Average customer rating:
- this is not a field guide
- Birds in Brazil
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Birds in Brazil
Helmut Sick
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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Similar Items:
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Brazil: Amazon And Pantanal (Travellers' Wildlife Guides)
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Pantanal: South America's Wetland Jewel
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Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica.
ASIN: 0691085692 |
Book Description
Here is a substantially revised and updated English-language version of the only comprehensive, scientific treatment of Brazil's 1635 bird species. Written by the then dean of Brazilian ornithologists and published in Brazil in 1985, it not only lists every individual Brazilian species and provides detailed accounts for most of them but also gives an extensive treatment of the characteristics of each bird family found in the country. In addition, it analyzes the composition of Brazil's avifauna and relates it to the country's geography.
Customer Reviews:
this is not a field guide.......2004-12-06
I read the other review and was deceived. The other reviewer made it sound like a field guide comparing it to Peterson. NO!!!! There are a total of 45 color plates covering less than 500 of the about 1500 Brazilian birds and some of these plates are black and white.
Birds in Brazil.......2000-10-16
Birds in Brazil is a big book, beautifully produced on quality paper. It is exhaustive but never exhausting on the topic of Brazilian birds . The color illustrations are beautiful, but unfortunately they are separate from the text about the birds. That is the book's only fault. The text is in smooth and enticing English, and where the same birds are to be found migrating to the United States, the information is quite comparable in completion and interest to the American field guides of Roger T. Peterson. That leads me to believe that the information about birds that we don't experience will be equally accurate. This book is captivating and well worth the price. It is a coffee-table style book that we will be proud to use and to display.
Book Description
A unique autobiography unparalleled in American Indian literature, and a deeply moving account of a woman's triumphant struggle to survive in a hostile world.
Customer Reviews:
Lakota Woman.......2007-10-02
I learnt so much from this book, and felt myself getting angry because of her experiences. good on her for telling her story. L'Ohanna
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
An autobiographical account of Mary Crow Dog's life, this includes experiencing the events that happened at Wounded Knee, and her relationship with her husband, as well as the politics and experiences associated with the AIM political movement.
A look at the disturbing state and problems these people were facing at the time, very interesting.
Lakota Woman.......2007-08-23
An interesting look at the American Indian's struggles in the latter half of the 20th century. The perspective of Mary Crow Dog is helpful for those who have no similar life experiences to compare to it. Very good insight.
Excellent.......2006-11-10
The book came in perfect time and is in excellent condition. I have added it to my collection of Native American History
Powerful and compelling account of a woman on the reservation.......2006-07-28
This is a very powerful book about Mary Crow Dog's experiences growing up as a Lakota (Sioux) woman on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It should be required reading for anyone who feigns ignorance of the ways that Native Americans continue to be treated in the US today. Local whites, the state of South Dakota, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the rest of the power establishment have their inhumanity exposed.
Crow Dog writes in a very sparse style, and writes of brutal incidents in a matter-of-fact way. While this style makes the book compelling, it is also responsible for a major weakness of the book. Throughout the book, Crow Dog is never introspective. Things happen (she uses drugs, starts shoplifting, chooses men poorly) or happen to her (she is raped, among other things), but she doesn't think about why these things happen. She conveys neither a sense of her own agency in these events, or a sense of her own lack of agency.
Oddly for an autobiography, Mary Crow Dog is the object, not the subject, of this story. Even at Wounded Knee, she doesn't really understand why she is there, other than the fact that she has followed the male authority figures of the movement into the siege. She made her choice and put her body on the line but can't really explain why. How life on the reservation produces people like this is certainly worth reflection.
This siege at Wounded Knee provides the centerpiece of the book, and its natural climax. Crow Dog has a very different view of these events than the accounts provided by the leadership, who knew their history and knew what they were trying to do. Crow Dog also talks about the aftermath of the siege, and the period when her husband was in jail. At this time, she also followed him into the practice of Native American religion, and - - more implicitly than explicitly - - explains why this religion is attractive to many.
