Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process Audiobook

Quotes

• “Everybody who loves animals should read this book. Irene Pepperberg has done pioneering work on communication between people and animals. Alex has proved to the world that birds are much smarter than people think.”

  — Temple Grandin, New York Times bestselling author of Animals in Translation

• “To anyone who’s dreamed of talking with the animals, Dr. Doolittle style, Alex was a revelation…This ornery reviewer tried to resist Alex’s charms on principle. But his achievements got the better of me…Alex was a celebrity, and this book will surely please his legions of fans.”

  — New York Times Book Review

• “[Pepperberg’s] book movingly combines the scientific detail of a researcher...with the affectionate understanding that children instinctively possess.”  

  — New York Times

• “Everyone loves a love story, especially if it involves an animal...Readers interested in how a scientist methodically goes about gathering data will find Alex & Me an intriguing look behind the scenes. But readers who are looking for a touching little love story get the better deal here. Even a cold-hearted birdbrain might find himself tearing up when the end finally comes.”

  — USA Today

• “A fascinating look at animal intelligence, Pepperberg’s tale is also a love story between beings who sometimes ‘squabble like an old married couple’ but whose bond broke only with Alex’s death at thirty-one in 2007. Irresistible.” 

  — People

• “Alex & Me may bring you to tears...but it will also charm and amaze you.”

  — Christian Science Monitor

• “Alex & Me is a wonderful read about the close and enduring bonds that developed between a very bright bird and a very motivated researcher during a long-term collaboration...Irene Pepperberg humanizes science, and her dear friend Alex shows that being called a birdbrain is indeed a compliment of the highest order.”

  — Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals, Animals Matter, and Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals

• “This is a brave book...I was fascinated to read the anecdotes about the intellectual capacity of parents, but the best part of Alex & Me is the story of their friendship.”

  — Mark Bittner, author of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

• “A wonderful, touching love story that combines humor, history, intimacy, philosophy, and ground-breaking science; a thoroughly delightful read about the thirty-year relationship of Irene and Alex.”

  — Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me

• “Sometimes a single individual changes the world, even if it is a parrot. Together with his tutor, Irene Pepperberg, Alex systematically destroyed the notion—the way he destroyed so many other things—that all birds can do is mimic human language. Alex clearly has a mind of his own, and a heart to match, as explained in this touching account of scientific perseverance and mutual attachment. Our notion of what a bird is has forever been changed.”

  — Frans de Waal, author of Our Inner Ape

• “This book...is 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—including her struggles to gain recognition for her research—with more intimate scenes of life with Alex than she was able to present in her earlier work, creating a story that scientists and laypeople can equally enjoy, if they can all keep from crying over Alex’s untimely death.”

  — Publishers Weekly

• “In this highly readable, anecdotal book, Pepperberg describes the training techniques she and her assistants used with Alex, the breakthroughs he made, and his growing fame as word began to spread about the brainy parrot who could differentiate colors, count, and describe objects accurately and in human language.”

  — Booklist