A Wealth Of Pigeons

"I've always looked upon cartooning as comedy's last frontier. I have done stand-up, sketches, movies, monologues, awards show introductions, sound bites, blurbs, talk show appearances, and tweets, but the idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me. I felt like, yeah, sometimes I'm funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny. You can understand that I was deeply suspicious of these people who are actually funny." So writes the multitalented comedian Steve Martin in his introduction to A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection. In order to venture into this lauded territory of cartooning, he partnered with the heralded New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. Steve shared caption and cartoon ideas, Harry provided impeccable artwork, and together they created this collection of humorous cartoons and comic strips, with amusing commentary about their collaboration throughout. The result: this gorgeous, funny, singular book, perfect to give as a gift or to buy for yourself"--

A “quirky, endlessly entertaining” look at the surprising history of the pigeon (Simon Winchester). Domesticated since the dawn of man, pigeons have been used as crucial communicators in war by every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to the United States and are credited with saving thousands of lives. They have been worshipped as fertility goddesses and revered as symbols of peace. Charles Darwin relied heavily on pigeons to help formulate and support his theory of evolution. Yet today they are reviled as “rats with wings.” To research this lively history of the humble pigeon, the author traveled across the United States and Europe to meet with pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters in a quest to find out how we came to misunderstand one of mankind’s most helpful and steadfast companions. Pigeons captures a Brooklyn man’s quest to win the Main Event (the pigeon world’s equivalent of the Kentucky Derby), as well as a convention dedicated to breeding the perfect bird. The author participates in a live pigeon shoot where entrants pay $150; he tracks down Mike Tyson, the nation’s most famous pigeon lover; he spends time with Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Pigeon Handler; and he sheds light on a radical “pro-pigeon underground” in New York City. In Pigeons, Andrew D. Blechman reveals for the first time the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird. “A quick and thoroughly entertaining read, Pigeons will leave readers chuckling at the quirky characters and pondering surprising pigeon facts.” —Audubon Magazine “Manages to illuminate not merely the ostensible subject of the book, but also something of the endearing, repellent, heroic, and dastardly nature of that most bizarre of breeds, Homo sapiens.” —Salon.com

Lost Pigeons follows the lives of two brothers, Chris and Michael, growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the late 1970's. One brother goes off to war, while the other goes into sales. The soldier comes back and finds luck winning the lottery, falling in love, and getting married. Luck, however, suddenly turns its back on him as he finds himself irreparably damaged in his personal life and the tours of duty, leading him to ultimately devise his own end. His brother is left behind, forever wracked with guilt and painful confusion, questioning his own capacity to have helped his brother before fate took full control of his will to live. This sense of helplessness and grief persists until he meets Ricky, a real estate agent turned homeless, who is in need of a brother. The novel brings to light the themes that plague our human experience: the fleeting quality of our own luck, the loss of a loved one, the loneliness engraved in our grief, and the redemption we often find in the most unexpected of places. Among the greatest underlying messages of Lost Pigeons is a deeper reminder to all to treat those who are lost as family and to not let your comfort zone dictate your reality. There is a wealth of hope to be found outside the realm of familiarity, once we step outside of ourselves and lend a helping hand to others. Our brothers and sisters are out there struggling with demons greater than themselves.

During the Second World War, the British Royal Air Force's Special Duties Squadrons parachuted thousands of pigeons into Belgium. Bletchley Park, the nerve centre of the British Intelligence Service, had its own pigeon loft from where birds were sent on intelligence gathering missions. A secret organisation, MI14(d), was created to organise a pigeon service to occupied Europe. Those who found the pigeons were expected to supply military, economic and political intelligence for the Allies. This book includes the messages sent back from Belgium. In particular, it investigates the roles played by Josef Raskin and Jean Ceysens, the British Intelligence Services, the RAF and the brave individuals who, despite the possibility of imprisonment, sent messages to Britain in the hope it would help liberate their country.

Paddy is the only son of perhaps the most famous pigeons in all of England. In somewhat unusual circumstances, he finds himself alone, on a journey of self-discovery, on the wintry, unforgiving streets of London. His destination? Trafalgar Square, aka pigeon paradise. It should be fairly easy, especially for a bird, but when Paddy accidentally steps on a Eurostar train, he's whisked off to Paris. If he ever makes it home, will he live up to the successes of his parents? Will he find paradise? Will he become his own bird? Expect lots of absurdly unexpected birdy behaviour: cooking, philanthropy, fashion design, with a dash of romance, a helping of skullduggery, and, perhaps more expectedly, copious amounts of birdpoo. A great read for young and old alike. Check out callumpbrown.com for the audio edition.