Finally, this book also provides a valuable insiders' perspective of the dysfunctional communities on Pine Ridge. It's interesting that the politically correct crowd condemns Ian Frazier's "On the Rez" while praising "Lakota Woman"- - both paint similar pictures of the same reservation. It's true than a Lakota insider brings perspectives not available to outsiders, but a white outsider also bring perspectives not available to insiders. Read them both and make up your own mind.
Book Description
Describing all of Colombia's birds, Steven Hilty and William Brown bring together information on one of the world's largest avifaunas-nearly 1,700 species. Over half of all the species of birds in South America are included, thus making the book useful in regions adjacent to Colombia, as well as in the country itself. The primary purpose of the work is to enable observers to identify the birds of the region, but it also provides detailed species accounts and will serve as an important handbook and reference volume. Fifty-six lavish color plates, thirteen halftone plates, and ninety-nine line drawings in the text illustrate over 85% of the species, including most of the resident birds. Notes on the facing-page of each place, and range maps of 1,475 species, facilitate identification.
Written with the field observer in mind, the text gives special attention to comparisons of similar species, transcriptions of voices, and comments on behavior, status, and habitat. It also provides ranges, breeding data, and references. Notes outline taxonomic problems and briefly describe species that eventually may be found in Colombia. Introductory chapters and photographs highlight Colombia's geography, climate, and vegetation, and discuss migration and conservation questions, and the history of Colombian ornithology. Appendices contain a large bibliography, a section on birding locations, and coverage of two of Colombia's far-flung island territories, Isla San Andrés and Providencia. Maps depicting vegetation zones, political boundaries, national parks, and the most text localities are included.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing.......2007-03-09
I live in Medellín, Colombia, South America, I was looking for this book in the spanish edition, but it's hard to find it, so I bouhgt the enlgish version.
This book is an excellent knowledge tool and it will open the eyes of the readers to one of the many wonders we have. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia is just AMAZING. For those who love animals, in special birds, consider buying it, you won't regret it.
The finest guide to birds in Colombia.......2004-09-10
"A Guide to the Birds of Colombia," by Steven L. Hilty and William L. Brown is mandatory reading for serious field observers. This book treats all of the 1,695 species of resident and migrant birds known to have been reliably recorded in Colombia and on its island posessions of Gorgona and Malpelo prior to 1984.
Moreover, this massive Princeton University Press text (836 pages) includes sixty-nine color and black and white plates by Guy Tudor (one of the most talented living bird illustrators in the world) & others. And before I forget this book includes superb line drawings by Michel Kleinbaum.
I found the sections on Topography, Climate, Vegetation, Habitat Descriptions, and Conservation & National Parks excellent. In addition, the review of Colombian Ornithology and the Range Maps are valuable field observer tools. In conclusion, this is a meticulous text with an expert index that will absolutely fill all the needs of serious field obsevers. Recommended.
Bert Ruiz
¡Qué belleza!.......2003-01-18
Es un libro que no debe faltar en la biblioteca de ningún ornitólogo. Describe casi la totalidad de especies de aves del país con más especies de aves en el mundo. Excelente.
An example for every Field Guide.......2002-04-08
This work is all a bird watcher could wish for. The splendid paintings by Tudor add to the very helpful in-depth descriptions. Completed by nearly 1500 distribution maps there's nothing left to wish, except go out there and see them. I used it when birding in Peru and I could still determine nearly all the birds I saw.
It's an example for every bird field guide.
Made birding in Amazonia easy.......2000-09-27
Since no definitive bird guide is available for the Amazon region and Brazil in general, I was forced to choose between this guide and the Birds of Venezuela. I ended up with Hilty and Brown's book by sheer coincidence, and I was not at all disappointed. The text and information is superb throughout, and I was able to identify several species on habitat description alone. For example, the authors clearly describe the preference of many taxa for varzea (seasonally flooded) or terra firme forests, which made a fleeting glimpse more of a certainty, and the range descriptions were invaluable. If I have only one very minor criticism, it is that I have never found plates in black and white particularly helpful, and since several artists were employed, there were differences in visual interpretation in several groups (e.g. the Picidae). However, these are minor detractions from an outstanding volume.
