Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence - and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
by Irene M. Pepperberg
Summary
Alex & Me is the remarkable true story of an extraordinary relationship between psychologist Irene M. Pepperberg and Alex, an African Grey parrot who proved scientists and accepted wisdom wrong by demonstrating an astonishing ability to communicate and understand complex ideas. A New York Times bestseller and selected as one of the New York Time's Top Ten Books of the Year, Alex & Me is much more that the story of an incredible scientific breakthrough. It's a poignant love story and an affectionate remembrance of Pepperberg's irascible, unforgettable, and always surprising best friend.
An African Grey parrot, Alex had a brain the size of a shelled walnut. Yet he could add, sound out words, and understand concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none. Irene and Alex disproved the widely accepted idea that birds possess no potential for language or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence.
Alex & Me is the remarkable true account of an amazing, irascible parrot and his best friend who stayed together through thick and thin for thirty years-the astonishing, moving story of a landmark scientific achievement and a beautiful relationship.
"You be good. I love you," were Alex's final words to Irene before his premature death at age thirty-one on September 6, 2007.
Praise
"Alex & Me ... will charm and amaze you" — Christian Science Monitor
"A moving tribute that beautifully evokes 'the struggles, the initial triumphs, the setbacks, the unexpected and often stunning achievements' during a groundbreaking scientific endeavor ... Pepperberg deftly interweaves her own personal narrative with more intimate scenes of life with Alex ... creating a story that scientist and lay people can equally enjoy" — Publishers Weekly
"A page-turner . . . Olsen brings his vast knowledge of the criminal mind to the fictional stage, deftly combining just the right mix of plot and characterization to create a work of dark, gripping suspense." — Anne Frasier, USA Today bestselling author of Garden of Darkness
About the Author
Irene M. Pepperberg is an associate research professor at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and teaches animal cognition at Harvard University. She is head of the Alex Foundation and author of The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots.
|
Facebook
