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Rating: 
Summary: A Superficial Look At Animal Intelligence
Review: Although I am inclined to agree that many mammals and birds exhibiit intelligence, I doubt whether Linden makes a truly compelling case. On one hand it is a delightful, whimsical look at human and animal interactions, and here Linden excels in telling some fascinating tales. Among the highlights are hilarious episodes of orangutans successfully outwitting their zoological keepers; the funniest is how an ape dropped a bucket of water on one unsuspecting keeper. I was also intrigued by how some animals have coped with woe. On the other hand, it is a book adrift, almost mired, in anecdotes. I wonder whether Linden could have made a more persuasive case if he had taken a scientific view of animal intelligence by exploring its evolutionary implications; noting how natural selection has acted to promote the "evolutionary" success of this trait among social animals such as mammals and birds. To his credit, Eugene Linden does mention some important research that explores the possibility of sentience, most notably University of Arizona behavioral ecologist Irene Pepperberg's long-term study of Alex, her African gray parrot. The last two pages of Linden's book are an unsung homage to Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species", echoing the latter's final page; a plea to preserve the environment that sounds mystical, almost New Age, in tone. Linden's journalistic prose is far from the literary elegance shown by distinguished biologists (and writers) Stephen Jay Gould, Edward O. Wilson and George C. Williams. Anyone wishing to read profound commentary on animal intelligence and the behavior of social animals should read Wilson's "Sociobiology" (However, take a look as well at Stephen Jay Gould's critiques in his essay collections and Philip Kitcher's work for dissenting views of sociobiology.) and Williams' books. At best, "The Parrot's Lament" is a very superficial look at animal intelligence; at worst, a new age adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's "Just So" tales.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining tales of animal behavior
Review: Eugene Linden's "Parrot's Lament" is a charming collection of animal anecdotes. The author's intent is to show that the human being is not the only animal that demonstrates mental and communicative abilities. He avoids the contention which surrounds scientific debates on the issues by simply recounting stories from his own experiences and from those of zoo keepers and naturalists, people whose only interest is in the animals they care for and not in scientific laurels or criticism. The only caveat, as he himself points out, is that because "it's unscientific...no matter how persuasive the material, one cannot use the stories and examples as proof of anything (p. xvii)." For those of us who are already convinced that animals are far brighter than most people give them credit for, this is not an important issue anyway. The book is divided into sections, including: games and humor; trade and barter; deception, mind reading and mental chess; cooperation in work, conflict and healing; tools and intelligence; escapes from captivity; empathy and heroism; and untouched nature. Some of the material is repeated under different chapters, but when it is, it's presented from a new perspective which enlarges understanding of animal behavior. My favorite stories are some of the orangutan escape episodes, and some of the tales of trust and friendship. The book certainly gives the reader a sense of what is being lost as our natural world is being destroyed by overpopulation, encroachment and exploitation. Since destruction of habitat seems to have taken on a life of its own these days, one almost wonders if it is unstoppable irrespective of our best intentions or of the ultimate negative impact it will have on our own future. This was particularly apparent in the last chapter of the book which deals with the Ndoki rain forest of the Congo. As was pointed out in Matt Ridley's book, The Red Queen, the incremental increase in benefit to the individual who causes the destruction of the environment increases the likelihood that the destruction will occur despite the overall long term loss to society. And this is often so, even though the individual beneficiary of the immediate good will also suffer with the rest of society. The loss of viable commonly held fields to over grazing during the Middle Ages was the example cited by Ridley (p. 91), but any other major loss of shared wealth could be substituted as well. As Linden points out, perhaps the very intellect of which we are so proud will be our ultimate undoing! We certainly don't seem to have learned from the lessons of our history! Altogether a delightfully readable book.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining tales of animal behavior