Book Description
This collection of true stories examines incidents involving the use of firearms by ordinary citizens for personal protection against criminals. Three basic types of events are discussed: armed defense at home, at work, and in a public place. Each episode is explored in detail, with a look at the citizen involved as well as how their defensive actions aided them or could be improved. From convenience-store robberies to police arrests gone awry, these stories provide memorable reminders of firearm self-defense dos and don'ts.
Customer Reviews:
I couldn't put it down.......2007-09-11
READ this book! You can't read this book and remain unaffected. You will be forced to come to some educated conclusion as it is really hard to argue with actual events and personal accounts.
The author brings out case examples of civilians who came to an event what would either leave them dead or severely harmed, they defended themselves or their fellow citizen with a firearm, and we're shown the outcomes both good and bad. Excellent follow up with the the major players.
I re-read the chapter on Katrina over and over again - that one chapter by itself is worth than the cost of this book 7 fold.
Read this book! And vote to allow carry concealed permits in every state of the union.
Make America Safer.......2007-09-06
If you believe your government should assist deranged criminals in carrying out rape, robbery, and homicide against law-abiding citizens, then this book isn't for you. If you believe your government should not force innocent people to become helpless victims of such terrible things, then read on.
Some people believe that criminals should be protected from law-abiding citizens, instead of the other way around. These 14 case histories, as good as they are, probably won't pull such people back from the dark side. If you aren't one of those people, you will find these 14 case histories well worth reading. If you agree that rendering potential victims helpless is a bad idea, this book has valuable information for you.
Thank God I Had a Gun provides 14 gripping accounts of how ordinary people stopped dangerous criminals. For example, 72-year old Zelda Hunt confronted an intruder who surely would have killed her. She held him at gunpoint until the police arrived in response to her 911 call. Ms. Hunt successfully defended her life and property without discharging her firearm or killing anybody.
It's hard to imagine that a 72-year old widow would safely stop a large, strong, young male attacker by using her bare hands. Assuming she's an accomplished martial artist and a fitness fanatic, one could argue this is possible. But do you know any 72-year old widows with rippling muscles and a black belt?
Unfortunately, this "she beat him up" scenario is one of the two possible outcomes that the citizen disarmament nuts ("gun control advocates") would leave us with. The other, far more likely, outcome is this: the unarmed woman is raped, killed, and robbed before the police arrive. People who value life obviously prefer the outcome Ms. Hunt experienced. It happened only because, thank God, she had a gun.
Reviewer's note: In the vast majority of such confrontations, the armed citizen never fires the weapon. The mere presence of an armed citizen induces most criminals to suddenly change their minds. That's why thousands of aborted crimes go unreported each year. Those crimes simply never happen, because armed citizens prevent them.
How do we know this number is thousands and not merely dozens? We can compare "criminal protection zones" such as the UK to citizen protection places such as Florida and note the difference. The UK is suffering from a huge increase in violent crime, while Florida saw violent crime drop 90% in the first year of RTC (Right To Carry). Or we can look at "before" and "after" the passing of citizen disarmament laws in Australia. "Before" was much safer for law-abiding citizens. "After" is much safer for criminals..
More than hardware
This book describes true accounts in vivid detail, and provides an expert analysis of each account. The accounts and their analyses show there's much more to responsible and effective self-defense than merely buying a piece of hardware. For example, in one analysis, the author discussed what was wrong with the bullets used. That led into a discussion of understanding what's behind the target.
Review's note: Self-defense expert John Deshotel says to use hollow point bullets in your self-defense pistols. Police have intense training in this very aspect of weapons use, to reduce the chances of hitting an innocent bystander or other unintended target. A couple of the accounts provide especially good cases for teaching how to use firearms more safely. Mr. Deshotel also says a pistol is a puny weapon. This book mentions an adage many instructors are fond of--use your pistol to shoot your way to your shotgun or rifle.
On any shooting range, the concept of safety permeates the air. People wear safety glasses. People wear hearing protection. People observe many rules of safety. A person who is trained in firearm use and who practices with the weapon is immersed in safety so much that the concept is "front of mind." The accounts in this book show how people used firearms for their personal safety. In the case of Mark Wilson, he made the ultimate sacrifice so that others could be safe. This book talks about safely using firearms in real-life situations, rather than just on the range.
