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: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Truly exceptional
Review: This book is really something. And this comes from one who has more than a fair interest and knowledge of science and animals. An absolute must for all animal lovers, lovers of intrigue, and lovers of science. The stories in this book need to be read, discussed, pawed over, and passed on. If you read this book, this is probably what will happen.
Rating:
Summary: it was wonderful! ...
Review: this was a great book...the animal tales and true stories left me thinking for hours to come!
Rating: 
Summary: Star-Crossed Others
Review: When Jonathan the orangutan escaped from his holding pen in the Topeka Zoo, his keepers might have feared the worst. Instead, they found him in another pen. Jonathan filled a bucket with water, picked up a squeegee, and began imitating a workman cleaning the floors. This role-playing orangutan headlines a cast of critters in Eugene Linden's The Parrot's Lament. Where Shakespeare proclaims, "All the world's a stage," Linden might argue that humans are not the only actors on Earth. His exposé explores the uncanny intelligence of orangutans and other animals to show that we have no monopoly on tragedy and triumph. One short leap of imagination propels the reader into an undiscovered country of sorrow, betrayal, and treachery. Here, a grieving orca mourns for his stillborn child. Hyenas cry wolf to steal food from their companions. When challenged to a fight, a shrewd baboon saves face by inviting his opponent to join in attacking a third, unsuspecting baboon. Comedy abounds as well. Apes laugh, dolphins frolic. Polar bears play "Slap the Seal." Orangutans lie in wait to dump water on hapless zookeepers, and Jimbo the parrot invites a roadrunner to join her for a chicken dinner. Linden's method in such madness is to unmask a childlike intelligence in the animal kingdom. If they are children of the Earth, he urges, we should protect their inheritance. Just as Shakespeare's troubled youths often take refuge from adversity, so orangutans should always have a forest to which they can escape.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read, makes you think
Review: Wonderful book. Very interesting observations, author doesn't try to be too scientific, but instead provides many interesting real life stories about animal behavior and lets the reader decide for themselves how close to humans animals are. Anyone who has ever wondered about what/why animals feel/think/behave will enjoy this book.
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