Review: Eugene Linden's "Parrot's Lament" is a charming collection of animal anecdotes. The author's intent is to show that the human being is not the only animal that demonstrates mental and communicative abilities. He avoids the contention which surrounds scientific debates on the issues by simply recounting stories from his own experiences and from those of zoo keepers and naturalists, people whose only interest is in the animals they care for and not in scientific laurels or criticism. The only caveat, as he himself points out, is that because "it's unscientific...no matter how persuasive the material, one cannot use the stories and examples as proof of anything (p. xvii)." For those of us who are already convinced that animals are far brighter than most people give them credit for, this is not an important issue anyway. The book is divided into sections, including: games and humor; trade and barter; deception, mind reading and mental chess; cooperation in work, conflict and healing; tools and intelligence; escapes from captivity; empathy and heroism; and untouched nature. Some of the material is repeated under different chapters, but when it is, it's presented from a new perspective which enlarges understanding of animal behavior. My favorite stories are some of the orangutan escape episodes, and some of the tales of trust and friendship. The book certainly gives the reader a sense of what is being lost as our natural world is being destroyed by overpopulation, encroachment and exploitation. Since destruction of habitat seems to have taken on a life of its own these days, one almost wonders if it is unstoppable irrespective of our best intentions or of the ultimate negative impact it will have on our own future. This was particularly apparent in the last chapter of the book which deals with the Ndoki rain forest of the Congo. As was pointed out in Matt Ridley's book, The Red Queen, the incremental increase in benefit to the individual who causes the destruction of the environment increases the likelihood that the destruction will occur despite the overall long term loss to society. And this is often so, even though the individual beneficiary of the immediate good will also suffer with the rest of society. The loss of viable commonly held fields to over grazing during the Middle Ages was the example cited by Ridley (p. 91), but any other major loss of shared wealth could be substituted as well. As Linden points out, perhaps the very intellect of which we are so proud will be our ultimate undoing! We certainly don't seem to have learned from the lessons of our history! Altogether a delightfully readable book.
Rating:
Summary: We are not the only intelligent beings on this planet.
Review: For all animal lovers that know for a fact that animals have a great deal of intelligence, this book is a breath of fresh air. Eugene Linden has written a fabulous book that shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that all of us animal lovers are correct: animals do think and feel and show emotions. Through all of Mr. Linden's research, conversations, and observations; he has written a heart-felt and very illuminating book on the facts of animal intellect. this is an utterly fabulous book and I highly recommend it to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: Witty and fulfilling
Review: I enjoyed this book of anecdotes about animals behaving in smart, original, creative, and sometimes heroic ways. It was written in a very accessible style, and I enjoyed the author's sense of humor. The book was well-divided into sections: games and humor; trade and barter; deception; mind reading and mental chess; cooperation in work, conflict and healing; tools and intelligence; escapes; empathy and heroism; and a place where humans are the novelty. I would've liked to have read more about the last section, about animals who have no fear of humans in a virtually untouched jungle in Africa. The only thing that puzzled me about the book was the rather apologetic tone regarding animal intelligence. The tone tries to pacify scientists and other people who aren't convinced that animals possess intelligence. I have never doubted that they do. I'm sure most people who have pets or work around animals feel the same way. It's too bad that we have to be apologetic about believing that the important life forms that share our planet have the capacity to think and feel. As the author points out in the last chapter, based on what we're doing to the planet, it's sometimes questionable which species is really the one without intelligence.
Rating:
Summary: Witty and fulfilling
Review: I have a bird myself, and though she doesn't display any higher intelligence, these stories were humerous and fascinating. The tales of love and escape and the human qualities displayed by animals were touching, too. This book made me do something not not very many other books have done; I laughed out loud. It's a great book for those who have pets or are just interested in tales of animal empathy, deception, and cooperation and intelligence which are sometimes hysterical.
Rating:
Summary: An insightful, delightful book!
Review: I loved this book from start to finish. Eugene Linden's individual essays on the intelligence of different species are insightful glimpses into the sentience of animals. From the extraordinary and intelligent efforts of a female gorilla to escape her solitary enclosure to rejoin her friends and family in an adjacent enclosure (she succeeded twice in overcoming electric fences and a moat by using non-conductive and sturdy logs and branches) to a parrot saying, upon seeing her owner's dinner of a Cornish game hen, "Oh, no! Paco!", referring to her male companion kept in another cage, these stories delight with each new page. Linden is careful not to attribute too much intelligence to these animals unless the evidence supports it. He discusses possible ways these moments could be misinterpreted as well as why he believes they are proof that animals have more going on in their brains that some scientists are willing to admit. Read this book if you are willing to expand your view of what constitutes animal intelligence. Even if you are not persuaded by Linden's arguments (which are indeed compelling), you will find much to consider here. And you'll enjoy every word.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book, with some unsettling errors...
