In Praise of Chickens
A Compendium of Wisdom Fair and Fowl
By Jane S. Smith
(Lyons Press, Hardcover, 9780762773503, 176pp.)
Publication Date: December 2011
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Everywhere, it seems—from urban backyards to latter-day gentleman’s farms in the country—chickens have become a passion for those who love animals, feel strongly about consuming locally, and/or find conventional mechanized alarm clocks somehow insufficient. And here is the book for such people.
What follows is a compact miscellany of chicken wisdom—a lively and amusing collection of quotations from past authorities on all things chicken, interspersed with brief editorial comments and complemented by wonderful illustrations. Whether a single sentence or several paragraphs, selections are all little known and long on charm. In Praise of Chickens can be savored in small pieces or enjoyably devoured all at once. It includes a demonstration of how to hypnotize a chicken; an account of a chicken rodeo; Mark Twain’s sly tips on raising chickens; and a dictionary of the twenty-three-word vocabulary of the domestic chicken.
Jane S. Smith, PhD, is the award-winning author of several books, including Patenting the Sun: Polio and the Salk Vaccine, which received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize; and, most recently, The Garden of Invention, winner of the Caroline Bancroft Prize in Western History.
Praise for Jane S. Smith's The Garden of Invention:
"A colorful, far-reaching book about the genetic, agricultural, economic and legal issues raised by Burbank's life and legend...Entertaining...[a] well-woven narrative...Impressive." -- Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"A first-class portrait -- witty, seamless and unflaggingly informed....[The Garden of Invention] brings Burbank to pulsing life even as it teaches plant science, patent law, eugenics, evolution and the fate of the prickly pear....I was, from its first sentence to last, a most grateful reader.” -- The Chicago Tribune
"A long overdue volume in food literature -- a great story, well told." -- Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod and Salt
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