Documents the journey of the author from casual observer of pigeons to advocate for their ethical treatment, a short text covering a wide range of experiences and insights that happened in the course of a year spent living with a prize-winning pigeon-racer. It focuses primarily on the many different ways that people relate to the birds, how different "fringes" mold their lives around our feathered frenemies: be it to pet them, race them, shoot them, "shoo" them, endorse them or feed them with shopping carts full of seed, feed on them, the list goes on. It contextualizes these people with how the rock dove affected society historically, namely the importance of homing pigeons from antiquity up to the 1st World War, as well as with the surprisingly quick- evolving tragic tale of the passenger pigeon. And of course there's an interview with Mike Tyson, how could you go without it? His bizarrely stoic tantrum is a clear highlight of the journey.

So it's informative, but beyond that it's also exciting and an unlikely document, certainly favored by the author's background. I really need to commend his composure when tackling the subject, both in how he didn't and did allow his experiences to resonate with him. Many a time he would traverse heaven and hell to reach the stem of a story. Several of the interviewees were extremely private people, with reason or without, and the tales of how he'd get the right connections to vouch for him so he could get even a chance to speak to these enigmas, those alone were a rollercoaster and a half. And the added danger of him interviewing some people in one chapter and potentially their mortal enemies in the next, some of whom lived out in the desert, with several guns at the ready... As a kid I shuddered at the realization that the Americans in Borat weren't actors. The feeling that this book gave was similar, but with more added awe. Blechman is a fine journalist.

So he'd reach the stem of a story, and then he'd wring the story out of that stem at all costs. He manifested his willpower when repressing his biases. Even talking to utter jerks prideful of deplorable deeds, he would assume the persona that would further the wringing, the Andrew Blechman to which they'd readily confide their most private sentiments. About pigeons of course. Although the book is far from impartial, it separates Blechman's viewpoint from those of the interviewees, and their perspective appears to be accurately represented. As people confided, you can see some of them dig even deeper holes for themselves, while others grabbed onto redemption like a vine over quicksand. That's how the book was strengthened by the author's ability to distance himself from the subjects in question, it broadened the journey in a way that personal investment wouldn't have allowed.

And now to how the book was strengthened by the author's personal investment into the subject in question. This is something that's left as a surprise of sorts at the end of the book, but it recontextualizes all that you had been reading up to that point: you don't know Blechman advocates for the ethical treatment of pigeons up until the epilogue. All in one go it is revealed that Blechman wasn't an impartial observer all along, he was actually being affected by what he learned, this wasn't an exercise in "these people are weird. Look at how weird these weirdos are", the writing of Pigeons... was inadvertently a journey of enlightenment. And the implication there is that it can be a journey of
enlightenment for you too as you read it.

I didn't really think of pigeons as disease-addled skyrats before reading the book, so I don't guarantee that it would make you view these fascinating creatures in a different light, especially considering that there's probably books about how rats aren't just disease-addled groundpigeons as well. But I can assure you that in the fast, cut-throat world of Dove Lit this book rises above the rest. ( )

A book about people who are passionate about pigeons. Love them, hate them. Breeders, sportsmen, activists, rescuers, chefs. Pigeons have a long history with man including doves that were sent from ships to find land, birds raised or hunted to be eaten in pies, and pigeons that delivered crucial messages during war. Then there are hobbyists: men who breed fancy pigeons for their colors, shapes and fantastic feathers, others involved in the dying sport of pigeon racing, or the clandestine pigeon shoots. Pushing a bit further beyond these obvious interests, the author also sought out famous people who loved pigeons (Queen Elizabeth, Mike Tyson), men whose livelihoods are built on deterring pigeons from hanging around buildings, and others who work in processing plants that sell pigeon meat to fine restaurants. Then there's the city ladies obsessed with feeding pigeons, those that furtively net pigeons to sell to the shoots, and animal-rights people who try to thwart them. Blechman finds out about them all, in the meantime sharing a wealth of pigeon lore. He claims that pigeons really don't spread disease, in spite of the mess they leave around, and that their current status as reviled "rats with wings" is relatively new; for a much longer time period pigeons have been appreciated as one of man's first domesticated animals. They can be birds of great stamina, natural athletes, and complete homebodies- racing pigeons, after all, are just speeding their way back home to their comforts and city pigeons like to hang around people because the pickings are easy. I learned a lot of interesting stuff from Pigeons, but sometimes wished it stuck a little closer to topic (more on the pigeons and less about the people) particularly the chapter about the famous boxer. It was all about how the author kept getting the runaround when trying for an interview, with a smattering of info he picked up on Tyson's pigeons. That part could have used some editing IMHO.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

