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Ginny Messina's Reviews > Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
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I saw Alex on TV many years ago and fell head-over-heels in love. He was so personable and smart and adorable!
While I wasn’t wild about Irene Pepperberg’s writing style and found her to be not quite as likeable in the book as she is in television interviews, the story of how she taught Alex and helped to reveal the incredible intelligence of these birds was still wonderful. And it’s an important book for anyone who cares about animal protection and animal rights. As Dr Pepperberg notes: “…a vast world of animal cognition exists out there, not just in African Grey parrots, but in other creatures, too [...:] Clearly animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.�
It’s hard to imagine that anyone could read this book and come away thinking that we have the right to use animals as we please.
While I wasn’t wild about Irene Pepperberg’s writing style and found her to be not quite as likeable in the book as she is in television interviews, the story of how she taught Alex and helped to reveal the incredible intelligence of these birds was still wonderful. And it’s an important book for anyone who cares about animal protection and animal rights. As Dr Pepperberg notes: “…a vast world of animal cognition exists out there, not just in African Grey parrots, but in other creatures, too [...:] Clearly animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.�
It’s hard to imagine that anyone could read this book and come away thinking that we have the right to use animals as we please.
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Alex & Me.
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Reading Progress
November 9, 2008
– Shelved
Started Reading
April 15, 2009
–
Finished Reading
October 24, 2009
– Shelved as:
animals
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Lisa
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Apr 16, 2009 07:39PM
Yes, This is on my list. Good review. You say she wasn't as likable as she'd seemed. You don't mean regarding Alex, do you? In terms of the way she was with him? I hope not.
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Oh no--I would never have given her 5 stars if she was mean to Alex!! She complained a lot about the ongoing lack of respect for her work and I also felt she a little bit self aggrandizing. And given the many people who helped her with Alex, the acknowledgement section was pretty short.But she was devoted to Alex and the other parrots and also to helping people understand the kind of care that parrots need (lots and lots of social interaction). But she did buy them from breeders and didn't take advantage of the opportunity to speak out against pet breeding--so that was kind of disappointing.
Sounds like a mix. Thanks for clarifying. I do want to read this but it's not near the top of my list. Thanks for the review and message though!
