Customer Reviews

Parrot (Reaktion Books - Animal)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I ordered this book months ago because I'm writing one of my own on parrots and thought it would be helpful in my research. It's much more than I expected. The color plates are fabulous, it's rare and unusual information incredibly well done.

I'd recommend this to anyone -- not just parrot people (all of whom should have this). If you're fascinated by things you don't know and have an inquisitive nature this is for you. Check out the rest of the series they look equally interesting (ant, fox, spider, whale).

"Parrot" is a treatise on the natural history of parrots and their place in human culture -with a certain ideological bent, the ideology being that of an academic who likes to see parrots as a kind of doppelganger for humans, due to their mimicry, and as a symbol of human communications being ecologically structured, due to the presence of parrot references in just about every human civilization. But the book starts out simply enough. Paul Carter divides his discussion of parrots into 3 parts: Parrotics, Parroternalia, and Parrotology. The paper is white and semi-glossy, which nicely reproduces the 101 illustrations of parrots in art and culture, although the small size of the book (5.25" x 7.5") makes it difficult to make out the details sometimes.

Parrotics addresses the evolution and taxonomy of parrots, with an eye to the variety and absurdity of classification systems used by various cultures . It goes on to provide an overview of how human culture has historically represented four major (non-scientific) classes of parrots. Parroternalia talks about the roles that humans have given parrots in society, commerce, in literature, and as companions. Carter's theories on the cultural significance of parrot mimicry is pretty hard on parrot-owners, whom he views as delusional and needy. Parrotology veers toward polemic in its discussion of the parrot trade and parrot conservation. It criticizes the rhetoric of conservation for appealing to self-interest and presents the author's own view of why parrots should be valued and protected.

Carter's ideas about parrots as doubles for humans are thought-provoking, but I found his assessment of how people should relate to parrots, and how they do, to be removed from anything resembling reality. He doesn't give parrots enough credit. They are not simply mimics who babble meaninglessly; their brains have 7 language centers, like humans. He says that their self-image has been "humanized", but we all derive some identity from culture, and it only goes so far. Paul Carter expounds on the "idea" of parrots and compares their captivity to enslavement. But he omits the birds themselves. They're not an idea. They're individuals who have opinions. Of course we see them through our own lens, as they do us. The prose has a rambling quality that can be a bit much, but the first two parts of "Parrot" contain some interesting information and food for thought.

This is a remarkable book I recommend to everyone who has a parrot or even just "likes" parrots.

Carter discusses some history of humans sharing life with parrots, but this book is more about the parrot's place in our psyche; its mythology and its importance to us as a species (ours and the parrot). We need the parrot more than the parrot needs us.

As one reviewer said, read when you're likely to be uninterrupted because Carter does not spoon feed this to you. But your efforts will be richly and doubly rewarded, and you'll never look at a bundle of feathers the same way again.

"Parrot" is a soliloquy of incomprehensible, postmodern drivel. The positive reviews must have been written by parrots. Sure, the pictures are fine, but that's about it. If you want real information on the cultural significance of parrots, please read "Parrot Culture" by Bruce Thomas Boehrer. Richard Verdi's exhibition catalogue "The Parrot in Art" is a good complement to Boehrer's book.

Forget about this one. :-(

It would be a good idea to plan on reading this book at a time when you have little or no distractions. I found myself having to re-read a paragraph or even a page if I was interrupted, but I am sure you will find this book as fascinating as I did. See my website for full review.