Crow (Animal) Paperback – April 4, 2004

For anyone that has had a prior incident with the crow, raven, or magpie, I suggest this read for a very good wrap up and conclusion of your encounter with these birds. The author is well knowledgeable and has added great pictures and paintings which are awe inspiring. The book captures the essence of these wonderful and canny birds.

In this new, sixth edition of Boria Sax’s concise, informative Crow (2003), the inaugural installment of Reaktion Books’ excellent Animal series, Sax takes a refreshingly straightforward, mostly up-to-date look at these commonplace yet endlessly fascinating birds that, from Gilgamesh to Van Gogh, have long been a source of enchantment and wonder. “Crows are among the most ubiquitous of birds,” observes Sax, “yet without being in the least exotic, they manage to remain mysterious.” Indeed, following a brief introduction that discusses the characteristics of various species of the genus corvus (jackdaws, ravens, and rooks) and types (American, hooded, and carrion), as well as recent advances in our comprehension of crows’ remarkable intelligence and complex social life, the majority of Sax’s book concerns how crows have been depicted in myth, folklore, religion, and art. Chapters are organized around specific cultures, periods, or locales, from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, to the European Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Romantic eras, to Native American and Asiatic depictions. The concluding chapters consider the scarecrow as locus for human-crow interaction, and twentieth and twenty-first century representations in art and literature. Also included are a helpful timeline for all major natural and historical events, and an expansive bibliography. Copiously illustrated throughout, the reproductions, while adequately reprinted, are regrettably on the small side and in black and white, an unfortunate result of the book's design. In such a short work, clocking in at a mere 184 pages, Sax cannot hope to be exhaustive, yet he does manage to include many of the most salient and evocative portrayals of these remarkable creatures. Throughout, Sax uncovers plenty of obscure yet no less stimulating bits of cultural history of interest to Forteans and armchair historians alike. -- Eric Hoffman, Fortean Times

I've read a great many books about crows, both fiction and non and this one is easily among the greatest.

In CROW, Boria Sax compiles a veritable treasure-trove of material about crows and other close relatives such as ravens, jackdaws, and other corvids. Sax organizes the information into mostly chronological chapters, beginning with "Mesopotamia," which deals with corvids in Biblical and ancient lore, and eventually progressing to chapters about American Indian traditions and eventually Romantic and modern treatments of the birds. Although Sax's writing style is ordered and logical, it sometimes flows a little unevenly - but I think this is largely because there is no easy way to segue between some of the anecdotes and historical accounts in CROW. Overall, however, these small quibbles don't detract from the larger picture that Sax paints of these mysterious, mischievous, and sometimes misunderstood birds. There's a good proportion of folklore, legend, and fact in CROW, and it's presented alongside appealing images of paintings and other historical works of art.In the end, CROW is a great book to have if you're interested in learning more about corvids and their ever-changing relationship with humans throughout history.

I picked up this book in a Half Moon Bay bookstore hoping to expand my collection of symbology and history books. The author presents her subject well and it does give a decent overview on how the crow has been represented in history. The problem lay with the 'facts' the author used to link many of the myths or point out uses of the crow in ancient stories/artwork. From the areas that she talked about and I was familiar with, the author routinely exaggerated and/or relied on suppositions. I read the book all the way through, but I didn't feel like I could trust any of the information in the book.

Was a gift. They loved it!!