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this exploration of animal intelligence. Linden writes clearly and succinctly, and does a great job of weaving his stories together to support the points he makes. He has taken examples from both his personal experience, and from numerous print sources and interviews with other people. Most of the stories revolve around captive animals (as pets and in zoos - primarily because these are more easily observed), though some examples from the wild are included. In addition, an overwhelming number of these case studies involve the great apes (particularly orangutans and gorillas) and dolphins. This is to be expected, as these species are generally considered to be among the most intelligent, but there are also tales of birds, pigs, large cats, and others. The book is divided into nine categories. He begins with "Games and Humor," in which he explores the ways in which animals amuse themselves. "Trade and Barter" was one of the most interesting chapters, detailing the elaborate systems captive apes have been taught, where they can earn "money" for performing tasks for their keepers, and then spend that money on items they want, such as treats or toys. "Deception" discusses ways animals have tried to fool both their human counterparts and others of their own species. In "Mind Reading and Mental Chess" Linden explores the extent to which animals can be aware of others' states of mind. "Cooperation in Work, Conflict, and Healing" is another particularly interesting chapter, offering examples of service animals that have gone beyond their training to help humans. Included are stories of animals that actually seek out ill and injured people in order to offer them solace. "Tools and Intelligence" concerns that very sticky topic of whether humans, as tool-users, are unique. It appears that we are not, and Linden shows us numerous cases where other species have made use of tools to achieve their aims. The seventh chapter talks of escape attempts - cases where captive animals have shown remarkable ingenuity despite all their keepers' efforts to dissuade them. "Empathy and Heroism" gives us examples of animal heroes, and finally "A Place Where Humans are the Novelty" takes a brief look at those few wild places that are still relatively untouched by humans. While I really liked the book as a whole, however, there are a few things which cause me to knock my rating down to only four stars. First is that Linden undermines much of his own thesis by devoting an entire preface as a disclaimer that none of these stories can be used as scientific evidence. Perhaps the stories are anecdotal, but this is how much of scientific discovery begins - with pure observation of things. For those of us with wide exposure to animals, it is hard to deny that they do possess some remarkable mental capabilities, even without these stories as additional proof. And secondly, Linden has done a very poor job of checking his facts. Many of his examples come from animals at the Woodland Park Zoo, which is very close to where I live, and which I have visited numerous times. The first error that leapt out at me is relatively minor - the orangutan Linden refers to as "Tawan" is actually named Towan. But more alarming, one of Linden's stories involves the gorillas at Woodland Park. He claims that the gorilla Jumoke, when separated from the father of her baby, repeatedly tried to climb out of her new enclosure to rejoin him. This is all well and good, except that the "father" is billed as Alafia. Anyone can check the Woodland Park Zoo's website (www.zoo.org) and see that Alafia is, in fact, a female. So something is not right with that particular story. It could be that Linden just mixed up the names - there are a LOT of gorillas at Woodland park - but errors like this make me question the accuracy of the other accounts included. Has Linden made other mistakes in his research? Overall, though, I would still recommend this book to anyone with a casual interest animal intelligence. Some of the stories are heartwarming, others funny, and others downright amazing. The book is friendly to the layman and does not require any scientific knowledge. It is also well-written and easy to read. If you're doing a study or writing a paper, I would strongly advise you to double-check the specifics of any accounts you intend to reference (due to the above mentioned errors), but for general-interest purposes this book is good enough as is. It's a great testament to the often vastly underestimated intellectual powers of our furry, feathery, and scaly friends.
Rating:
Summary: Ponderous, derivative, excruciatingly non-funny
Review: Ouch, where do I start? He gives some great stories, which is why I slogged through to the end. Almost all of the stories are from the work of other people. Admittedly he has done the work of gathering the stories together, but many of them I had already read in another similar book. This writer gives us ponderous psuedo-scientific statements with a straight face. Even worse are his attempts a humor. He instructs us that certain things he is telling us are "hilarious". Not so. If you are *very* interested in the subject you may find it worth your time to read this book. On second thought, I *am* very interested and wish I'd done something else with the time. Reading the book, Nonzero proved to be the perfect antidote. It is truly intelligent and extremely funny. What a relief after this turgid book!
