Dr irene pepperberg describes her early childhood which set her on a course to demonstrate the cognitive abilities of african greys and her life long. Her book, alex and me, a new york times bestseller, describes life with her most famous subject. Even though it started off mentioning alex s death, dr. Oct 26, 2008 read an excerpt of her memoir, alex and me. A final evaluation of the importance of her work will probably depend on the success of these attempts to generalise it to other individuals. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence and formed a deep bond in the process 2008. Their work has forever changed the way we think about animals, as well as how we understand human nature. Rebecca the book begins with the death, then goes back to the beginning of irenes.
Dec 24, 2008 the third chapter of alex and me is where we start learning about dr. There are relatively few precious scenes about their relationship. Pepperberg and alex, an african grey parrot who proved. Alex was an african grey who helped prove to the world that having a bird. Nov 09, 2008 pepperberg has published dozens of scientific papers about alex s verbal, mathematical and cognitive abilities, noted david chandler, and the two have appeared on a wide variety of television. Im pretty sure most of you are familiar with the works of dr.
The text is written for the layperson though and is easy to understand, telling irene pepperbergs story as well as alexs. It recounts her thirtyyear experiment with an african grey parrot named alex short for avian learning experiment. After all, the alex in question was a wonderfully talkative and gifted. Alex and me tells the surprisingly moving story of a 30 year professional relationship, scientific experiment, and dare i say friendship between alex the parrot and. Twenty years ago, irene pepperberg set out to discover whether largebrained, highly social parrots were capable of mastering complex cognitive concepts and the rudiments of referential speech. Pepperberg, fell in love with birds as a lonely, shy, sad and silent little girl. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligenceand formed a deep bond in the process by dr irene pepperberg i found the book both remarkable and sad. She did continue the work, despite the struggles for recognition and funding, until alex blew our beliefs about avian cognition out of the water, this book. Pepperberg, who teaches animal cognition, has previously documented the results of her 30year relationship with alex in the alex studies. So many good moments in the book, some sad, and some hilarious. The text is written for the layperson though and is easy to understand, telling irene pepperberg s story as well as alex s. Irene pepperberg has written a book about her work of three decades with the african grey parrot alex, who died unexepectedly in. Pepperberg starts her book with her lonely childhood in new york city. The clever hans effect did not apply, she argued, as alex would talk to anyone, not just to her.
Irene pepperberg the moth the art and craft of storytelling. Pepperberg s story is every bit as amazing as alex s. This story of alex, a famous african grey parrot, documents his thirtyyear relationship with his trainer and the ways in which his life has changed scientific understanding about language and thought. Alex and me book irene pepperberg alex was a parrot. Its a book i highly, highly recommend all bird owners and lovers read. Pepperbergs training method and get a glimpse into the very beginning of alexs path to stardom. Pick up the key ideas in the book with this quick summary. Jul 03, 2009 a big part of this book centered on the linguistic and cognitive abilities of alex, and as someone who studied linguistics in college that really appealed to me. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence and formed a deep bond. Alex and me by irene m pepperberg animal friendship bird parrot. Pepperberg made the journey of her relationship with him so realistic that it almost felt like the brainy bird died yet again or that until then he was still alive. On september 6, 2007, an african grey parrot named alex died prematurely at age thirtyone.
While this book inevitably covers some of the same ground, it is a moving tribute that beautifully evokes the struggles, the initial triumphs, the setbacks, the unexpected and often stunning achievements. Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our affiliate program. Great science story but not a great book okay, alex and dr. Irene pepperberg, who reveals the amazing story of how she, along with her parrot alex, smashed scientific boundaries with their experiments and research on avian learning, speech and cognition. He understood concepts like bigger or smaller, same or.
The alex studies goodreads meet your next favorite book. Alex and me ebook epubpdfprcmobiazw3 free kindle books. 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. A research scientist forms a 30year bond with an unlikely subject. Alex and me on september 6, 2007, an african grey parrot named alex died prematurely at age thirtyone. From work with the single subject alex, pepperberg and her colleagues have gone on to study additional african grey parrots, and also parrots of other species.
The first label that she began to teach alex was paper and she began to teach him to link the label word with the object. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal. As pepperberg recalls in her memoir alex and me, the man picked up a net, opened the cage door. 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. Alexs accomplishments are the kind of jawdropping items youll find yourself sharing with friends and family. Bird and animal lovers and anyone fascinated by language acquisition and learning processes will especially enjoy alex and his book. And so i write the story of a particular birds life, but it must begin at the end. Review copy provided by the publisher and tlc book tours. With creative, intuitivelydevised methodology, irene was able to shatter ideas of animal intelligence. Cognitive and communicative abilities of grey parrots 2000, but it also includes a few comments on dr. Pepperberg and her colleagues sought to show that alex could differentiate meaning and syntax, so that his use of vocal. It goes beyond that to illuminate the special bond between scientist and parrot. Irene pepperberg, an adjunct associate professor at brandeis university and research asso.
Irene pepperberg, an adjunct associate professor at brandeis university and research associate and lecturer at harvard, studies cognition and communication in grey parrots. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligenceand formed a deep bond in the process irene pepperberg harper collins, oct 28, 2008 pets 240 pages. How a scientist and a parrot uncovered a hidden world of animal intelligence and formed a deep bond in the process. She, along with her team of researchers, taught the bird not only to talk but also to understand language and. What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in alex s case, headline news. I initially planned to only read 1 of the books, but this one seemed. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of. Pepperberg has published dozens of scientific papers about alexs. Jun 30, 2009 twenty years ago irene pepperberg set out to discover whether the results of the pigeon studies necessarily meant that other birdsparticularly the largebrained, highly social parrotswere incapable of mastering complex cognitive concepts and the rudiments of referential speech. Pepperberg gives the general reader, older teens included, a peek into a researchers life and has written a short, happy pageturner. A big part of this book centered on the linguistic and cognitive abilities of alex, and as someone who studied linguistics in college that really appealed to me. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence and formed a deep bond in the process is a 2008 memoir by american animalintelligence researcher irene pepperberg. Oct 27, 2017 the ending of the book will make any pet lover emotional as it did to me, thats how the narration is.
How much impact could a onepound ball of feathers have on the world. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligenceand formed a deep bond in the process paperback illustrated, september 1, 2009 by irene pepperberg author 1,237 ratings. Aug 31, 2009 when alex died in september 2007, his last words to pepperberg were you be good. How a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligenceand formed a deep bond in the process irene pepperberg, 2008 harpercollins 240 pp. Alex may 1976 6 september 2007 was a grey parrot and the subject of a thirtyyear experiment by animal psychologist irene pepperberg, initially at the university of arizona and later at harvard university and brandeis university. Sep 16, 2020 bummed you missed out on a personalized autograph by dr. Pepperberg is adjunct professor at the department of psychology at. Pepperberg countered critics claims that alex had been taught a script by explaining that the controls and tests she used made it impossible for him simply to recite words when she asked questions. Pepperbergs book movingly combines the scientific detail of a.
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