Prologue: Circa 40 Million B.C.
Chapter 1: Invasion of the Parrots
Chapter 2: Mysteries and Marvels
Chapter 3: Return of the Parrots
Chapter 4: Unhappy Bird!
Chapter 5: Dead Parrot Sketch
Chapter 6: Extinction and Beyond
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Exploring the presence and meanings of these birds in the art, literature, and history of Western civilization, Parrot Culture traces the unusual history of parrots from their introduction in the Graeco-Roman world, through the great age of New World exploration, to the contemporary ecological crisis of globalism.
Bruce Thomas Boehrer is Bertram H. Davis Professor of English at Florida State University. A life-long parrot fancier, he is the author of Shakespeare Among the Animals: Nature and Society in the Drama of Early Modern England and The Fury of Men's Gullets: Ben Jonson and the Digestive Canal.
"The book is written by that most rare and wonderful of
specimens-an academic whose obsession with parrots is disciplined
by his knowledge and love of literature."
*Literary Review*
"Boehrer has a knowledge base that spans science, art, and
literature, and the writing is delightful. The book is
fascinating."
*Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me*
"Engrossing. . . . Bruce Thomas Boehrer concentrates his
well-stocked mind on what over the centuries we humans have done
to, and done with, parrots."
*Times Literary Supplement*
"In tracing the relationship between human and parrot, Boehrer, an
English professor and parrot fancier, examines the influence of
psittacines on all levels of society. Parrots have always been
popular as pets, and interwoven with the discussion of parrots as
symbols is Boehrer's analysis of our obsession with owning parrots,
which has directly led to their decline. This amalgam of art,
natural history, and literature will find a ready audience among
the legions of bird aficionados."
*Booklist*
"Smart, lively and informative. . . . Boehrer's abiding love for
these birds is sure to win some converts. . . This is an enjoyable,
eloquent paean to all things psittacine."
*Washington Times*
"Parrot Culture celebrates the beauty, intelligence, and personally
of these birds."
*BirdTimes*
"An endlessly surprising account."
*ForeWord*
"The book is written by that most rare and wonderful of
specimens-an academic whose obsession with parrots is disciplined
by his knowledge and love of literature." * Literary Review
*
"Boehrer has a knowledge base that spans science, art, and
literature, and the writing is delightful. The book is
fascinating." * Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns
Me *
"Engrossing. . . . Bruce Thomas Boehrer concentrates his
well-stocked mind on what over the centuries we humans have done
to, and done with, parrots." * Times Literary Supplement
*
"In tracing the relationship between human and parrot, Boehrer, an
English professor and parrot fancier, examines the influence of
psittacines on all levels of society. Parrots have always been
popular as pets, and interwoven with the discussion of parrots as
symbols is Boehrer's analysis of our obsession with owning parrots,
which has directly led to their decline. This amalgam of art,
natural history, and literature will find a ready audience among
the legions of bird aficionados." * Booklist *
"Smart, lively and informative. . . . Boehrer's abiding love for
these birds is sure to win some converts. . . This is an enjoyable,
eloquent paean to all things psittacine." * Washington Times
*
"Parrot Culture celebrates the beauty, intelligence, and
personally of these birds." * BirdTimes *
"An endlessly surprising account." * ForeWord *
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