Rating:
Summary: Funny, engorssing, and an absolute must
Review: The Parrot's Lament
The Parrot's Lament by Eugene Linden was published by Penguin Putman Inc. in 1999. This volume of 190 pages was a relatively fast read, accelerated by the inability to put it down. This book concentrated mainly on animal thinking processes and their ability to perform coherent actions. I don't particularly think that this book is aimed at teenagers; more likely at those in the science field. However, this book did not even come close to droning on and on or analyzing everything in such a way to leave the reader confused. The Parrot's Lament was a collection of stories that Mr. Linden has accumulated through his career. These stories were told in a creative, often humorous way and later connected to the author's main points about animal thinking paths. This took a subject that may be too technical for someone my age and put it into a context in which I really learned something about my fellow creatures.
The Parrot's Lament could be considered a biology book because it dealt with animals, but I believe it is more psychological. The question the book ultimately asked was can animals think? It was divided into chapters, each dealing with a different kind of thinking. The first was about games- games animals learn to play or make up themselves. The second dealt with trading and an animal's view of what's fair or not. The most challenging for me to read through was the chapter on mind reading and mental chess. This part did become rather technical and perhaps would make sense to someone with more experience than myself. To name a few other areas, the author talked about animal deception, cooperation, and heroism.
" Games are serious business," Eugene Linden writes. The chapter about his experiences with animal playtime was by far the most amusing, if not the best way to prove animals think. Animals in zoos across America have found ways to play with one another, their caretakers, and even other species. Even in Africa, an improbable friendship between a Rottweiler and a chimp has bloomed (32). Linden also showed an animal's ability to weigh his options in the chapter about trade and barter. Concentrating mainly on apes, Linden reveals the different ways he has seen the mammals strike a deal with humans for something they want. An animal's ability to deceive certainly gives testament to their brain wave activity, and perhaps they get away with more than we realize. Animals of the same species will deceive each other to benefit themselves, not to mention fooling their keepers to get an extra ration (66).
The mind reading chapter raised a simple question: Can animals follow scenarios? This point in Linden's effort dealt with what is called the Sally/Ann test (83). The test is a great piece of evidence that animals do think and that they can determine the intelligence of others. Cooperating with humans is another example Linden gave about an animal's ability to decide if a situation will benefit himself, or someone else. The author shared a story about a cat that worked at nursing homes and actually found a way to get an elderly man to open up (116). The chapters on tools and escape go hand in hand; one dealing with animals, mainly apes again, learning how things function, and escape showing us how the animals use their knowledge to overrule authority. It can be concluded that animals generally escape to prove that they can, not because they want to run away. This is excellent evidence towards an animal's intelligence. Linden also throws in the amazing accounts of animal rescue and heroism towards each other and us (161). The author's final main point was titled: What Do They Make of Us? This last stand was moving with stories from Linden's travels in the rainforest and his encounters with animals that had never seen humans before. He brought up the question of our position on "Olympus"- are we blessed, or cursed (190)?
I found The Parrot's Lament to be very insightful; it brought the animal world closer to me. I thought Linden's work was extremely thorough and the manner in which he argued his points was proficient. In a work such as this, it is decisive that the author be able to lie out his findings and beliefs in such a way that the reader need not be an expert to interrupt his views. Linden did that extremely well. This book showed me the depths of animal thinking and it broadened my horizons on what I previously thought animals were capable of. But, it also reminded me that there are people who would disagree, and try to disprove, all that Linden has displayed in this book. After reading this text, I would feel much better about debating with a person like that because through Linden's personal experience, I made the connections for myself on how it all relates to an animal's ability to conceive thoughts. My own experiences with pets have often led me to ask myself: "What is that dog thinking?" For me, it has always been a question of what are they thinking, not are you thinking. The Parrot's Lament only strengthened my resolve.
I feel that this book would convince anyone who is skeptical about an animal's ability to think. Each main section is full of the author's experiences that prove animal's can make up games, deceive, and create an escape plan so thorough, they determine the best time to execute it. All these activities require thought, and The Parrot's Lament affirms an answer to its overall question: yes, animals most definitely think, not just on a basic level, but into a complexity we didn't know they had. This book would be enjoyable for anyone who loves animals, or a good laugh!It is important that people know the extent of animal thought because perhaps it will give the world more respect for the creatures that were here first.
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