[bksvol-discuss] Book Submitted: Pigeons
- From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 20:32:47 -0500
An unusual book, one I heard about on an On Point episode, when I was here
in the office, and hunted it down. Actually quite fascinating, reckion
smile. Anyway, didn't know that much about pigeons, quite cool book. Easy
validation too. Has been read through completely and edited, page headers
removed page numbers kept and a row of **** across the top of the Chapter
pages. 256 pages.
Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird
by Andrew D. Blechman
From the Book Jacket:
They have been worshipped as fertility goddesses and revered as symbols of
peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they have been crucial to wartime
communications for every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to
the United States and are credited with saving thousands of lives. One
delivered the results of the first Olympics in 119 B.C. and another brought
the news of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo more than 2,500 years later.
Charles Darwin relied heavily upon them to help formulate and support his
theory of evolution. Yet the pigeon is reviled today as a rat with wings.
How did we come to misunderstand one of mankind's most steadfast companions?
In Pigeons, Andrew D. Blechman travels across the United States and Europe
in a quest to chronicle the bird's transformation from beloved friend to
feathered outlaw. From Brooklyn's Main Event, the pigeon world's equivalent
of the Kentucky Derby, to the eighty-third Grand National, with its
thousands of bizarre and beautiful show pigeons, and from a pigeon shoot
where people pay to gun down live birds, to the nation's oldest and biggest
squab farm, Blechman takes the reader deep into the weird and wonderful
world of pigeon fanaticism. He meets with pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters
alike, includingthe Queen of England's Royal Loft Manager and members of the
radical "pro-pigeon underground"; chases Mike Tyson, America's most famous
pigeon lover; and for the first time tells the remarkable story behind this
seemingly unremarkable bird. You'll never look at a pigeon the same way
again.
!
ANDREW D. BLECHMAN is an award- winning journalist who has worked for the
Los Angeles Times and the Des Moines Register. His writing has appeared in
numerous publications, including Smithsonian magazine and The New York
Times. He currently divides his time between Berkshire County,
Massachusetts, and Germany.
Shelley L. Rhodes M.A., VRT, CTVI
and Guinevere, Golden lady Guide
juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
Graduate Alumni Association Board
www.guidedogs.com
More than Any other time, When i hold a beloved book in my hand, my
limitations fall from me, my spirit is free.
- Helen Keller
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