Pigeons have been worshipped as fertility goddesses and revered as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man theyve 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. Charles Darwin relied heavily on pigeons to help formulate and support his theory of evolution. Yet today they are reviled as amp147rats with wings. Author Andrew D. Blechman 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 mankindamp8217s most helpful and steadfast companions. Pigeons captures a Brooklyn manamp8217s quest to win the Main Event the pigeon worldamp8217s equivalent of the Kentucky Derby as well as a convention dedicated to breeding the perfect bird. Blechman participates in a live pigeon shoot where entrants pay 150 he tracks down Mike Tyson the nationamp8217s most famous pigeon lover he spends time with Queen Elizabethamp8217s Royal Pigeon Handler and he sheds light on a radical amp147propigeon undergroundamp8217 in New York City. In Pigeons Blechman tells for the first time the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird.