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Alex & Me
Alex & Me
Alex & Me
Audiobook5 hours

Alex & Me

Written by Irene Pepperberg

Narrated by Julia Gibson

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

New York Times Bestseller

The remarkable true story of an extraordinary relationship between psychologist Irene M. Pepperberg and Alex, an African Grey parrot who proved scientists and accepted wisdom wrong by demonstrating an astonishing ability to communicate and understand complex ideas.

"You be good. I love you," were Alex's final words to his owner, research scientist Irene Pepperberg, before his premature death at age thirty-one on September 6, 2007. An African Grey parrot, Alex had a brain the size of a shelled walnut, yet he could add, sound out words, understand concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none, and he disproved the widely accepted idea that birds possess no potential for language or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence.

Alex & Me is the incredible story of an amazing, irascible parrot and his best friend who stayed together through thick and thin for thirty years—the astonishing, moving, and unforgettable story of a landmark scientific achievement and a beautiful relationship.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateOct 28, 2008
ISBN9780061769344
Alex & Me
Author

Irene Pepperberg

Irene M. Pepperberg is an associate research professor at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and teaches animal cognition at Harvard University. She is head of the Alex Foundation and author of The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots.

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Reviews for Alex & Me

Rating: 4.117647058823529 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Alex the African Grey parrot was justifiably famous in the scientific community. And when he died, unexpectedly, at a young age for a parrot, his obituary ran in the biggest newspapers and magazines of our time, highlighting his importance in our understanding of language formation and acquisition and in just far how our previous assumptions about human language were incorrect.Starting with Alex's death and the numbness Pepperberg, the scientist who worked with Alex for more than 30 years, felt afterwards, the narrative then shifts backwards in time to Pepperberg's childhood love of birds, her marriage, and education. And then Alex enters the story. A young bird whom Pepperberg chooses randomly to be the subject of her biological language studies. She makes the conscious decision not to bond too closely with Alex in order to maintain a needed distance in training and to ensure that her scientific results were unquestionable.This memoir of Alex, his accomplishments, and the training he underwent to learn to speak and comprehend as well as he did is very definitely written for the lay reader. Pepperberg doesn't go into great depth about the training or the conclusions as a result of Alex's abilities but she does discuss them superficially. Instead she describes a parrot who is a major personality in his own right, transcribing bits of her notes detailing when Alex was intractable or uncommunicative or teasing. She details his accomplishments and the various labs in which he lived.What she doesn't capture well though, is the great love that she must have felt for this smart, frustrating, amazing, challenging creature. And that is too bad, whether it is in an effort to maintain her original stance that she wasn't too attached to Alex so that her results remain scientifically significant or because she just couldn't open up about the emotional devastation she felt, because more transparency about that bond would have made this a stronger book. As it stands, it was an interesting and quick read even if, as an animal lover, I was already convinced that our critters have a lot more intelligence than we give them credit for. I do remember hearing about Alex after his death and I am glad that I had the chance to read this book.Thanks to Trish from TLC Book Tours for sending me a review copy of this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I didn't "really like it" because it is all that good a book. I really liked it because it was a really good story. I've known of Alex and seen him in action and loved him from afar. I also have had the privilege of living with a parrot, a Yellow-Naped Amazon named Barney.