Just as guns don't kill people, guns don't protect people. Well-trained people protect people. We do that by using guns we have been trained to use, when and where the situation requires. Guns are tools, and have no will of their own. If you visit an automotive garage, you'll see many tools. But the tools don't solve any problems by themselves (they don't cause any problems by themselves, either). The mechanic's training and experience make all the difference. It is the same for the armed citizen.
Reviewer viewpoint
Some people believe it's debatable whether government should respect the basic human right of self-defense. In fact, they use language to the effect that government gives that right and can take it away. These people continually tout victim helplessness as a necessary solution to crime. They have not demonstrated how making crime easier to commit will reduce the number (or severity) of crimes committed. Logic dictates otherwise, which is why such policies have always caused violent crime to skyrocket.
It's worth noting that the most outspoken proponents of pro-criminal, anti-victim laws exempt themselves from the consequences. Ted Kennedy has armed guards, and so does Rosie O'Donnell. Nobody has ever proven that disarming citizens somehow protects them from violent criminals. Logic dictates otherwise, which is why the survival rates are so much better for armed citizens than unarmed ones.
I think this book will motivate people to stay current with their firearms training and other aspects of crime prevention and self-defense. These 14 accounts clearly show that ordinary people can, with the right tools and training, face death down and defeat it.
Thank you, Chris Bird, for doing the nation a great service with the research and thoughtfulness that went into this excellent book.
self protection.......2007-09-01
This is an excellent book. It gets you thinking. Chris Bird is an excellent author
My favorite of Chris Bird's series.......2007-08-14
This book should be required reading for anyone who owns a firearm for self defense. You will learn from each individuals story of what to do and what not to do during an encounter. The chapter on New Orleans is reason enough to buy the book.
Excellent support for our often infringed right to carry.......2007-08-02
Each of these stories clearly shows why we cannot rely on police to protect us from violent crime. The need for this book is all the greater because these are the kinds of stories which are NOT reported in the media. The book begins with a story from New Orleans, where someone who didn't like guns ended up finding out, in the chaos that ensued after Katrina, that the most dangerous thing that can happen to a city is not a hurricane, "It's the thugs in the neighborhood who would do more damage." The stories are well-written, the book is engaging. I couldn't put it down. The book is a great antidote to the depression one feels when reading the daily newspaper and taking in yet another story of a violent crime and a psychologically damaged if not deceased victim. The people in these stories took up their arms and refused to be victims, and that brightens my day.
Book Description
One hundred members of NatChat, an electronic mail discussion group concerned with Native American issues, responded to the recent Disney release Pocahontas by calling on parents to boycott the movie, citing its historical inaccuracies and saying that "Disney has let us down in a cruel, irresponsible manner." Their anger was rooted in the fact that, although Disney claimed that the film's portrayal of American Indians would be "authentic," the Pocahontas story their movie told was really white cultural myth. The actual histories of the characters were replaced by mythic narratives depicting the crucial moments when aid was given to the white settlers. As reconstructed, the story serves to reassert for whites their right to be here, easing any lingering guilt about the displacement of the native inhabitants.
Average customer rating:
- Amazing and couragous
- Aviation, Vertical, Horizontal and More.
- Author Needs to Dig Deeper
- The Black Swan
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The Black Swan: Memory, Midlife, and Migration
Anne Batterson
Manufacturer: Scribner
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ASIN: 0743215532 |
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
It's hard to believe this thoughtful memoir is Anne Batterson's first book, so elegantly does she weave a chronicle of her five-week trip across America to observe migratory birds with recollections of the key people and moments in her life. Batterson was 56 when she took off from Connecticut on the journey she knew was quixotic, designed to stem her rising panic at her beloved second husband's talk of leaving his post as an Episcopalian minister. "Retirement, he would try out over the dinner table," she writes. "More time. Enough time... What I heard was: Hurry. Hurry. There's no time." Though she had behind her decades of adventure as a skydiver, pilot, and mountain trekker, Batterson still felt a keen need for risk-taking and solitude. With the blessings of her understanding spouse, David, she packed up her VW bus camper and took off. The present-tense narrative of her travels has a marvelous immediacy, from the lyrical (yet often slyly funny) descriptions of birdwatching, to emotional accounts of visits, to friends suffering their own midlife crises. Her past comes vibrantly to life in bravura passages capturing the thrill of skydiving (especially a terrifying jump in the middle of a lightning storm) and the pain of her failed first marriage to a flight instructor "who taught me how to loop the loop. Boy did he ever." She comes home to David and the knowledge that her wanderlust makes her who she is. The book closes with Batterson admitting, "I've always wanted to go above the Arctic Circle," as David laughs and she kisses the palm of his hand, murmuring, "God, I'm lucky." Readers will feel just as lucky to have shared the experiences related here with such tenderness and hard-won wisdom. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
Set against a spontaneous cross-country road trip following the migrating birds, this passionate, lyrical memoir is one woman's reflections on midlife, her important personal relationships, her kaleidoscopic past, and her uncertain future.
