This book is excellent satire. I read whole passages aloud to my husband so we could laugh together. It makes consipiracy theories fun again. And is very liberal with U.S. History.

Is it repetitive? Of course - it has a pretty overt message that it's trying to hammer home. It's not subtle, that's for sure. But it definitely gets its message across, and it's funny while it does so.

Thank you to NetGalley, Peter McIndoe & Connor Gaydos, and [publisher] for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I chose this title because I've heard of the Birds Aren't Real conspiracy and wanted to learn more. I had no idea which way McIndoe would run with it, if this was meant for serious Bird Truthers or if it was satire, you find out pretty quickly. I read quite a bit of the novel on my first sitting and was constantly laughing out loud. After starting and stopping a few times, the jokes didn't get me LOLing as consistently, but there were still a few laughs to be had. The good news is that this book is short enough to be able to enjoy it in its entirety in one sitting, which I think is the best way to read BAR.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of "Birds Aren't Real." This book was a meeting that could have been an email - too long and just sort of....kept going. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, but felt it could've been achieved in a much-shorter format. I DNF around 50%.

Imagine someone tells you a really funny joke; they tell it, you laugh, good time had by all, right?
Now imagine the teller continues for another hour with the same joke, going on rambling tangents, filling in waaaay more backstory than necessary, and speculating on character motivation.
The joke would wear thin pretty quickly...as it does with this book.

The truth is I’m not sure how to review this book. The premise is funny. I’d already heard of the Birds Aren’t Real movement, even recall seeing an interview or two over the last year or so. The segments were always quite amusing. And that’s kind of the issue here. While I found the premise of the book and the actual writing quite amusing, the length of the book is what kills it. It’s great for a short segment, but a full length book? It’s basically the same joke repeated again and again and while there are definite some laughs to be had it’s not long before the joke wears thin. The idea that in today’s world you can get people to believe almost anything is honestly quite true, and while I enjoyed it, I’d have enjoyed it more had it been half as long. Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC of Bird’s Aren’t Real.

I am providing feedback here as a courtesy, but will not be publishing any review on my socials due to the ongoing marketing boycott against St. Martin's Press, as lead by Readers for Accountability.

The "Birds Aren't Real" movement is one of the wackiest social experiments--a moment that encapsulates the "alternative facts" and "fake news" society of the late 2010's in America. A well-conceived fake conspiracy theory can apparently go far, and I love the author/leader of the "movement"'s commitment to the bit. This book started off strong, but was certainly too lengthy. I would have loved to see this edited down into a zine or novella.

Thank you for the eGalley copy that was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

Such an odd little book, but made me laugh out loud a few times. Would make a great gift - as long as they understand that it's satire!

Thank you @netgalley , @petermcindoe, @birdsarentreal and @stmartinspress for the ARC of "Birds Aren't Real" by Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos. I'm typically a very slow reader and I read this in one day. Totally hilarious and yet spot on for how easily people are swept into movements without doing their due diligence or research. That said, the authors did a lot of research and, very hilariously, provided their own spin on history. The review and assessment of all the presidents truly proves that these guys are not taking sides and everyone is fair game. But really the best part is the back story to why birds aren't real.

That said, it really shows how easily people get caught up in conspiracy theories. And conspiracy theories are a big part of the existence of antisemitism. So think about that while you read this book that shows how easily people can be conned into extremist groups and disinformation/misinformation to push an agenda

Highly recommend

A satire of the strange beliefs and conspiracy theories that we see at every turn these days. The very idea the there are a group of people who believe that birds aren't real. Some who believe they never existed, and others who believe they were wiped out and replaced by drones or other machines the government uses to spy on us. Amazing the way there is no limit to the imagination and our abilities to make ourselves believe what we want to believe.
This a satire of that exact belief. The history of how birds were removed from our world and replaced by the government with devices to use against the citizens. The idea is gold and starts out entertaining. However, this book could have gotten it's story and message across in 50 pages. As it droned on I found myself skipping whole sections to the point I ask myself why I was continuing. I feel that I was able to get the gist of the book, but did not finish. If you enjoy political satire and conspiracy theories, this may be one for you to look in to.

I’m giving it a five based on how in depth this author goes into convincing me that birds aren’t real. Some parts made me LOL! Some parts had me wondering wtf I was reading. I feel connected to the story immediately, and I can’t deny that I now wonder if birds are spying on me ;)

Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?
Conspiracy theorist will find this to be an interesting read as it is very detailed and covers a lot of what ifs.

Birds Aren't Real was a decent read of a satirical conspiracy theory from the internet. The book had me laughing out loud as it wove the tale of why birds aren't real and the conspiracy theory that started it all.

