Alfie and Me
What Owls Know, What Humans Believe
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Narrated by:
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Carl Safina
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By:
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Carl Safina
About this listen
When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in a near-death baby owl, they expected that, like other wild orphans they'd rescued, she'd be a temporary presence. But Alfie's feathers were not growing correctly, requiring prolonged care. As Alfie grew and gained strength, she became a part of the family, joining a menagerie of dogs and chickens and making a home for herself in the backyard.
Alfie & Me is the story of the remarkable impact this little owl would have on their lives. The continuing bond of trust following her freedom—and her raising of her own wild brood—coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a year in which Carl and Patricia were forced to spend time at home without the normal obligations of work and travel. Witnessing all the fine details of their feathered friend's life offered Carl and Patricia a view of existence from Alfie's perspective.
One can travel the world and go nowhere; one can be stuck keeping the faith at home and discover a new world. Safina's relationship with an owl made him want to better understand how people have viewed humanity's relationship with nature across cultures and throughout history. Interwoven with Safina's keen observations, insight, and reflections, Alfie & Me is a work of profound beauties and magical timing harbored within one upended year.
©2023 Carl Safina (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Some people insist that culture is strictly a human feat. What are they afraid of? This book looks into three cultures of other-than-human beings in some of Earth's remaining wild places. It shows how if you're a sperm whale, a scarlet macaw, or a chimpanzee, you too experience your life with the understanding that you are an individual in a particular community. You too are who you are not by genes alone; your culture is a second form of inheritance. And your culture, too, changes and evolves.
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It all sinks in over the story—highly recommend
- By Knitting Fisherman on 06-13-20
By: Carl Safina
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Beyond Words
- What Animals Think and Feel
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: Carl Safina
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Weaving decades of field observations with exciting new discoveries about the brain, Carl Safina's landmark book offers an intimate view of animal behavior to challenge the fixed boundary between humans and nonhuman animals.
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Great book by a scientist with a heart
- By Sharon on 11-12-15
By: Carl Safina
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Voyage of the Turtle
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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As Carl Safina's compelling natural-history adventure makes clear, the fate of the leatherback turtle is in our hands. The distressing decline of these ancient sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate the results - both positive and negative - of our interventions and the lessons that can be applied, globally, to restore the oceans and their creatures. We accompany award-winning natural-history expert Safina and his colleagues as they track leatherbacks across the world's oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent.
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More of death than life
- By Justin Craigo on 11-14-24
By: Carl Safina
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The Purest Bond
- Understanding the Human-Canine Connection
- By: Jen Golbeck, Stacey Colino
- Narrated by: Jen Golbeck
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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With all of the seismic shifts in today’s world, rates of anxiety and depression have been skyrocketing, and people have been turning to their dogs for solace and stability. Amidst these dire realities, something wonderful has taken shape. As people have brought furry friends into their lives for the first time or seized this opportunity to deepen the connections they already have, they are looking to understand how owning a dog can change their lives. Now, The Purest Bond explores the benefits our dogs can have on our physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being.
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I love dogs but
- By thomas on 09-18-24
By: Jen Golbeck, and others
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Song for the Blue Ocean
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Part odyssey, part pilgrimage, this epic personal narrative follows the author’s exploration of coasts, islands, reefs, and the sea’s abyssal depths. Scientist and fisherman Carl Safina takes readers on a global journey of discovery, probing for truth about the world’s changing seas, deftly weaving adventure, science, and political analysis.
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A book everyone should read
- By Kindle Customer on 08-09-18
By: Carl Safina
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Of Wolves and Men
- By: Barry Lopez
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Humankind's relationship with the wolf is the sum of a spectrum of responses ranging from fear to admiration and affection. Lopez's classic, careful study has won praise from a wide range of reviewers and improved the way books on wild animals are written. Of Wolves and Men explores the uneasy interaction between wolves and civilization over the centuries, and the wolf's prominence in our thoughts about wild creatures.
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To Better Know Wolves
- By REV on 08-20-22
By: Barry Lopez
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Becoming Wild
- How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: Carl Safina
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Some people insist that culture is strictly a human feat. What are they afraid of? This book looks into three cultures of other-than-human beings in some of Earth's remaining wild places. It shows how if you're a sperm whale, a scarlet macaw, or a chimpanzee, you too experience your life with the understanding that you are an individual in a particular community. You too are who you are not by genes alone; your culture is a second form of inheritance. And your culture, too, changes and evolves.