To fifty-six-year-old Anne Batterson, a woman whose life has been filled with adventure -- as a commercial pilot, an international skydiving champion, a trekking guide in Nepal -- her husband's decision to retire felt like a death sentence. Yearning for some way to reconcile herself to the future that was rapidly unfolding before her, she packed up her VW camper and hit the road with maps, bird guides, and little else except the desire to follow the fall migration and the bone-deep hunch that birds had something important to teach her.
In this beautifully written narrative of that extraordinary trip, Batterson writes movingly not only about her experiences with the birds but also about the people she loves, has lost, and connects with along the way. Events from the present trigger vivid stories from the past. In the chapter "The Journey Within the Journey," a long, lonely night in a deserted campground in Virginia conjures up the ghosts of a desperate solo road trip she made when she was twenty-one. A towering cumulus cloud in Illinois brings back a breathtaking free fall into a similar cloud in "My Time as a Bird." An encounter with a great blue heron summons a compelling account of her mother's last afternoon in the world. "Bears in the Woods" describes a run-in with two Deliverance-type men in West Virginia, which brings back the murder of a dear friend in the woods of Connecticut.
By the end of the journey, the ghosts of the past, like the author herself, have become part of a more fluid, more spiritual reality -- wild and spare and elegant and timeless -- one that is always out there, "quickening on the far side of reality."
A unique mix of memoir and nature writing, The Black Swan is a charming story of a woman's odyssey.
Download Description
For fifty-six-year-old Anne Batterson, a woman whose life has been filled with adventure -- as a pilot, a trekking guide in Nepal, an international skydiving champion, a wife and mother -- retirement was a depressing acknowledgement of advancing years. Though her life and marriage were still fulfilling, Anne yearned for some way of reconciling herself to the future. So she packed up her VW camper and hit the road with maps, bird guides, and little else in the way of a plan except to follow migrating birds. The Black Swan is a narrative of that extraordinary trip. In addition to beautifully describing bird migration across the United States, Batterson writes movingly about her children, her husband, her parents, and her own remarkable achievements. And it is through this spiritual journey, combined with the arduous but rewarding physical journey across the country, that Anne Batterson finds self-awareness and ultimately, peace. A unique mix of memoir and nature writing, The Black Swan is a lovely story of a woman's coming of age.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing and couragous.......2003-01-23
I met Anne at a CT Authors and Publishers meeting where she was the guest speaker. She kept us enthralled with her tales and adventures in her journey to be published after she had written this book. The journey never stops. I found it very inspiring to see someone have both the courage and support to take off on a cross country journey and then write about it. My ownself, I have fictionalized my experiences in "Forever Retro Blues." I am in awe of anyone who can put themselves out there like Anne did. It's a spiritual quest in addition to the physical one of finding herself in mid-life. Well done, Anne, well done.
Aviation, Vertical, Horizontal and More........2002-11-29
As an international skydiving champion, Anne Batterson was someone I admired when I began jumping in 1962. She went on to become a flight instructor and charter pilot. She understands flight and is fascinated by all who fly.
Batterson describes her following of a fall bird migration with flashbacks to her earlier adventures. I loved reading about her skydiving in the early days.
She relates the need to be alone from time to time.
A good writer with a large and varied vocabulary, she crafts a good read.
