bookbirder's review
5.0
Through laughter and tears, I kept turning the pages of this book to find out more about Irene Pepperberg's adventures with Alex. I generally keep my emotions to myself while reading, but in this case found it impossible to do so.
Do not let Pepperberg's science credentials deter you from reading this book. The science aspects of the studies are kept minimized and easy to understand. I would give a better estimate, but the storyline flowed so smoothly and was such quick reading that everything is now merged in my brain.
I loved every aspect about this book aside from the number of times that Alex's brain was referred to as walnut-sized, though I am slightly biased as somebody who has read more recent books about avian intelligence.
Do not let Pepperberg's science credentials deter you from reading this book. The science aspects of the studies are kept minimized and easy to understand. I would give a better estimate, but the storyline flowed so smoothly and was such quick reading that everything is now merged in my brain.
I loved every aspect about this book aside from the number of times that Alex's brain was referred to as walnut-sized, though I am slightly biased as somebody who has read more recent books about avian intelligence.
kandicez's review
3.0
Let me start by saying I loved reading about Alex. From the title you would expect that most of the book would actually be about Alex, but you would be wrong. Much of the book is about Irene and Irene's research, troubles, relationships, etc. I simply didn't care about Irene. I wanted more Alex!
itsellie's review against another edition
3.0
What I Liked
- I enjoyed reading about Irene's early life. I found her childhood stories very endearing and relatable. The fascination with mundane things and the way children who grow up with electronic entertainment find fun in anything is so reminiscent of my childhood. Her chronic shyness is another thing I really related to. I know for many people this seems silly and kids are teased for this but I think it's something that more people should learn how to handle. I find it important for a parent to help their child in learning how to communicate properly because it can be really hard for some people. I remember crying when my mom would make be go ask an employee for napkins. I liked seeing this handled in a serious way.
- I liked reading about Irene's education. Science is a big passion of mine, especially chemistry because that's what made me fall in love with science. I love hearing others talk about their passions but I do wish that she was a little more detailed about that part of her life.
- Birds are my favorite animal and surprisingly this is the first bird focused book I've ever picked up. I loved following Alex's journey and and learning about all the things he accomplished. He has such an endearing personality and and that was really just the best part of this story.
What I Disliked
- The writing was by far the weakest part of the book. The book starts with the author going through the many condolences she has received after Alex's death. I went into this book knowing nothing about Alex, therefore these words meant very little to me. That part of the book would have served better to go at the end once the reader has built up an emotional connection to Alex. The word choice was the biggest thing that was off about the writing. I know that sounds like a really nitpicky thing but it was so 'in your face' that it was a little hard to ignore. There were so many times when I thought something could have been said better and that is not really a thing I watch out for when I read. Sometimes Irene was trying to make a point and she just outright said it when leaving it implied would have made a much bigger impact. But by far the worst part to read were her notes on Alex's behavior. She is a scientist and for the life of me I can't comprehend why her notes were so unprofessional. She would write things like "Alex was stupid today" as though the bird's intelligence was something that varied day to day. I really disliked it.
- Now this is a little unrelated to the book itself but I felt a little sad for Alex. Because Irene's findings were for the most off based on her work with Alex, the poor bird had to do a task over and over for it to be regarded in any way as significant. Alex had a lot of companionship from all the people who worked with him so I doubt it was too big of a deal. However I can't help thinking about how horrible it would have been for him if Irene were his only trainer.
Overall I think this book served it's purpose of telling the story of Alex & Irene. I think this is a perfectly enjoyable read if you can get by the writing style. I've seen a lot of reviews also mention that they didn't like Irene very much because she was too negative and acted like the whole world was against her. I don't get those vibes from her. It's very hard for scientists to get the financial backing they would need to really make as big of a breakthrough as they want. I think it's quite natural to express frustration when you are looking for the resources that will make people take you seriously but no one will give you them because they don't take you seriously.
Written: 12/02/2020
Age: 18
- I enjoyed reading about Irene's early life. I found her childhood stories very endearing and relatable. The fascination with mundane things and the way children who grow up with electronic entertainment find fun in anything is so reminiscent of my childhood. Her chronic shyness is another thing I really related to. I know for many people this seems silly and kids are teased for this but I think it's something that more people should learn how to handle. I find it important for a parent to help their child in learning how to communicate properly because it can be really hard for some people. I remember crying when my mom would make be go ask an employee for napkins. I liked seeing this handled in a serious way.