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It all sinks in over the story—highly recommend
- By Knitting Fisherman on 06-13-20
By: Carl Safina
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Beyond Words
- What Animals Think and Feel
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: Carl Safina
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Weaving decades of field observations with exciting new discoveries about the brain, Carl Safina's landmark book offers an intimate view of animal behavior to challenge the fixed boundary between humans and nonhuman animals.
-
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Great book by a scientist with a heart
- By Sharon on 11-12-15
By: Carl Safina
-
Voyage of the Turtle
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Carl Safina's compelling natural-history adventure makes clear, the fate of the leatherback turtle is in our hands. The distressing decline of these ancient sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate the results - both positive and negative - of our interventions and the lessons that can be applied, globally, to restore the oceans and their creatures. We accompany award-winning natural-history expert Safina and his colleagues as they track leatherbacks across the world's oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent.
-
-
More of death than life
- By Justin Craigo on 11-14-24
By: Carl Safina
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The Purest Bond
- Understanding the Human-Canine Connection
- By: Jen Golbeck, Stacey Colino
- Narrated by: Jen Golbeck
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With all of the seismic shifts in today’s world, rates of anxiety and depression have been skyrocketing, and people have been turning to their dogs for solace and stability. Amidst these dire realities, something wonderful has taken shape. As people have brought furry friends into their lives for the first time or seized this opportunity to deepen the connections they already have, they are looking to understand how owning a dog can change their lives. Now, The Purest Bond explores the benefits our dogs can have on our physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being.
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I love dogs but
- By thomas on 09-18-24
By: Jen Golbeck, and others
-
Song for the Blue Ocean
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part odyssey, part pilgrimage, this epic personal narrative follows the author’s exploration of coasts, islands, reefs, and the sea’s abyssal depths. Scientist and fisherman Carl Safina takes readers on a global journey of discovery, probing for truth about the world’s changing seas, deftly weaving adventure, science, and political analysis.
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A book everyone should read
- By Kindle Customer on 08-09-18
By: Carl Safina
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Of Wolves and Men
- By: Barry Lopez
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Humankind's relationship with the wolf is the sum of a spectrum of responses ranging from fear to admiration and affection. Lopez's classic, careful study has won praise from a wide range of reviewers and improved the way books on wild animals are written. Of Wolves and Men explores the uneasy interaction between wolves and civilization over the centuries, and the wolf's prominence in our thoughts about wild creatures.
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To Better Know Wolves
- By REV on 08-20-22
By: Barry Lopez
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What an Owl Knows
- The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds
- By: Jennifer Ackerman
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ackerman
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
For millennia, owls have captivated and intrigued us. Our fascination with these mysterious birds was first documented more than thirty thousand years ago in the Chauvet Cave paintings in southern France. With their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and foresight. But what does an owl really know? And what do we really know about owls? Jennifer Ackerman illuminates the rich biology and natural history of these birds and reveals remarkable new scientific discoveries about their brains and behavior.
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Moving
- By Amanda on 11-29-23
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Birding to Change the World
- A Memoir
- By: Trish O'Kane
- Narrated by: Cheryl Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Trish O’Kane is an accidental ornithologist. In her nearly two decades writing about justice as an investigative journalist, she'd never paid attention to nature. But then Hurricane Katrina destroyed her New Orleans home, sending her into an emotional tailspin. Enter a scrappy cast of feathered characters—first a cardinal, urban parrots, and sparrows, then a catbird, owls, a bittern, and a woodcock—that cheered her up and showed her a new path. Inspired, O'Kane moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue an environmental studies PhD.
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Not just for bird lovers but for everyone
- By Cathy on 05-28-24
By: Trish O'Kane
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The House Is on Fire
- By: Rachel Beanland
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Andi Arndt, Michael Crouch, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Richmond, Virginia 1811. It’s the height of the winter social season, the General Assembly is in session, and many of Virginia’s gentleman planters, along with their wives and children, have made the journey to the capital. On the night after Christmas, the city's only theater is packed with holiday revelers. In the middle of a performance, the theater goes up in flames. Based on the true story of Richmond’s theater fire, The House Is on Fire offers proof that sometimes, in the midst of great tragedy, we are offered our most precious—and fleeting—chances at redemption.