As an author, publisher and skydiver, I found this book fascinating and fun to read.
Dan Poynter, ParaPublishing.com
Author Needs to Dig Deeper.......2002-03-14
This book chronicles Anne Batterson's solo road trip at the age of 56 to confront midlife while following the fall bird migration. Overall the book is well written but just never seems to go anywhere. There are moments of soul baring but for the most part this reader found the book superficial. With so many adventures to her credit entailing more risk than most of us dare, it is sad that this author didn't risk sharing more of herself.
The Black Swan.......2001-08-16
A beautiful, subtle, completely absorbing story that will stir the reader's own internal wild bird. It was such a privilege to share Ms. Batterson's journey. Hard to believe this is her first book and can't wait to read more from her.
Average customer rating:
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Native Americans: A Portrait : The Art and Travels of Charles Bird King, George Catlin, and Karl Bodmer
Robert J. Moore
Manufacturer: Stewart Tabori & Chang
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ASIN: 1556706162 |
Book Description
The islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali are ecologically one of the richest, most biologically complex areas in the world, sought out by thousands of knowledgeable nature lovers every year for the spectacular variety of wildlife and beautiful vistas. This book provides the first
complete identification guides to the birds of this teeming tropical paradise. It gives descriptions of 820 regional species, illustrated in 88 specially commissioned color plates accompanied by notes detailing distinctive features and habitats. Entries cover nomenclature, plumage, markings, voice,
global range, distribution and regional status, habits, and diet. The main text gives practical information on where to find many exotic species, citing major birdwatching locations. Introductory chapters discuss habitats, climate, land-use, and conservation concerns. Professional ornithologists
and amateur bird watchers alike will find this the indispensable bird guide for eastern Malaysia and western Indonesia for many years to come. It is also an unrivalled source of information for casual travellers and ecotourists.
Customer Reviews:
A must-have.......2003-04-19
Any serious birder to the listed regions of this book would buy this book.
It is the best guide of the region so far with excellent plates and useful details. What I find especially useful, particularly for the raptors, is that they show illustrations of the birds in flight.
The drawings appear consistent and the bird's information at the back of the book is easy to access.
The birds are categorised according to their family which definately makes for faster checks and identification, which I find important when in the field.
The spine of the book though is a little week and you might want to have it rebound before it falls apart - especially with all the browsing that is to be.
Get it re-bound.......2001-11-29
This was the book that everyone who seemed to be serious used in Borneo, but if you are going to be out in the bush for more than a few days and make frequent use of field guides, consider having it re-bound before you leave -- many people I passed along the way were finding that the plate pages were starting to fall out.
A good and comprehensive guide to the region........2000-10-11
Many newer guides have been published about birds of this region, but this book still deserves its place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in birds of South-east Asia. Illustrations are good, and descriptions are detailed and mostly accurate. A bit bulky to carry in the field, but not a problem if you bring it in a backpack. The situation with forest fires in South-east Asia (especially Indonesia) is growing worse each year, so get out there and see some of these extraordinary birds while you still can!
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Book
- Great Material -- This edition is terribly made...
- Tour de Force
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Molecular Gas Dynamics and the Direct Simulation of Gas Flows (Oxford Engineering Science Series)
G. A. Bird
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Rarefied Gas Dynamics: From Basic Concepts to Actual Calculations (Cambridge Texts in Applied Mathematics)
ASIN: 0198561954 |
Book Description
The direct simulation Monte Carlo (or DSMC) method has, in recent years, become widely used for engineering and scientific studes of gas glows that involve low densities or very small physical dimensions. This method is a direct physical simulation of the motion of representative molecules, rather than a numverical solution of the equations that provide a mathematical model of the flow. the computations are nolonger expensive and the period since the 1976 publication of the original Molecular Gas Dynamics has seen enormous improvements in the molecular models, the procedures, and the implementation strategies for the DSMC method. the molecular theory of gas flows is developed from first principles and is extended to cover the new models and procedures. For more information visit the website on http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/gabird/
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book.......2005-12-12
Despite the odd typographical error, this book is outstanding. It is clear, concise and quite readable. Material is presented in a manner which is easy to understand. The only slight criticisms are that my copy did not include the promised computer disk, that often the descriptions of what the code does are often hard to understand and that the binding on the book is of extremely poor quality (my copy was losing pages within days of purchase). Otherwise very highly recommended.
