With his first book, Better Birder, Michael Ketover emerges as an exciting voice in travel writing.

Ketover, an expert in poverty reduction and social justice, chronicles inspiring, outrageous, and mundane assignments in international development work and his reflections on the resilience of the poorest of the poor. These interactions reveal his flaws and slowly remake him into someone better than he used to be.

With the theme of watching birds woven into each story, Ketover focuses on each locale's birds and the joy he hears in their songs amidst scenes of disrespect, lunacy, and violence.