    No bird lover can resist crying and smiling through it. It is a very special book about a very special kind of friendship.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had read the obituary of Alex, an African grey parrot, in an anthology of Economist obituaries, but didn't know much beyond that. In this memoir, the scientist who trained Alex (an acronym for Avian Learning EXperiment) tells their story. Without getting too technical, the author tells about how she did research -- often with minimal funding and without much support from the scientific community -- that changed the way the world looks at "bird brains." This is a short book, with large type, a quick read. It's simple enough to be read by precocious eight-year-olds, but this adult didn't find it altogether satisfying. It will be interesting to see what kind of discussion it engenders at our non-fiction group.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was expecting a more heart-wrenching story, less about scientific facts and more about Irene's bond with Alex. Instead it seemed like a bunch of little snippets of things Alex could do with some funny emotional things in-between. I enjoyed it, but the book did not meet my expectations. This is not what I expected from reading the synopsis on the back.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is Irene Pepperberg's moving tribute to Alex, the African Grey parrot that she worked with for thirty years, and whose linguistic and mental abilities helped upset assumptions about animal cognition. Pepperberg does hit the high points of her research results, but readers who are really interested in the science of their work should read her 2000 book The Alex Studies. Pepperberg chronicles her life, and the book is also interesting for its look at the life of a researcher and professor: it can be quite stressful, having to constantly be searching for grants and a new job, when one doesn't get tenure. When one is doing edgy research that contradicts long-held assumptions, it only becomes harder. The human-bird interactions are both fascinating and amusing. Alex knew what he wanted, and intended to make sure that his humans gave it to him. He would refuse to work when bored, demand treats whether or not it was convenient, and generally attempt to make it clear that he was top bird, a position perhaps exceeding top person. It was certainly eye-opening for me: I had no real appreciation of the personality and intelligence of birds. I was left with a question: was Alex unusual, even unique? But I suppose that I should take my own advice and read the Alex Studies. Particularly interesting for people with an interest in human-animal interactions, birds, and linguistics.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Thanks to Pepperberg readers have been given a wonderful story (and study) of how an animal, most especially one who was thought to only mimic, was capable of "sophisticated information processing - thinking." Alex was a remarkable birdbrain.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.5 starsIrene Pepperberg was educated as a chemist, but she decided to study parrots and how they are able to communicate with people. She fought for a lab and a place to do her research (with a lot of obstacles put in her way). She found Alex, an African Gray Parrot, to train and study. She tried to keep a scientific distance from Alex, but she fell in love with him, anyway. He died early (at age 31), and he had so much potential to learn so much more and to prove to the scientists who’d come before, who didn’t believe that an animal could think, that they might be wrong. This was really, really good. I laughed and cried, right from the start of the book. The only thing I was disappointed in was at the end – I don’t think she ever said how he died, and I was wondering about the other parrots that she had brought in to train. Whatever happened to them? I assume she continued her work with them, as well, but she never did say. Overall, though, well worth the read, certainly for anyone who likes animals of any kind.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Book CoverIn this touching and eye-opening memoir, Irene Pepperberg reflects on the three decades she spent both teaching and bonding with the amazing African Grey Parrot, Alex. Pepperberg, a life-long bird lover, describes Alex's life in great detail, from the nervous first days of Alex's homecoming to the gradual instruction into the cognitive tasks that eventually become his hallmark. Alex is a bird like no other and shows that for a bird with a brain the size of a shelled walnut, being a bird brain is not such a bad thing. In his amazing ability to label objects, his ability to add and his stunning demonstration of expressing the concept of zero, he begins to show the world at large that he is indeed an exceptional animal. This in turn begins to change the way that scientists and the average population view the intelligence and capability of animals in general. Along the way, Alex becomes a cultural icon and a much loved celebrity. But Alex's story is not only filled with his remarkable accomplishments, it is also full of his particular brand of humor and the displays of independence that truly made Alex one of a kind. Both riotously funny and blindingly sad, Alex & Me takes a peek into the life of a truly exceptional bird and the woman who shared and celebrated his life.I love animal books, so I was really delighted to get a chance to read Alex & Me. I had previously seen Alex and Irene on television and thought that he was a simply amazing bird. But until reading the book, I had no idea just how amazing he was. From the very beginning of the book, the stage was set for Alex to come along and wow me, which he did. But the parts of the book I really enjoyed the most were the parts where Alex shot from the hip and became a comic genius. Like the time he told a very upset Irene