Pigeons :The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird

3.82 ( 1,028 Ratings by Goodreads)
Pigeons

Pigeons :The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird

3.82 (1,028 Ratings by Goodreads)
paperback
Published: 22 November, 2007
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Description

Pigeons have been worshipped as fertility goddesses and revered as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they’ve been used as crucial communicators in war by every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to the United States and are credited with saving thousands of lives. Charles Darwin relied heavily on pigeons to help formulate and support his theory of evolution. Yet today they are reviled as “rats with wings.” Author Andrew D. Blechman traveled across the United States and Europe to meet with pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters in a quest to find out how we came to misunderstand one of mankind’s most helpful and steadfast companions. Pigeons captures a Brooklyn man’s quest to win the Main Event (the pigeon world’s equivalent of the Kentucky Derby), as well as a convention dedicated to breeding the perfect bird. Blechman participates in a live pigeon shoot where entrants pay $150; he tracks down Mike Tyson, the nation’s most famous pigeon lover; he spends time with Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Pigeon Handler; and he sheds light on a radical “pro-pigeon underground’ in New York City. In Pigeons, Blechman tells for the first time the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird.

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More Details

Type Book
ISBN13 9780802143280
ISBN10 0802143288
Number Of Pages 256
Item Weight 298 g
Publisher / Reseller Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
Format paperback
Edition First Trade Paper Edition
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