Recommended Books, DVDs, and Movies
The Pigeoneers: a
feature documentary film written, directed and produced by Al
Croseri
“The Pigeoneers” is a tribute to the bravery of homing pigeons who saved thousands of lives in combat in the Great World Wars. In this film, their memory is evoked by Colonel Clifford A. Poutre, Chief Pigeoneer, U. S. Army Signal Corps, 1936-1943.
Acknowledged the world's outstanding military pigeon expert, Poutre is credited with having streamlined the U. S. Army homing pigeon training and services to keep pace with the latest developments in army aviation. Poutre has taught his homers numerous tricks unprecedented in pigeon history-to be ready for day or night messenger duty, to return to a mobile pigeon loft which moves ten miles away after the pigeon departs and to carry a canary piggy-back from New Jersey to New York City.
Poutre also acted as a public relations person where pigeons were involved. This led to meeting Nikola Tesla, the great scientist and inventor who had developed alternating current and who designed and developed many of the devices for the production and distribution of same. Poutre recalls fondly his friendship and visits to Mr. Tesla at the Hotel New Yorker in the 1930's. Mr. Tesla was an avid homing pigeon fancier and the two enjoyed engaging in "pigeon talk".
Learn more at: www.pigeonsincombat.com
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit
Disorder
by Richard Louv
As children's connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity, and attentiondeficit disorder. Environment-based education dramatically improves standardized test scores and grade-point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that childhood experiences in nature stimulate creativity.
The Black & Brown Faces in America's Wild Places: African Americans
Making Nature and the Environment a Part of Their Everyday
Lives
by Dudley Edmonson
Photographs and interviews with people of color who are deeply involved
with our natural spaces. Insightful and inspiring!
Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird
by Andrew D. Blechman
Pigeons: you either love them or hate them! Are they just "rats with wings" or much more? Learn all about them in this wonderful, comprehensive, and very readable book.
"I've been as guilty as anybody of looking down on the lowly Rock Dove. But Andrew Blechman's Pigeons woke me up. Informative and well-written, if anybody can read his book and still harbor contempt for pigeons, I have to wonder if there is hope for human beings."
—Mark Bittner, author of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
The Flight: a short film written, directed and produced by
Al Croseri
"The Flight" is an homage to the bravery of homing pigeons who saved
thousands of lives in combat in the Great World Wars. Their
achievements embodied the attributes of service, endurance, loyalty and
supreme courage. Here, their memory is evoked by two present-day homing
pigeons silently taking flight from the windows of a New York City
apartment. The film dissolves to a forgotten past as we relive their
ancestors' selfless heroism.
Learn more at: www.pigeonsincombat.com
Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds by Miyoko Chu
Learn about the lives of songbirds as they move from continent to continent with the seasons.
Grandmother’s Pigeon
by Louise Erdrich
This is a wonderful children's book! An eccentric grandmother leaves behind three old eggs that hatch into Passenger Pigeons. Blends fantasy and science.