- I liked reading about Irene's education. Science is a big passion of mine, especially chemistry because that's what made me fall in love with science. I love hearing others talk about their passions but I do wish that she was a little more detailed about that part of her life.
- Birds are my favorite animal and surprisingly this is the first bird focused book I've ever picked up. I loved following Alex's journey and and learning about all the things he accomplished. He has such an endearing personality and and that was really just the best part of this story.
What I Disliked
- The writing was by far the weakest part of the book. The book starts with the author going through the many condolences she has received after Alex's death. I went into this book knowing nothing about Alex, therefore these words meant very little to me. That part of the book would have served better to go at the end once the reader has built up an emotional connection to Alex. The word choice was the biggest thing that was off about the writing. I know that sounds like a really nitpicky thing but it was so 'in your face' that it was a little hard to ignore. There were so many times when I thought something could have been said better and that is not really a thing I watch out for when I read. Sometimes Irene was trying to make a point and she just outright said it when leaving it implied would have made a much bigger impact. But by far the worst part to read were her notes on Alex's behavior. She is a scientist and for the life of me I can't comprehend why her notes were so unprofessional. She would write things like "Alex was stupid today" as though the bird's intelligence was something that varied day to day. I really disliked it.
- Now this is a little unrelated to the book itself but I felt a little sad for Alex. Because Irene's findings were for the most off based on her work with Alex, the poor bird had to do a task over and over for it to be regarded in any way as significant. Alex had a lot of companionship from all the people who worked with him so I doubt it was too big of a deal. However I can't help thinking about how horrible it would have been for him if Irene were his only trainer.
Overall I think this book served it's purpose of telling the story of Alex & Irene. I think this is a perfectly enjoyable read if you can get by the writing style. I've seen a lot of reviews also mention that they didn't like Irene very much because she was too negative and acted like the whole world was against her. I don't get those vibes from her. It's very hard for scientists to get the financial backing they would need to really make as big of a breakthrough as they want. I think it's quite natural to express frustration when you are looking for the resources that will make people take you seriously but no one will give you them because they don't take you seriously.
Written: 12/02/2020
Age: 18
smemmott's review
2.0
I had incorrect expectations for this book. I was hoping for more systematic information about what Pepperberg's studies of Alex (and a few other parrots) showed about animal intelligence and language. The anecdotes about Alex's training and examples of his use of words and apparent understanding of certain concepts were interesting. But I wasn't interested in the tales of the author's career difficulties, and in end, I was mostly unmoved by the story of her emotional connection to the bird. The opening chapter, about the media reaction to Alex's death, really didn't work for me. I guess she wanted to demonstrate how many people were interested in his story, but to me it seemed like name-dropping, with an odd focus on the prestige of the publications that wrote about Alex.
melissapalmer404's review against another edition
4.0
Book #56 Read in 2018
Alex and Me by Irene Pepperberg
This book details the work that a scientist did with an African Grey parrot. Alex was able to speak, identify colors and shapes, add etc. It showed that even a bird and scientist could share a strong bond. I read this book on my Kindle.
Alex and Me by Irene Pepperberg
This book details the work that a scientist did with an African Grey parrot. Alex was able to speak, identify colors and shapes, add etc. It showed that even a bird and scientist could share a strong bond. I read this book on my Kindle.
tobyyy's review
3.0
2.5
Ugh.
Okay. I got this book from my African Grey's previous owners, and prior to adopting my fabulous featherbutt, I had heard about Alex and Irene Pepperberg. I really had high hopes for this book. Seriously.
But really the entire thing went THUNK. Resoundingly.
The book started with talking about Alex's death and how Irene finally was allowing herself to feel emotions related to Alex that she didn't permit herself to feel when he was alive. As the daughter and sister of two PhD level scientists, I understand that as a scientist Irene felt she had to remain objective (because if not, well, don't many parents think their child is the smartest, the brightest, the best? The same could have occurred with Alex -- or at least be hinted at, if Irene had permitted herself to obviously become emotionally attached to Alex, then her objectivity and integrity as a scientist would've been called into question).
But I still don't think the book should've started out with Alex's death and the discussion about his obituaries and related stuff. It seemed so out of place.
I also understand that Pepperberg felt she needed to prove herself in the world of science, because in the 60s and 70s, women weren't really in the scientific field much at all. But her need to prove herself as a "real scientist" who was studying something that was "actually important" was over the top in this book and did become off-putting.
