Firstly, we are definitely bird people, having birds, and having lost a bird that we were very close to, I could relate a lot to the writer and researcher in the story. But I had actually bought this book years ago, when I saw it on the bargain book table at Barnes and Noble, and although it sat on my bookshelf for years I never had the chance to read it. Finally I did, and currently a researcher myself, I definitely enjoyed the book a lot, and appreciated the emotional ties in it, making it a personal narrative instead of just reading a scientific study.
Alex is an African Grey Parrot, and the book takes the reader through years and years of Irene Pepperberg's research studies involving bird intelligence, and she was a breakthrough scientist in changing the way people think about intelligence in animals. Alex proved that birds have the cababilites of learning and understanding abstract concepts that previously had been believed to not be teachable to animals. He proves that he is not just mimicking words, but creating his own labels for some objects, and even developing his own understanding of the concept of zero.
If you love animals this is a very interesting story about the research, and the bond between Irene and Alex. Irene dedicated and changed her entire lifestyle; moving many times, losing her marriage, and many times finding herself jobless and with a lack of funding for her research, yet she never stopped working with Alex. Inspirational, tear-jerking, and just the kind of book you can't put down.. I recommend "Alex & Me" as a must read!
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