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I learned a lot
- By Jane Perkins on 04-24-23
By: Rachel Beanland
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Soul of an Octopus
- A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
- By: Sy Montgomery
- Narrated by: Sy Montgomery
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Sy Montgomery's popular 2011 Orion magazine piece, "Deep Intellect", about her friendship with a sensitive, sweet-natured octopus named Athena and the grief she felt at her death, went viral, indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious, almost alien-like creatures. Since then Sy has practiced true immersion journalism, from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing these wild, solitary shape-shifters.
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Eight legs and so much more!
- By Kirstin on 07-02-15
By: Sy Montgomery
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Of Time and Turtles
- Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell
- By: Sy Montgomery
- Narrated by: Sy Montgomery
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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When acclaimed naturalist Sy Montgomery and wildlife artist Matt Patterson arrive at Turtle Rescue League, they are greeted by hundreds of turtles recovering from injury and illness. Endangered by cars and highways, pollution and poachers, these turtles—with wounds so severe that even veterinarians would have dismissed them as fatal—are given a second chance at life. The League’s founders, Natasha and Alexxia, live by one motto: Never give up on a turtle.
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love turtles but...
- By Amazon Customer on 05-08-24
By: Sy Montgomery
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The Serviceberry
- By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 1 hr and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity.
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Gift Economy
- By Jacob Miller on 11-21-24
What listeners say about Alfie and Me
Highly rated for:
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- Kaysi12
- 02-16-24
One of the very best
I have always enjoyed writings by Carl Safina, who I think is one of the very best nature writers of all time, and to me this was one of the best of his works.
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11 people found this helpful
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- T. Harrison
- 05-26-24
Who Knew?!
I am abundantly grateful for Carl Safina's compassion for all life and the delightful, insightful, and engaging ways he's shares about the living world for which he so deeply cares.
This book is especially touching, as we too are blessed by (currently) resident owls in the trees that stand directly adjacent to our home. The owls truly feel like family. To be clear, the feeling is of family at its very best - all resonant with one another in comforting, familial love.
I also appreciate the wonderful ways that Carl reminds of and teaches about how many of us modern humans lost our awareness of our interconnectedness with nature - and ways we can restore our compassion for Mother Earth and all of life.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Marylin Angeloff
- 07-06-24
Loved the Author’s Kindness and knowlege.
Great story. I enjoyed the way the author qualified his beliefs by bringing knowledge into the discussion to support them. I have a little guilt right now though. It’s 114 outside and the air conditioner is set at 86. I did hang out my laundry today though. I think we could all do more to help Mother Earth. I believe stories like this help to raise awareness. I’m glad the heroine …don’t want to give away the ending❤️
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- Mary Lane
- 05-09-24
Our need to recognize our interconnectedness with all of nature
The author's story of the owls and our need to see differently our relationship with all of nature was compelling.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Chicken Grandma
- 06-14-24
What was author's main focusing?
Dislike--- too much time explaining history and referencing other authors and their theories. Owl was minor character.
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2 people found this helpful
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- cb free
- 06-26-24
A must read
Never imagined an owl would be the antidote to covid and how to better exist in the world. Thank you, Allie.
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- Jamie Fairchild
- 01-18-25
Charming and thoughtful story of the life of a little owl
I would give the second half of the book 5 stars but the first half took a little bit to get going. It was a bit tedious with all of the upfront, philosophizing and not much owl information at the beginning. So he finds this injured owl and then we don’t hear much about how it’s doing or what he’s doing to rehabilitate until chapters in. Once the story got going, though it was great. There are some criticisms here about how he kept the owl somewhat dependent on him, but he really didn’t. And he was a certified wildlife rehabber, so I don’t see that criticism as valid. But I actually did appreciate his philosophy more and more as the book continued. And I absolutely loved the story of the owl family and how he was able to observe behaviors that he would never have been able to observe if he hadn’t befriended the owl. Overall, a truly wonderful and uplifting story.
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- Billy
- 06-11-24
I just did not want this book to end it was wonderful
I really like the way the author wove the story along with thoughtful meditation on the way we treat our world, the way we treat our animals, and the animals that share our planet as well as the planet itself.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jessica
- 07-23-24
Misleading description
This book is 5% about owls and 95% about the author’s endless stream of consciousness and philosophizing about everything from religion to how humans are ruining the world. Clearly the author is someone who is used to giving lectures to a captive audience. If you are looking for charming tale about an owl, you will not find it here. Take a hard pass on this one.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jami
- 10-28-24
Not quite what I expected
This was a good book, although not the story I expected. I thought there would be more focus on Alfie and owls but there was quite a bit of philosophy and nature.
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