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

#109
Title: Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird
Author: Andrew D. Blechman
Publisher: Grove Press
Year: 2006
Genre: Natural history
244 pages

At the close of the book, Blechman acknowledges that when he began, he was more interested in writing about people obsessed with pigeons than the pigeons themselves. This was an interesting confirmation of my impression that pigeons were a secondary focus pretending to be primary. Yes, the text itself balances the birds with the breeders and racers, but despite Blechman's ultimate advocacy for pigeons, the impression that he finds them unpleasant keeps breaking though. This happens in a variety of ways. First, Blechman is obsessed by pigeon droppings. There are few descriptions of pigeons or their habitats that do not feature a repetitive marveling at their droppings, which Blechman and others quoted persist in referring to as "crap" and "shit." Second, despite some efforts to review the history of the pigeon and provide interesting facts, Blechman's heart clearly isn't in it. He is much more interested in the seemingly all-male world of pigeon afficionados of various kinds, describing members of secretive pigeon-shooting clubs with more appaqrent affection than he has for the birds. Third, while Blechman's words decry violence against pigeons, he devotes a fair number of pages to people who shoot them, poison them, steal them, and butcher them. He does a poor job of commenting on what could have been the crux of the book--the public's ambivalence about pigeons--and instead merely seems to enact that ambivalence, despite his stated intentions. Despite containing a fair amount of information, the book winds up feeling empty; this is not helped by an empty chapter about failing to talk to Mike Tyson (who owns pigeons).

For a narrative about another urban pest, including eradication efforts but conveying deeper regard and respect, read Sullivan's Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants (which also features a cool cover of a rat, pendant, composed of a city map).