DNF
I requested this thinking it would be a funny read and maybe get to know why/how this conspiracy started. Well, it might do that at some point, but I can’t get past the fact that I’m 9% into the book and all I’m reading is a bunch of false information made up in relation to this conspiracy. I just cannot bring myself to read 200+ more pages of false information. I did go into reading this with an open mind, knowing this would be part of it, but this book was already far too long. Proceed with caution.

I wasn’t really sure where this was going. It went from humorous, to worrying, to slow and tedious. Not for me, but I know those who like to read about conspiracies will have a blast with it.

A very fun, weird humor book about a fake conspiracy theory. I’ll admit, I was a bit concerned this was something more serious (because god knows there are plenty of ridiculous conspiracy theories out there) but the more I read, the more I laughed and realized just what the authors were going for. Some of this “theory” gets a bit over the top, but I’m sure there are plenty of readers out there who like that sort of thing.

This starts off really strong. I always enjoy good satire. But, ultimately, it's just too long. Which isn't great considering it's not a very long book. I heard the author on a podcast a few years ago and I enjoy the concept and I appreciate what he is doing with his "movement." The chapter about the US presidents was very funny and clever. That had to be my favorite part.

DNF

I wanted to love this. I was ready to smirk, to snicker, to just enjoy. And I did…at first. The problem is that what started as snarky and cute soon became precious and a bit tiring. I did LOVE the bird/drone classification section. But I got bored after that.

And, yes, maybe it’s me. I just think that this would be so clever as a series of essays, but as a book, it stops being surprising and starts getting tedious.

• ARC via Publisher

I think that if you go into this book for fun and take it lightly you will have a fun time reading it. I think if you are super serious about it depending on where you fall on the political fence....maybe not so much. I thought it was an interesting read, and definitely made me think about a few things. I think since 9/11 I question things a lot more with everything in life, so for me I did enjoy reading this book and the thoughts behind it.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book that finally speaks the truth about one of the greatest secrets America has been keeping, and how "THEY" are planning to take this worldwide, except for these brave writers exposing "THEM" to the world, unless "THEY" get to them first.

I don't know how it started, probably with the assassination of JFK, that might have been my gateway drug, but for a long time, I loved to read conspiracy literature. Books, zines, pamphlets, picked up a flea markets, head shops, odd music stores, including the one I worked in. I couldn't get enough. Grand world conspiracies, local ones covered in alternative newspapers. I'm not sure even now what my believability was, but I couldn't get enough. Add in X-Files, and I was a happy camper. Those days seem so innocent now, compared with the way that conspiracy thinking has infected everyone. Pizza basements and Dead Kennedys fill the news, and a populous that has zero in the way of understanding media, is just lost in it.

However while all the rest of that stuff might be made in a Russian basement, this book here is the real deal. And only two people seem brave enough to talk the truth about the birds. Not the Hitchcock, documentary people pretend was a film, this is the real story, the God's honest truth about birds and the rise of the surveillance state. If one only reads one book, please make it Birds Aren't Real:The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in US History by Peter McIndoe & Connor Gaydos.

Allen Dulles was having a bad day. As head of the CIA under Eisenhower, Dulles dealt with Commies constantly winning, winning in Europe, winning in Asia, winning, winning winning. To make it through his work day Dulles began to day drink as much as he could handle. Leaving the CIA Dulles was shocked to find bird droppings on his car. In his madness, Dulles came up with an ingenious idea. One that could help him win against the Commies, keep his car clean, and even more keep an eye on those pesky American citizens who got in his way with their freedoms. Dulles convinced Eisenhower to kill all the birds, and replace them with robots. Who would watch Americans for pesky Commie habits, and other things. Eisenhower agreed, and with the help of Boeing engineers, all lacking family, friends and social lives, wiped out the birds. That is why one never sees a baby pigeon. Only the actions of a rouge agent, who saw a parrot watching a family one day, which made him realise that bird surveillance was wrong, brought this secret to life. That and the brave writers of this book.

This book reads like something found in the back of an army surplus store in the mid 90's. The writing has that perfect mix of real events, real names, possible ideas, bad science, and a wacky ending. The perfect conspiracy. As a conspiracy, I am sure that the same people who believes in Jewish Space Lasers will be all over this. As a satire, it's really funny. Funny in that laugh out loud way, to the oh man so many people are going to believe this. As with all jokes it does tend to go a little long, but one can appreciate the work that is put into this. I really would have loved to see the research and time they took to write and rewrite. So much of this seems so spot on.

Recommended for that weird uncle, or the weird uncle you find yourself becoming. Funny writing, and ex-conspiracy fans will find a lot to agree with. I felt a lot of déjà vu while reading. Though it could be the HAARP program. Or the birds.

Smart, funny premise that neatly satirizes the illogic of much conspiracy theorizing. Still slightly too thin a premise to stretch a whole book across.