Also, she includes some journal entries from her time spent working with Alex. One of them is "Alex is being incredibly stupid today!" I was reading other reviews of the book, and this was brought up as -- why didn't she view it more as animals have moods too, and that if an animal is misbehaving it's more the fault of the trainer than the animal. But the thing is -- you have to remember that the studies in animal behavior have increased in leaps and bounds in the past 15-20 years. During most of the time Irene was working with Alex, people did think that animals were just operating on instinct and little more, and that there weren't specific languages with which animals communicated to each other (from a linguistic perspective -- rather it was thought that they functioned as automatons, controlled by hormones and other "natural" means of influencing behavior). And also, honestly? I think Irene edited out some of her journal entries. I'm kind of suspecting that there was more in that entry (the "Alex is being incredibly stupid today!" one, as well as others) that included more information and possibly stronger language than "stupid." But that might just be me. :)
Anyway, I wanted to read more about Alex, and less about Irene. Alex should've been the star of this book, but he wasn't, not really, and that makes me sad. Also, the last chapter finished with him dying, and she took him to have an autopsy done... and we never find out what killed him 20 years prematurely. I WANNA KNOW! (And granted, I could Google it, but it's something the book should have included...)
I'd like to read a book by Pepperberg now, that some years have passed since Alex's death, to see if she'd write any differently.
Ugh.
Okay. I got this book from my African Grey's previous owners, and prior to adopting my fabulous featherbutt, I had heard about Alex and Irene Pepperberg. I really had high hopes for this book. Seriously.
But really the entire thing went THUNK. Resoundingly.
The book started with talking about Alex's death and how Irene finally was allowing herself to feel emotions related to Alex that she didn't permit herself to feel when he was alive. As the daughter and sister of two PhD level scientists, I understand that as a scientist Irene felt she had to remain objective (because if not, well, don't many parents think their child is the smartest, the brightest, the best? The same could have occurred with Alex -- or at least be hinted at, if Irene had permitted herself to obviously become emotionally attached to Alex, then her objectivity and integrity as a scientist would've been called into question).
But I still don't think the book should've started out with Alex's death and the discussion about his obituaries and related stuff. It seemed so out of place.
I also understand that Pepperberg felt she needed to prove herself in the world of science, because in the 60s and 70s, women weren't really in the scientific field much at all. But her need to prove herself as a "real scientist" who was studying something that was "actually important" was over the top in this book and did become off-putting.
Also, she includes some journal entries from her time spent working with Alex. One of them is "Alex is being incredibly stupid today!" I was reading other reviews of the book, and this was brought up as -- why didn't she view it more as animals have moods too, and that if an animal is misbehaving it's more the fault of the trainer than the animal. But the thing is -- you have to remember that the studies in animal behavior have increased in leaps and bounds in the past 15-20 years. During most of the time Irene was working with Alex, people did think that animals were just operating on instinct and little more, and that there weren't specific languages with which animals communicated to each other (from a linguistic perspective -- rather it was thought that they functioned as automatons, controlled by hormones and other "natural" means of influencing behavior). And also, honestly? I think Irene edited out some of her journal entries. I'm kind of suspecting that there was more in that entry (the "Alex is being incredibly stupid today!" one, as well as others) that included more information and possibly stronger language than "stupid." But that might just be me. :)
Anyway, I wanted to read more about Alex, and less about Irene. Alex should've been the star of this book, but he wasn't, not really, and that makes me sad. Also, the last chapter finished with him dying, and she took him to have an autopsy done... and we never find out what killed him 20 years prematurely. I WANNA KNOW! (And granted, I could Google it, but it's something the book should have included...)
I'd like to read a book by Pepperberg now, that some years have passed since Alex's death, to see if she'd write any differently.
alcyon_alcyon's review
3.0
Too much professor and not enough bird. More about her academic woes than I was really looking for, and a sense that she didn't think the reader could handle the real gritty science that she was apparently doing with the parrots. Just not top-notch memoir or science writing, alas. But yes, it did make me want to go to You Tube for videos of Alex doing his stuff.
surelyinthefountain's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Reading this book is a little like reading a eulogy. Lots of funny and poignant stories about the parrot Alex, a participant in early studies about animal intelligence. Pepperberg's recollections about her earlier education and the misogyny she encountered in non-biological fields of science, esp. theoretical science, echo even 50-60 years later. I will say, I was side-eying some of her decisions lol. The book is definitely at its best when it's recounting stories about the bird -- the cheeky, flamboyantly gay, huge flirt of a bird. An absolute character, and this book succeeds in making you miss him and feel the loss and to think about your own place in/relationship to the natural world.