Great Material -- This edition is terribly made..........2005-03-04
I gave the material in the book 5 stars, but the new edition 0 stars (at least for ~$200). My advisor just bought the newest edition (the old one finally falling apart after years of use) and it is cheaply made. The binding is already coming apart and the text is difficult to read because the text is fuzzy. Hopefully Dr. Bird will write a newer edition with some of the most recent advances and a better printing.
Tour de Force.......2000-05-15
An astonishing accomplishment by the man who more or less invented the field of DSMC calculation. Includes a handy-dandy disk (with source) so you can run you own problem with a variety of different boundary conditions. See also Bird 1973, Phys Fluids, v16 pp1830-1834.
Amazon.com
When Irene Pepperberg, a professor at the University of Arizona, says goodnight, she typically hears the reply "Bye. I'm gonna go eat dinner. I'll see you tomorrow." Though the response itself is not unusual, the source is, for it comes from Alex, a gray parrot, Pepperberg's main research subject for the past 22 years. That parrots can talk is well known; what Pepperberg set out to study was their cognitive abilities. By teaching the bird the meaning--not just the sound--of words in order to communicate, she hoped to discover how his brain worked. She exhaustively details her fascinating results in The Alex Studies.
Pepperberg bought Alex--a parrot of average intelligence and without lofty pedigree or training--from a pet store when he was 1. Since working with Pepperberg, he has developed a 100-word vocabulary and can identify 50 different objects, recognizing quantities up to six, distinguishing seven colors and five shapes, and understanding the difference between big and small, same and different, over and under. He can tell you, for instance, that corn is yellow even if there is no corn in view, as well as correctly select the square object among various shapes and identify it verbally. What this all means, stresses Pepperberg, is that Alex is not merely parroting but actually thinking; he bases answers on reason rather than instinct or mimicry.
Though the anecdotes are rich and Alex makes a lively subject, this is principally a research paper relying on intricate details and a prodigious amount of data (the notes and references alone run to 79 pages). This is not light reading, particularly for the layperson. Still, The Alex Studies manages to be more than a valuable contribution to science, for in providing ample evidence of our similarities to other creatures, the book ultimately calls into question the concept of human supremacy over the animal kingdom. Pepperberg's stated goal is "to provoke awareness in humans that animals have capacities that are far greater than we were once led to expect, and to remind us that all we need to examine these capacities are some enlightened research tools." She has provided such tools in this seminal work. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
Can a parrot understand complex concepts and mean what it says? Since the early 1900s, most studies on animal-human communication have focused on great apes and a few cetacean species. Birds were rarely used in similar studies on the grounds that they were merely talented mimics--that they were, after all, "birdbrains." Experiments performed primarily on pigeons in Skinner boxes demonstrated capacities inferior to those of mammals; these results were thought to reflect the capacities of all birds, despite evidence suggesting that species such as jays, crows, and parrots might be capable of more impressive cognitive feats.
Twenty years ago Irene Pepperberg set out to discover whether the results of the pigeon studies necessarily meant that other birds--particularly the large-brained, highly social parrots--were incapable of mastering complex cognitive concepts and the rudiments of referential speech. Her investigation and the bird at its center--a male Grey parrot named Alex--have since become almost as well known as their primate equivalents and no less a subject of fierce debate in the field of animal cognition. This book represents the long-awaited synthesis of the studies constituting one of the landmark experiments in modern comparative psychology.
Customer Reviews:
Alex the african grey! The Alex Studies by Dr Irene Pepperberg.......2007-10-10
This is a great book about how Alex came to be and how he became so smart. Dr Irene Pepperberg chose Alex as a young parrot and began teaching him language and to associate words with objects. Alex became very smart and could hold a pretty decent conversation. This book shows just how intelligent parrots are and they are more than just pets, they are our lifelong companions. The Alex Studies is an excellent read, I reccomend this book highly.
