler at wkpowerlink.com