to "Calm down," or when, failing to receive a treat after competing a task successfully, he phonetically spells out the name of the treat that he wants. Or the times when he admonishes another bird in the lab to speak more clearly. There were lots of really great moments like that in the book, and as I read it became harder and harder for me to see Alex as just a trained animal and easier for me to see him as a very intelligent and sentient creature of nature.A lot of the page space in this book was given to describing the experiments that Pepperburg was working on with Alex. I thought this was interesting because it really highlighted the methodology and inventiveness of what Alex was being taught and compared it to the tests that had previously been run by other animal behaviorists. I was also surprised to discover that Alex always surpassed what was expected of him and that he sometimes taught himself new concepts. Though Pepperberg worked with several other birds, and speaks about them in this book, it is clear that Alex was her greatest success and the star of the show.The book also explores some of the problems that Pepperburg had securing funding and lab space for her work with Alex, and her frequent moves across country in her attempts to find the right place for the continuation of her work. I was particularly fond of her descriptions of her stint at The Lab at MIT, a sort of geeky technological warehouse that hosted a smorgasbord of studies and a host of inventive departments.Though most of the book was very informative and funny, the first sections deal with Pepperburg's tremendous grief at Alex's unexpected death, which occurred on September 6, 2007, and the huge public outpouring that the announcement of Alex's passing received. I think that it was very clever to start the book off this way, because it immediately drew me into Alex's story and really humanized him for me. It was also astonishing to see how much support flooded in for Pepperberg. Some people even included testimonials about how seeing Alex perform his wonderful feats had changed their lives in some way.One thing that was very interesting was the fact that early in the book, Pepperberg mentions how she had really wanted to attempt to limit the personal bonding that she and Alex shared. She had been afraid it would taint the work she was doing with him and their attachment to each other would not enable her to see him in an objective light. I find this kind of funny, because it is clear throughout the book that Alex is not just another project to Pepperberg, and that despite her attempts, she and Alex had formed a very unique and special relationship that went way beyond anything that I have ever known with even my most beloved pets.I really enjoyed this book and think it's a must-read for people who love animal stories. I have to admit that I laughed out loud a lot while reading this book, both at Alex's cleverness and at his inventiveness. It makes me sad to realize he is gone and that Pepperberg lost such a close companion and friend. The matter-of-fact tone of the writing coupled with the extraordinary story it captured was really a winner for me, as I think it would be for may others. A greatly engaging read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Irene Pepperberg is a scientist so she has two strikes against her. She works in a profession that has limited respect for women and she does research on animal intelligence when much of her fellow scientists not to mention humans in general remain stuck in the old idea that animals act purely on instinct and are rather like warm blooded robots rather than sentient, intelligent creatures. Pepperberg is ambitious, intelligent, articulate and rather emotionally cold. Alex, the bird in her studies is quirky, intelligent, loving and fun. They made a great pair and a fascinating book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The books gives a simplified synopsis of the thirty years Alex and Irene worked together in answering the question "Does a parrot have the capability of developing language?" I believe that Alex provided the answer, Yes. In their years together Alex learned to label objects, he understood numbers up to six, he knew his colors, he had a concept of "none" and much more. This book was a lovely tribute to a little guy who died too soon.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great and amazing story, but just an ok book. I loved learning about Alex and all he had learned and what an amazing bird he was, but as far as a good book to sit down and read this isn't it. If you have even a little interest in this subject you'll find this very interesting, however if you don't really care about animal communication I doubt you'll enjoy this book. i felt like the time periods went by at varying speeds which was a little weird, and I felt it jumped from idea to idea. I think the book could've been organized better becasue sometimes things came out of nowhere. I love the story of Alex but I wish this book had been composed differently so others who may not have a strong interest will still enjoy this book!