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The Birds of Pandemonium: Life Among the Exotic and the Endangered Audiobook
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“Michele Raffin has made an important contribution to saving endangered birds, and her book is a fascinating and rarely seen glimpse behind the scenes. The joy she gets from her close relationships with these amazing animals and her outsized commitment to them comes through loud and clear in this engaging and joyful book.” —Dominick Dorsa, Curator of Birds, San Francisco Zoo
Each morning at first light, Michele Raffin awakens to the bewitching music that heralds another day at Pandemonium Aviaries—a symphony that swells from the most vocal of over 350 avian throats representing over 40 species. “It knocks me out, every day,” she admits.
Pandemonium Aviaries is a conservation organization dedicated to saving and breeding birds at the edge of extinction, including some of the largest populations of rare species in the world. And their behavior is even more fascinating than their glorious plumage or their songs. They fall in love, they mourn, they rejoice, they sacrifice, they have a sense of humor, they feel jealous, they invent, plot, cope, and sometimes they murder each other. As Raffin says, “They teach us volumes about the interrelationships of humans and animals.”
Their stories make up the heart of this book. There’s Sweetie, a tiny quail with an outsize personality; the inspiring Oscar, a Lady Gouldian finch who can’t fly but finds a way to reach the highest perches of his aviary to roost. The ecstatic reunion of a disabled Victoria crowned pigeon, Wing, and her brother, Coffee, is as wondrous as the silent kinship that develops between Amadeus, a one-legged turaco, and an autistic young visitor.
Ultimately, The Birds of Pandemonium is about one woman’s crusade to save precious lives, bird by bird, and offers insights into how following a passion can transform not only oneself but also the world.
“Delightful . . . full of wonderful accounts of bird behavior, demonstrating caring, learning, sociability, adaptability, and a will to live. Its appeal is ageless, her descriptions riveting, and her devotion to the birds remarkable.” —Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship
“A remarkable book. Reading about the birds of Pandemonium will make you laugh and cry; it will make you see more clearly the need to take care of our planet; and it will confirm that one person with a passion can make a difference.” —Jeff Corwin, nature conservationist and host, Animal Planet
“The Birds of Pandemonium touched me deeply . . . This book is about reconnecting with the nature of birds, and the nature of ourselves.” —Jon Young, author of What the Robin Knows
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“Raffin’s memoir shares her journeyfrom novice animal lover to knowledgeable conservation breeder in stand-alonechapters, with each one focusing on notable birds Raffin has cared for and whatthey taught her about aviculture and herself…As a bonus feature of theaudiobook, each chapter opens with a brief snippet of birdsong recorded at thesanctuary. Narrator Tamara Marston handles the many bird imitations well…[A] humorousand ecologically minded book. Recommended for all public library collections.”
— Library Journal (audio review)
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“Breezily written and briskly paced.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Captivating.”
— Entertainment Weekly -
“Charming, self-effacing, and extremely reverent.”
— New York Times -
“Raffin’s engaging account of living with and saving exotic endangered species has the power to enthrall and educate even the most resolute stay-at-home urbanites…Her stories about the interactions of these unique winged creatures remind us that we are human and we are not alone.”
— Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review -
“The Birds of Pandemonium does for rare birds what Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief did for rare orchids, Joy Adamson’s Born Free did for lions, and Jane Goodall did for chimpanzees and apes…With vibrant photographs of its spectacularly plumed lead characters, The Birds of Pandemonium is a rich suet, seeded with both hearty information and delectable flights of fancy.”
— NPR -
“A remarkable book. Reading about the birds of Pandemonium will make you laugh and cry; it will make you see more clearly the need to take care of our planet; and it will confirm that one person with a passion can make a difference.”
— Jeff Corwin, nature conservationist and host of Animal Planet -
“[An] anecdotal, entertaining memoir…The author emerges as a knowledgeable and, above all, endearing champion of animals, who practices what she preaches.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Avian ‘personalities’ predominate in the book, but there are human angles, too, such as how Raffin manages the ups and downs of her demanding calling, the funny family dynamics as she wheedles yet one more bird into the menagerie, and the backstory exposing the secretive ‘boys’ club of bird breeders with which she contends…Raffin’s self-deprecating humor endears.”
— Library Journal -
“A charming memoir about birds and the people who love them.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“A delightful account. Its appeal is ageless, her descriptions riveting, and her devotion to the birds remarkable.”
— Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me -
“Marston’s narration is clear and even as she describes the different birds under Raffin’s care, as well as Raffin’s family and how they came to work in the field of bird rescue and breeding. Marston herself provides brief vocal imitations of some of the birds. The audio production is also peppered with background sounds of bird song and chatty talking birds, allowing for aural glimpses of the colorful craziness one can imagine at Pandemonium.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month for October 2014
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About Michele Raffin
Michele Raffin was a high-tech executive, venture-capital consultant, and writer before deciding to devote her time to saving animals. Her books include Love That Lasts, The Good Nanny Book, and The Birds of Pandemonium. A lifelong animal lover, she was the cochair of the Board of Directors of a large humane society for ?ve years and served on the board of a companion bird rescue organization. Her passion for conservation and protection of the natural world is focused on saving bird species from extinction. Raffin holds degrees from Tufts University and Stanford University School of Business, and she has also won a gold medal at the Pan-American Masters’ weightlifting games.
About Tamara Marston
Tamara Marston has been an actor, singer, and director for more than thirty years. A career performer and musician, she has toured nationally with several groups and appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show and A&E’s Goodtime Café. Dividing her time between acting and singing gigs, choral conducting, music and stage directing, jingle and voice-over work, private and public teaching, and family, Tami feels very fortunate to make her living working in the arts.