Schooling psittacines.......2007-08-16
What can a bird learn? Irene Pepperberg set out to find out. As with children, the best way to assess what has been learnt is to ask. Primarily for that reason, she chose birds capable of forming human words. An African Grey parrot, who she dubbed Alex [Avian Learning EXperiment], became the subject of her investigations. Earlier efforts in laboratories were unsatisfactory. Why should Mynahs, reputedly excellent mimics, fail to learn speech in laboratory conditions? When in homes with several people providing input, they chatter endlessly, almost to distraction. The solution, Pepperberg decided, was the intense social environment. To that end, she developed a training method that produced astonishing results.
This book thoroughly documents the author's methods and results, providing a fascinating account of the cognitive abilities of at least one psittacine species, the Grey Parrot. Incorporating a technique she calls M/R - for Model/Rival, Pepperberg would "teach" an assistant what she wished Alex to learn. The bird observed this, then was encouraged to emulate the learning experience. This meant the bird had to understand what was to be learned and use its innate abilities to achieve it. Speech was the first lessons, but things moved well beyond simple words quickly. Shapes, colours and materials were the next level, with Alex discriminating among them both singly and in groupings. The object was to understand what Alex could comprehend and act on. Alex also learned to differentiate - "larger", or "different" or, most significantly for a bird - "abscence". He could note when something was missing, naming the missing object. The method resulted in Alex's expressing his own needs and wants, even ending a training session by declaring he wished to quit.
Pepperberg's research findings are in direct contradiction to past scientific efforts. The book is therefore richly detailed with the methods used and was information was obtained. There are photographs of test object layouts, even stills from X-ray videos of how Alex forms his speech. She is clearly challenging the received wisdom of established opinion. She's careful to avoid terms like "consciousness" or even "intelligence", although the latter comes in for some discussion late in the book. She finds only one example of Alex's communication she thinks can be deemed "creative". Much more important, in her view, is that we need to understand previously under-evaluated cognitive capabilities in parrots. They are a long-lived and social species, conditions which lead to interaction among individuals and reinforced learning. Social interaction, combined with carefully devised teaching methods are essential to proper learning, whether with children, other primates or psittacines. The capacity is there, and we need to recognise it. The Alex studies clearly demonstrate that at least these psittacines are capable of far more than the simply mimicry we've long attributed to them. Human primacy in learning, once considered fundamental to our place in Nature, is clearly at an end.
Pepperberg's narrative is thoroughly detailed and supported by an equally thorough bibliography. The reading may be a bit of a slog for the novice reader. The citation method breaks up sentences, a common technique with ethography studies, but cumbersome to cope with. The method is in line with her concern for academic acceptance. She excuses the approach as not desiring "to overwhelm readers with facts and figures" [although there are still plenty of those] but to encourage an enlarged sensitivity to the abilities of non-human species. She has certainly accomplished that task, and admirably. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Brilliant work.......2007-04-13
The importance of Dr. Irene Pepperberg's work is much wider reaching than just talking parrots. This book chronicles the amazing studies she has done with Alex, her African Grey parrot in cognition and language acquistion. Discovering that Grey parrots have such abilities should make the threat to their habitat and the horror of illegal smuggling of these intelligent birds much more pressing and urgent to the public. That Dr. Pepperberg's techniques can also be applied to assisting children with learning difficulties adds to the benefits of these unique and startling discoveries. If you are interested in animal intelligence, especially if you have a Grey at home, you will be amazed by this book.
Thanks!.......2007-01-20
The book was in great condition and it arrived promptly. The price was also great- I've seen it for more than twice as much more elsewhere. Thanks for the pleasant transaction!
Excellent information, but ridiculously tough to read.......2005-03-08
The work that Irene Pepperberg and Alex have done is incredible, and this book would be fascinating if the "Notes" were included in the text and the references were footnoted at the end of the book or at the bottom of the page. While the use of APA style substantiates the credibiltiy of her research and increases the book's value as an intellectual property, it is difficult to find a complete sentence without multiple references cited in parentheses scattered throughout. This makes the normal "flow" of reading almost impossible, and unnecessarily compromises both enjoyment and ease of comprehension. Definitely read this book if you're interested, but keep the aspirin close for the headache you're bound to get while trying to sort out the legitimate text from the references.
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