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the story of a woman trying to find her place in the world and the African Gray parrot who helped her do it. Dr. Irene Pepperberg was, and is, a female scientist working in the maligned field of research on animal intelligence. Much of the book is about her constant struggle to have her work accepted by the scientific community. Despite her rigorously designed experiments and meticulous methods, many scientists are not yet ready to believe the amazing things she, and other animal intelligence researchers, have discovered. And what Dr. Pepperberg has discovered is that birds are far more intelligent then we ever could have expected. The star of the book is Alex, the bird who has taught her most of what she knows. I was most amazed by Alex's brilliant personality. He was bossy, jealous, affection, and sometimes very funny. Many times during the experiments Alex would leap ahead displaying understanding many times greater then Dr. Pepperberg ever could have hoped. Those moments are breathtaking and I loved those parts of the book.Unfortunately the book is not as well written as I would have liked. Dr. Pepperderg is a serious scientist and her writing retains the seriousness and structure of a scientific document instead of a more easy, flowing style. Still, if you have any interest in parrots, animals, or the subject of animal intelligence the book is well worth the read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fascinating memoir about the woman who has done the most for animal communication research since Jane Goodall. Dr. Pepperberg recounts the story of her life and her circuitous journey towards her life-long research into parrot communication. Most especially, she focuses in upon her relationship with Alex, the parrot who would rise to fame as a genius in his species and change everything science thought it knew about bird intelligence. This includes a brief and highly excerpted overview of the work done to teach Alex words and concepts, but other works would cover this in greater detail. This book is primarily about the close bond that was formed between Alex and Dr. Pepperberg. It's also a sort of bird biography and call to reevaluate our preconceived notions about animal intelligence and especially bird intelligence. I found it moving and enlightening.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    good book. makes you think. enjoyed listening.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    By science memoir standards, this one is pretty dry, but the work summarized within it is quite interesting.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In Sept. 2007, Alex, a 31 year- gray African parrot, the most famous parrot in the world, died, emotionally devastating the women who had had him for 30 years and was the cause of his fame. Irene Pepperberg grew up with birds all her life, then got her Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry. Yet the work didn't satisfy her, and she turned to studying cognition and language acquisition in the African gray parrot. African grays were chosen because their pronunciation is better than other birds capable of speech.Pepperberg began trauning Alex to recognize shapes, colors, and numbers. His capabilities for doing so were astounding. During the 30 years of training, he on his own picked up the abstract concept of none, was able to recognize what was same and what was different, and more. With other scientists studying animal cognition, this has caused a revolution, showing that animals are capable of thought, and that a creature with a brain the size of a shelled walnut was capable of abstract concepts.Pepperburg summed up her scientific studies in her previous book, The Alex Studies. This book in more personal, about her life and how it led her to this work, about her deep bond with Alex, the depth of which even she was not aware of until his loss, and about the studies she did with Alex. His personality emerges as the alpha bird, bossy, playful, and loving. His last words to her were "You be good. I love you. You'll be in tomorrow"?There are great moments of humor. In one, Alex was at the vets and near the desk of the accountant. He asked the accountant, "want a nut?" "No". "Want corn" "No, Alex, thank you"... this went on a while. Finally, Alex petulantly asked, "Well, what DO you want?". The accountant laughed and started paying attention to Alex, which is what he wanted.The book begins with a discussion of what Pepperberg calls her "It's a Wonderful Life" moment. After Alex's death, emails and letters poured in from people who let her know just how much she and Alex had meant in their lives... from scientists, animal lovers, and others.The book is fairly short, written for a lay person, and written well. Marvelous!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I never would have thought that a book about a bird could make me cry, but Alex & Me succeeded. I'm not much of a bird person. I've never had a bird for a pet, and when I've visited bird owners in the past the incessant chirping of their pets was less than endearing. After reading this heartwarming (and informative) book however, I found myself dreaming about life with an African Grey parrot.

