Rent: Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process

This is a mix of a biography of a bird, an autobiography of a woman scientist, a scientific exploration of bird intelligence, and some metaphysical lessons at the end. The style is personal, sometimes emotional, and what counts as informal for academics, a quick read. I found the parts about Alex, the parrot, the most interesting. The autobiographical aspect was interesting too, but not as unusual or compellingly told.

The book starts with a highly emotional account of reactions to the death of Alex, twenty years premature at age 31, including numerous testimonials of the importance he had for people who knew of him through Pepperberg's work. This grabbed me right away and drew me in, opening questions I looked forward to learning the answers to in the rest of the book. Why would a bird have such a profound impact on not only Pepperberg but so many others, most of whom never met Alex? How smart was this bird, really?

After the first chapter the book proceeds mainly chronologically, going back to Pepperberg's early years, her first bird at age four, how she developed the interests that led to her scientific career, how that career developed, how Alex came into her life, and how his career, as it were, developed along with hers.

Major themes include the struggle of a woman in science, the struggles of researchers who take seriously the ability of animals to use language, and Pepperberg's particular struggles to get funding and respect for her work.

But the main attraction remains Alex. It's fascinating to see how smart and, in some ways, how human Alex seems to be. He uses English words in appropriate ways; he shows he can associate colors, shapes, objects and numbers with the words. He also shows personality traits, including what sure looks like bossiness and game-playing. For instance, as Pepperberg presents it, when he got bored he would sometimes refuse to answer questions correctly, giving every incorrect answer to a question like "how many" but skipping the correct one.

Pepperberg is careful to inject some caution about how to interpret these things. She calls Alex's utterances "labels" instead of words, for example, to avoid implying that Alex is using language as we normally think of it. At the same time, she is determined to show that Alex has done a series of things that the scientific community as a whole had thought impossible for a bird. Sometimes, despite her general caution, she seems to suggest more than could really be, as when she favorably compares Alex's use of the label "none" to the great ancient mathematician Euclid's lack of a concept of zero. (Maybe she was joking--I hope so.) She also sometimes speaks of Alex's grasping other concepts in ways that suggest more understanding than is likely.

I would have enjoyed a more developed discussion of the alternative interpretations of Alex's behavior held by critics of Pepperberg's work. What we mainly get instead are anecdotes about how unfair or intimidating the opposition is. I also wondered if we weren't getting a rather skewed view of Alex's behavior. There's story after story about the interesting things he does, but we aren't given a very good idea how much of his behavior seemed smart and how much seemed unremarkable or confused, apart from a few snippets about his performance on formal tests.

The last chapter consists of the lessons we can learn from Alex. By the end of the chapter Alex has become a virtual key to the meaning of life, the place of humanity in the universe, and is related to issues such as poverty and climate change. Much of this, while no doubt deeply felt, is superficially and loosely reasoned. In reaching so far, this tribute is often remote from the particular facts of Alex's life as presented in the book.

Recommended for those seeking an informal account of a remarkable case of animal intelligence, and for those who enjoy stories about animals and their humans. You'll also get an interesting story of how a woman made a difficult way in science.

Since Alex could not write his own memoir, it is fitting that Irene Pepperberg created this book in his memory. Anyone who is remotely interested in the study of animals will surely enjoy this heartwarming story. Considering that the author is a scientist, it is to her credit that book is written on a very personal level. My only complaint is that I found it too short. It is the type of story that leaves the reader wanting more. Hopefully, there is still room for a sequel in the story, and we can learn more about a very remarkable grey parrot.

I liked this book. Alex's story is remarkable. It's a touching chronicle of a remarkable animial.

I was disappointed with a few things about this book. First, it's a bit thin--not very long and not particularly in depth. I was hoping for a lot more information about Alexa.

What really, also bothered me was how much the memoir centered on the author rather than her bird. I'd have preferred less about her struggles with funding and lab space, etc., and more about Alex. Her life is only as mildly interesting as that of any dedicated scientist, but Alex is an awesome story!

I would recommend the book to anyone who's curious about it, but don't expect a blow-by-blow of Alex's years of progress.

This slender, easy to read volume is really about two characters- Alex and the author.

The book includes a great deal of information about the author's struggles as a female scientist doing research which the scientific establishment belittled. We learn about her professional and personal struggles, and about Alex as a research subject. But the really appealing, wonderful parts of this book detail the emotioanl bond that grew between Alex and the author. There are many funny and touching anecdotes about Alex as an individual who did not always choose to cooperate with research and had his own quirks, thoughts, and feelings.

For scientific information about the research completed with Alex, see the author's book entitled "The Alex Studies". But if you can enjoy a human/animal love story and are fascinated by the emotional lives and thoughts of animals, you will be touched by this book.

I read this book on a whim, and was pleasantly surprised. I'd never heard of the Alex Project before, and I had no prior knowledge of African Grays. The book was touching without being sappy, and informative without being overly scientific or boring. I was engaged the entire way through. I was fascinated with the information regarding the Alex Project, and how amazing these birds really are. Bird brain, indeed! It even made me consider getting a parrot. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in science, animals, or language. Two thumbs up!