Those who are old enough to remember still speak of the days “before the birds came.” For the birds did come, descending on London by the thousands or even millions, inexplicably and seemingly out of nowhere. At first, the birds did little but watch, and Londoners found them amusing, if perhaps a bit odd.
But then the birds began to show their sinister side: attacking, maiming, and even killing in incidents of tremendous brutality and violence. Were they a force of nature, or a supernatural manifestation? No one knew: the only thing that was clear was that the birds had only one aim: the destruction of mankind, and no one had any idea how to stop them...
The Birds (1936) went largely unnoticed when originally published, but after the release of Alfred Hitchcock’s popular film in 1963, Frank Baker (1908-1983) threatened to sue, believing his book had inspired the film. The Birds was last reprinted in 1964, in a “revised” edition that in fact failed to incorporate hundreds of additions, deletions, and corrections Baker had made. This new edition is based on Baker’s personal copy of the book and includes his numerous handwritten and typewritten revisions, making this definitive text available for the first time. This edition also features a new introduction by Hitchcock scholar Ken Mogg.