    A big part of this book centered on the linguistic and cognitive abilities of Alex, and as someone who studied linguistics in college that really appealed to me. The text is written for the layperson though and is easy to understand, telling Irene Pepperberg's story as well as Alex's.

    In college I remember spending a very short amount of time learning about animal communication (probably a week or two out of my entire college education). We learned about chimpanzees using sign language, the intelligence of dolphins, and how birds communicate using birdsong. I have just a vague recollection of reading about Alex the parrot.

    Part of what I thought was so fascinating about Alex was not just his cognitive and speech abilities (which were amazing), but how prejudiced the scientific community was against the idea of birds being intelligent enough to communicate with meaning. By that I mean that Alex was speaking words and knew what he was saying, not just mimicking speech.

    I did cry when I read the passage where Alex died. I actually paused in my reading in order to soak in that section, went to check my email and found out that Michael Jackson died. I think I was more emotional about the news that Michael Jackson died than I would have been otherwise, because I was already misty-eyed from reading about Alex's passing.

    Alex and Me is an enchanting and informative read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in learning more about the capacity of animals to communicate with humans.

    Oh, and I looked up how long African Grey parrots live - about 60 years. I guess that's not a pet you want to adopt without putting a lot of thought into it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A wonderful glimpse into the study of Irene Pepperberg's time with Alex and a great showing of what that little soul was capable of.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Recommended. This is the story of Alex, the Grey Parrot, who demonstrated a clear understanding of concepts previously successfully tested only in apes and dolphins. The book itself is fairly short, and presented in double-spaced text, so it is a very fast read. The book talks of the author's journey through the scientific/educational establishment with a research topic involving communication with a bird. And she succeeded - contrary to expectations. Alex the parrot has become famous, and her research famous as well. The book is written for a lay audience, with emphasis on anecdotes rather than the scientific discoveries. But those scientific discoveries are also discussed, in layman's terms. There are pointers to the full papers, as well. Enjoyable by anyone interested in linguistics, animal communication, and memoirs.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Alex, an African Grey parrot, died at the ripe old age of 31. His brain may be small but he was an extremely intelligent creature. Irene loved her best friend Alex and was devastated when he passed away. This book shows that you don't have to be human to steal a humans heart.I adore my dogs and I have a special connection with them that can never be broken. I know about the love Irene felt for Alex and she told her story beautifully.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'd been looking forward to this book but found it quite disappointing. The workmanlike prose grew tiring after a while; there were too many descriptions of the experiments and the author's various career moves and labs, at the expense of her thoughts on what these birds' intelligence consists of. And it was incomplete as well - I wanted to know what he died of, and how did he move from single words to complete sentences like Will you be in tomorrow? If he indeed said that, that's a big departure from three green triangles.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book did not convince me that Alex's vocalizations originated with Alex, as opposed to being responses to subliminal cues from the experimenters (the Clever Hans phenomenon). To be fair, it would be necessary to read the scientific papers to determine that. See the recommendation I have made from this book to The Alex Studies. Pepperberg may be right.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I became aware of Alex a few years ago when I read Drawing the Line, a book on animal rights. Having lived with animals my entire life I have a higher opinion of all their intelligences than most people but Alex was a revelation. I read Alex And Me last night and was repeatedly amazed at his abilities. The book begins with the outpouring of sympathy from around the world at Alex's untimely death last year. His researcher, Irene Pepperberg, was devastated at his loss. She recounts the many lives he touched even if only from afar.Then she moves to the past and the beginning of her love affair with birds and science when she was a young child. Irene recounts the early struggles to get funding and any kind of recognition for the work she was doing with Alex. If you do not know of Alex, his cognitive abilities astounded the scientific community. Beginning with labels - names for objects - he proceeded to identify colors, numbers, matter and ultimately learned to spell and add. His abilities amazed Dr. Pepperberg as he continued to do things he was never expected to do.Alex had quite a personality also. He considered himself top parrot in the lab and new students were expected to run through a series of demands before he would allow them to work with him. He could be mischievous - sometimes calling out the wrong answer when other birds were being tested. He got bored with the long, repetitive testing sessions that were needed to provide statistical significance. And he was obviously very lovable. What an amazing animal and he and Dr. Pepperberg have made a huge impact on how we look at animal intelligence. The end of the book left me sobbing for the early loss of Alex. He certainly changed my way of thinking and I already had a pretty high level of respect for animal minds
