Hello. I'm Catherine Weller and this is The Open Book.

Today's selection is Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew D. Blechman.

Ahhh, the pigeon. You know, those rats with wings, carriers of disease, despoilers of freshly waxed cars…. Stupid, pesky, foul fowl. Or are they? Pigeons, also known as rock doves, were once beloved birds: messengers, animal atheletes, harbingers of peace, and tasty too. So how did the respected rock dove become ubiquitous vermin? Writer Andrew D. Blechman's book, Pigeons: Tthe Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird, explores just that question.

Along the way, Blechman, meets some pretty interesting characters. He follows Brooklyn pigeon racer Orlando Martinez through a year of training his birds for the Kentucky Derby of pigeon racing, "The Main Event." Pigeon racing is a dying sport everywhere except China, where it is growing exponentially. Those die hards who do practice it breed and train their birds with all the intensity of thoroughbred racers. Thousands of dollars are annually invested, bet, won and lost - all on the uncanny ability of homing pigeons to fly hundreds of miles from a strange location right back to their coops. There have even been steroid scandals in the pigeon racing world, though Martinez is not among the suspects. He spends 365 days a year conditioning his birds for racing.

Some people love pigeons for other reasons: there are city dwellers who enjoy feeding huge flocks of them, sporting club members who enjoy shooting them instead of clay targets, and chefs at high end restaurants who serve squab to appreciative diners. We also encounter a Phoenix man so obsessed with saving pigeons that his house has turned into a very large pigeon coop, complete with fecal matter.

And let's face it, no discussion -or book - about pigeons is complete without mention of their crap. A bird can produce twenty-five pounds of it daily. And yes, it's true, they do poop in their own nests. This is one of the reasons they are assumed to be carriers of disease. But Blechman quotes several reliable sources to refute that belief. Pigeons are like the similarly maligned rat in that they are highly sociable, trainable, and they thrive on human refuse. And, with the exception of that nest business, they're pretty clean.

Blechman reminds us of their noble history. What animal did Noah send to search for land? Who delivered the news of the first Olympics? Sent the message that saved World War One's Lost Battallion? The pigeon of course. His book is an enjoyable, quick read, with some science snuck in here and there, good for the narrow history buff who's looking for something on the lighter side.

You've been listening to The Open Book on KCPW. I'm Catherine Weller.

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