Book review: A couple of chicken books
In the last week, I've read two books on chickens. One was Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds and the other was The Complete Encyclopedia of Chickens. For me, they were both fascinating reads that happily absorbed hours of attention as I pored over glossy photographs and read through detailed descriptions.
I have to say, though, that I wouldn't have bought the Illustrated Guide if I'd had it in my hands before. It's a nice collection of pictures, but the write-ups are skimpy and I didn't learn very much. The part at the back of the book about ducks, geese, swans, and other birds was the most useful part of it. I think it's a wonderful book for exactly what it purports to be, which is a visual introduction to the variety of poultry out there. It's good for that, especially to someone who has the sort of limited idea of what a chicken is that you might get from television and online these days. I mean, you probably haven't seen chickens with topknots or beards or moustaches that grow out of their ears or feathered legs or all fuzzy or naked necks. This isn't news to me, so this book wasn't a lot of use. I gave it to my parents after reading it. The pictures are nice.
The encyclopedia was much more my speed. Interestingly, it had more pictures, and more relevant ones, than the Illustrated Guide. The Illustrated Guide had two or three pictures per breed, one of which took up an entire page. The encyclopedia had four to six pictures per breed (and many more breeds). The pictures weren't as big, but when showing different color patterns, comb styles, and sex differences, multiple pictures are a must. They had a lot of detail on color. It's clearly a book directed at those who intend to show their birds, rather than backyard hobbyists, reformed chicken fighters like myself, or the average person. I was okay with that, though, because the chicken showing circuit is unfamiliar to me and I wouldn't mind knowing more about it. I don't know if I could handle it, though. I was deeply unsettled to see what they called the "Modern English Game Fowl", or the Shamo, Malay, or Asil. None of the pictured specimens would last more than a minute in a genuine fight. Their conformation was all wrong! (For comparison, THIS is what a modern fighting cock looks like.) They had become ridiculous caricatures of what they originated from. It's like ... it's like expecting a Rottweiler and getting a Doberman. Yeah, the color's basically the same, but there's no way in hell they're the same dog. My point being that I don't think I'd be able to tolerate the show circuit if form and function is so neglected in favor of exaggerated display.
Oh well. I know most of you read my journal for the porn, so I'll stop boring you with my complaints about the chicken world.
I have to say, though, that I wouldn't have bought the Illustrated Guide if I'd had it in my hands before. It's a nice collection of pictures, but the write-ups are skimpy and I didn't learn very much. The part at the back of the book about ducks, geese, swans, and other birds was the most useful part of it. I think it's a wonderful book for exactly what it purports to be, which is a visual introduction to the variety of poultry out there. It's good for that, especially to someone who has the sort of limited idea of what a chicken is that you might get from television and online these days. I mean, you probably haven't seen chickens with topknots or beards or moustaches that grow out of their ears or feathered legs or all fuzzy or naked necks. This isn't news to me, so this book wasn't a lot of use. I gave it to my parents after reading it. The pictures are nice.
The encyclopedia was much more my speed. Interestingly, it had more pictures, and more relevant ones, than the Illustrated Guide. The Illustrated Guide had two or three pictures per breed, one of which took up an entire page. The encyclopedia had four to six pictures per breed (and many more breeds). The pictures weren't as big, but when showing different color patterns, comb styles, and sex differences, multiple pictures are a must. They had a lot of detail on color. It's clearly a book directed at those who intend to show their birds, rather than backyard hobbyists, reformed chicken fighters like myself, or the average person. I was okay with that, though, because the chicken showing circuit is unfamiliar to me and I wouldn't mind knowing more about it. I don't know if I could handle it, though. I was deeply unsettled to see what they called the "Modern English Game Fowl", or the Shamo, Malay, or Asil. None of the pictured specimens would last more than a minute in a genuine fight. Their conformation was all wrong! (For comparison, THIS is what a modern fighting cock looks like.) They had become ridiculous caricatures of what they originated from. It's like ... it's like expecting a Rottweiler and getting a Doberman. Yeah, the color's basically the same, but there's no way in hell they're the same dog. My point being that I don't think I'd be able to tolerate the show circuit if form and function is so neglected in favor of exaggerated display.
Oh well. I know most of you read my journal for the porn, so I'll stop boring you with my complaints about the chicken world.