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The sub-title to this book is "How A Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process." And that's pretty much what this short book is about. The author, Irene Pepperberg, is an associate research professor at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and she also teaches animal cognition at Harvard. For 30 years she trained and scientifically tested Alex, a highly intelligent African Grey parrot. This book only touches on the scientific aspect of her work. It's main focus is the bond that developed between Alex and herself.I enjoyed this book very much. My one gripe is that the focus of the book was more about the bond between Pepperberg and Alex and less about what was learned by studying and testing Alex's cognitive abilities. Whatever we do learn about his abilities is told anecdotically instead of showing the reader the results of the extensive tests that were performed. The book was written more as a human interest endeavor than the process and progress of a scientific study. I would have liked to see both. So my complaint is: This 226 page book is not enough; I want more!Pepperberg has an earlier work entitled [The Alex Studies]. I'm adding it to my TBR pile.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I listened to the audiobook which was 5 segments, a fairly short book. I very much enjoyed the biographical bits of Pepperberg's youth, her education experience leading to a PhD in Chemistry, her struggles throughout her research and the descriptions of the variety of places where she did the work, and the descriptions of the training method and information found. The best parts were the little stories about Alex and her which went above and beyond the strict science. I loved this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Frankly, Irene by herself is not appealing. So her childhood and adolescence in the first third of the book; and her afterward mourning and preaching detract from the book. Alex is the star, and scenes without him are just irrelevant filler material.Alex is quite a personality. And while Pepperberg is always careful to couch her results so as to not claim too much, Alex' intelligence and wit shine through.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a very interesting story. I learned about Alex the parrot in a class of mine and instantly wanted to know more. This provides a great background into what Alex (and therefore many other creatures) can be capable of. If you're looking for more information about animal communication and thought processes, this is a great resource. Do be wary if you're looking for a good read, though--to put it bluntly, scientist ain't no writer. It drags on at points (if the title gives you any indication), waxes poetic quite a lot at the end, and so on. But don't let that stop you if you're interested in the subject.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a book that I could not put down once I started it. Because I knew from the beginning that Alex, the African Grey parrot who helped Dr. Irene M. Pepperberg with her research, was no longer alive, I wanted to find out what happened to him. Along the way, I was introduced to two separate worlds. One was world of the investigator and how Dr. Pepperberg had to cope with the difficulties of obtaining research funding to carry on what was deemed as "off-the-beaten-track" research. The other was the world of the intellectual capabilities the African Grey parrot. Dr. Pepperberg had several of these, but Alex was the one with which she began her research and who became best-known of all her birds. Dr. Pepperberg describes the intertwining of these two worlds in a way that is captivating, humorous, and surprising. She ends her story with a beautiful note of how all nature is connected and Homo Sapiens are really not as supreme as we would like to think.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I put off reading ALEX AND ME because I heard it was a tearjerker. It isn’t. And I am glad I finally read it.This book is nonfiction about a scientist, Irene Pepperberg, trying to determine the intelligence of parrots, Alex in particular. She worked with other parrots as well, but her longest relationship was with Alex, and Alex's demonstrated intelligence outshone the others.Over Alex’s 30 years, Pepperberg continually faced a scientific community that denied her claims. For the last few years of Alex‘s life, though, they were beginning to accept that a parrot with a bird brain the size of a walnut could do at least what a chimp could, I.e., communicate.Alex became somewhat of a celebrity with his demonstrations of intelligence. Most impressive, though, was Alex‘s ability to show that all animals have intelligence and can think.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    There was so much interesting information about what Alex learned to do and what Dr. Pepperberg discovered about parrot intelligence and potential. Alex sounds like he was quite a character. Along the way there are snippets of Dr. Pepperberg's professional life (and a tiny bit of personal life) and curious things about animal-human communication in general. After reading this book, I found myself looking for more information on the internet - always a sign that the book succeeded in whetting my appetite for more.