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Pigeons have been worshipped as fertility goddesses and revered as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they’ve 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 “rats 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 mankind’s most helpful and steadfast companions. Pigeons captures a Brooklyn man’s quest to win the Main Event (the pigeon world’s 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 nation’s most famous pigeon lover; he spends time with Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Pigeon Handler; and he sheds light on a radical “pro-pigeon underground’ in New York City. In Pigeons, Blechman tells for the first time the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird. ...
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When his next-door neighbors in a quaint New England town suddenly pick up and move to a gated retired community in Florida called The Villages, Andrew Blechman is astonished by their stories, so he goes to investigate. Larger than Manhattan, with a golf course for every day of the month, two downtowns, its own newspaper, radio, and TV station, The Villages is a city of nearly one hundred thousand (and growing) missing only one thing: children. In the critically acclaimed Leisureville, Blechman delves into life in the senior utopia, offering a hilarious firsthand report on everything from ersatz nostalgia to the residents' surprisingly active sex life. But this is more than just a romp through a retirement paradise; Blechman traces the history of the age-segregated retirement phenomenon, and travels to Arizona to show what has happened to the pioneering developments after decades of segregation. A fascinating blend of serious history, social commentary, and hilarious, engaging reportage, Leisureville is an important book on a major, underreported trend. "Leisureville is not only an entertaining chronicle ... but also a perceptive analysis of the social, economic, and political implications of segregated, privatized living."--Boston Globe "Blechman disappears down the rabbit hole ... to The Villages, the largest gated retirement community in the world. ... Fascinating." -The New York Times Book Review "If you've never heard of the Villages, a residential development in central Florida, welcome to the club, but after reading Leisureville, the first thing I have to say is: Listen up." -The Washington Post...
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When author Andrew D. Blechman's next-door neighbors in a quaint New England town suddenly pick up and move to a gated retirement community in Florida he is bewildered by their decisions. A schoolteacher and his friendly, energetic wife, they were the perfect neighbors, and the kind of involved citizens the community could use more of, especially with a fight looming over plans to demolish a nearby park. But The Villages, the largest gated community in the world, had won them over. Their stories about "Florida's Friendliest Hometown" could hardly be believed. Larger than Manhattan, with a golf course for every day of the month, two downtowns, its own newspaper, radio, and TV stations, The Villages is a city of nearly one hundred thousand (and growing), missing only one thing: children. More than twelve million Americans will soon live in such age-segregated communities. To get to the bottom of the trend, Blechman delves into life in the senior utopia and offers an entertaining first-hand report on all its peculiarities, from ersatz nostalgia and golf-cart mania, to manufactured history and the residents' surprisingly active sex life.
But Leisureville is more than just a romp in the retirement paradise. Blechman traces the history of this remarkable trend, travels to Arizona to show what has happened to the pioneers after decades of isolation, investigates the government of these instant cities, attends a builders conference, speaks with housing experts, and examines the implications of millions of Americans dropping out of society to live under legal segregation. A fascinating blend of serious history, social criticism, and engaging reportage, Leisureville is an important book on an underreported phenomenon that is growing larger every day....
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