I have to admit to a fondness for pigeons. While I don't feed them, I do keep a birdbath that the pigeons, the pigeons called doves, and lots of other birds use frequently. Pigeons are actually quite fun to watch and quite beautiful, so I wanted to learn more.

Be careful of what you wish for. It took me quite a long time to read this book because I couldn't handle more than a little at a time. It's incomprehensible what we've done to this maligned bird. Even those who profess to love them, but breed for their own visions of beauty and uniqueness, even those who race them, can be incredibly cruel.

Some of the fancy breeds have been so modified they can't eat normally or feed their babies, the babes can't even peck their ways out of their shells. “They certainly wouldn't survive in the wild, but then again, they're not bred to live in the wild. They're bred to be pretty to look at.” There are pigeons that roll while flying. One of the fanciers, when asked why they roll, says, “Because they're retarded, that's why. If it was a kid, you'd put a helmet on him and stick him in a padded room.”

There are the pigeon shoots, and the feral pigeons baited and netted to provide the shoots. The organizer of one of the shoots states, “It's not that we hate pigeons. We treat them well...until they get shot.” Right. And if one of the shot pigeons manages to live, it get stuffed in a garbage bag with the dead ones. The ones that fly farther are left to die a slower death.

These cruel acts involve a fewer number of birds than plain old urban warfare on them. The favored method seems to be poisoning them, and as a side effect, poison non-targeted creatures. It is only a short term semi-solution to the problem, and there are humane ways of controlling the pigeon population when it gets out of hand. But that isn't profitable for those whose wages depend on poisoning.

I've only touched on what all this informative book contains, and I do recommend reading it. But if you have a soul, some of it will make you wonder about humanity. ( )

This is a wonderful book about the most humble of city dwellers, the pigeon. Hated by many, and loved by few, the pigeon has an illustrious past that is quickly being forgotten - although some still try to champion it and bring it into the forefront of public consciousness. Pigeons have served alongside us in the military, been hunted for sport, been loving companions, and have carried our male for millennia. Without pigeons [b: The Origin of Species|22463|The Origin of Species|Charles Darwin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1298417570s/22463.jpg|481941] may not have been published, and these loyal beasts have provided entertainment for many working class fanciers for untold ages, racing them for sport and breeding them for the rarest of traits. Pigeons used to, in addition to all of this, also feed us cheaply until the chicken came to steal that prize.

What happened?

The pigeon serves an odd place in our habitat, somewhat akin to the rat but with a far more storied and respectable past. By learning about pigeons, we can learn about ourselves in much the same way rats teach us about our own habits. We can learn to love pigeons again, it seems, if only there weren't so many of them. European cities have begun to employ the humble dovecotes and to teach people not to overfeed the populations to much success. Might the same solutions work here? It's an interesting prospect, and one I'd love to see in place. I think a lot of the hatred towards pigeons is what we commonly see with urban animals; they're simply too common, so people take them for granted.

This book is a step in the right direction towards appreciating our feathered companions once more and finding a better way to coexist with them. ( )

Overall an interesting and accessible look at pigeons, and the culture and people around them that did better when it focused on the birds and less on the people.
In the end, I did learn a lot about pigeons, and the parts that actually deal with pigeons were really interesting. I had no idea the part they played in so much of history and culture. What I found less interesting was the odd assortment of characters the author spent so much time focusing on, and the racing. I got really tired of the racing storyline. ( )