Publisher Description
In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research— the distant laboratories of Barbados, the bowerbird habitats of Australia, and the ravaged mid-Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy—Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are revolutionizing our view of what it means to be intelligent.
Beyond highlighting how birds use their unique genius in technical ways, Ackerman points out the impressive social smarts of birds. They deceive and manipulate. They display a strong sense of fairness. They play tug-of-war. They cultivate social networks. They teach their young. They alert one another to danger. They may even grieve.
Ackerman delivers an extraordinary story that will both give readers a new appreciation for the exceptional talents of birds and let them discover what birds can reveal about our changing world. The Genius of Birds richly celebrates the triumphs of these surprising and fiercely intelligent creatures.
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“Gloriously provocative and highly entertaining…A masterly survey of research in the last two decades that has produced a revolution in our understanding of bird cognition…It is at once a book of knowledge but also a work of wonder and an affirmation of the astonishing complexity of our world.”
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Wall Street Journal
About Jennifer Ackerman
Jennifer Ackerman has been writing about science and nature for more than three decades. The Genius of Birds was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2016 by the Wall Street Journal, a Best Science Book by NPR’s Science Friday, and a Nature Book of the Year by the Sunday Times (London). The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think was a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Her articles and essays have appeared in National Geographic, the New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, and many other publications. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship in Nonfiction.
About Margaret Strom
Margaret Strom, a New York–trained actress, graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and holds both BA and MA degrees in theater, as well as an MS degree in educational administration and supervision. She has narrated more than five hundred books for the Library of Congress, and is the voice of business, private, nonprofit, medical, and government industrials and commercials.