Product Description

This concise, richly illustrated biography of the African elephant--from ancient Egypt to the most recent discoveries about elephant society and communication--is also a passionate plea to preserve the species.

The relationship between elephant and man has been dominated by brutality and persecution. Centuries of exportation, unabated hunting for ivory, and shrinking habitat have left only five countries in Africa with sizeable elephant herds. Corrupt governments and lawless poachers are currently flouting what little protection the elephant has.

What will be the African elephant's destiny? Will it soon be relegated to zoos and nature preserves? Martin Meredith lays out the history of this majestic animal from the Egyptian pharaohs' first ivory expeditions 2500 years ago to today, and explores the elephant's role in literature and popular culture. He shares recent extraordinary discoveries about the elephant's ability to communicate, its sophisticated family and community structure, and the ways--rare in the animal world--in which elephants show compassion and loyalty to each other. Meredith also illuminates how the legacy of colonialism in Africa--and unrelenting poverty, disease, and civil war--affects the elephant's fate. Can Africa find a way to preserve its most enduring symbol of freedom? Readers of national bestsellers including Silent Thunder, Elephant Memories, and When Elephants Weep will want to read this urgent, illuminating book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1678437 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04
• Released on: 2003-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 244 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this solid introduction to the world of elephants, Meredith covers all the major topics including biology, social behavior, recent scientific discoveries, ancient elephantology, the devastating ivory trade, the truth about elephant graveyards and the insistent threat of extinction. Meredith demonstrates that human involvement in elephantine affairs has been disastrous to the pachyderm: the quest for ivory had caused the extinction of all Syrian herds by 500 B.C.; many ancient cultures took elephants to war; and Romans used the animals in their blood sports. Much of the book follows the history of the European exploitation of Africa's three treasures: gold, slaves and ivory. The quantities of murdered elephants and descriptions of killing methodologies are deeply affecting. Once Meredith's history reaches modern times, the shock of population counts is astounding in comparison with the numbers of elephants that roamed free in the past. Aristotle's treatise on the animals' anatomy, behavior, diet and reproduction was the beginning of a long line of interest, but only recently has science uncovered the answers to mysteries such as how separate herds coordinate movement over many miles. Meredith's primer on elephantine matters will help turn a reader's casual interest into a fascination.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The long, sad history of the relationship between the African elephant and humans is detailed in this succinct account. Meredith, a former foreign correspondent for the London Observer and author of numerous books on Africa, has condensed centuries of writings about elephants into an eminently readable "biography." This tragic tale begins with well-known elephant researcher Ian Douglas-Hamilton's 1987 return to his study area only to discover that most of the elephants he had studied for 20 years had been slaughtered for their ivory. The narrative then jumps back to look at how the Egyptians, Romans, and early Europeans exploited Africa's elephants, the killing of which only increased with the rise of the slave trade and the colonization of Africa. The establishment of national parks and game reserves slowed the killing. Finally, the effects of the Ivory Wars of the 1970s and 1980s end this sad chronicle. Meredith's obvious affection for his subject shines through the narrative, which is illustrated with period woodcuts. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Meredith's affection for his subject shines through the pages... a passionate petition by Meredith to preserve these amazing creatures." -- Coral Gables Gazette, May 29, 2003.

"[Meredith's] book is highly recommended for most natural history collections because of the depth of the author's research and experience." -- Library Journal, March 15, 2003.

Customer Reviews

The Romance of the Elephant
The subtitle is slightly misleading. This book is definitely a biography of the African elephant, but not from the point of view of the elephant, but of man's relationship with the African elephant. So note. This means that the science of the elephant is not the main thrust of this book, in fact, the biology, zoology, and ecology of the elephant is maybe a fourth of this book. So if you are looking solely for science, this book will disappoint you.

Bottom line first: If you are a fan of the elephant, or if this is your first book on the elephant, than this is a good book. If you know a lot about the science of the elephant, and want to know more about the culture of the elephant, this is a good start. Those wanting more science or more about the craft of ivory art, look else where.

Now, that is it, but read on for more details, if you like. This book is -rather- the history of man's relationship with the African elephant. It's quite romantic, tragic, and greedy at the same time. Meredith presents us with many facets of the elephant. From it's mythology in the ancient world, symbolizing both wisdom, and power. To the greed of the ivory trade which has happened several times in the past and has almost lead to the extinction of the elephant each time. There are plenty of color pictures showing the elephant as well as some nice illustrations peppered throughout the book.

So it starts right away with ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. And just how the elephants were used in these societies. Mostly for war, and for ivory. So, we see the history of elephant use in wars, from Alexanders first encounter with them, to Carthage's valiant attempt to overthrow Rome.

Meredith has almost captured the romance and the allure of Africa, from a colonial European viewpoint. Here, we are introduced to fabled lands of Punt, of Zanzibar. He even shows us the ties between the elephant and the Arabian nights. There are plenty of stories of the hunt, and of legendary hunters and their big adventures which included not only hunting elephants, but discovering such places as the source of the Nile.

There are some exciting passages of just how the elephant was hunted. From hunters that would to hang by an elephant tail, and bring it down, to spear hunters, to eventually gunmen.

Now, I say, from a colonial European viewpoint, because the ivory trade is intimately tied to both gold and slavery, and Meredith isn't shy to report these things too. The terrible greed is presented with some really vivid stories. One of them is about Arab merchants killing women's babeis to help the women better carry the ivory.

Throughout all the mayhem, Meredith shows the elephant as a very intelligent, gentle, and dare I say wise being. The stories are quite heartbreaking. Hunters doing mortal wound experiments finally notices the down elephant tearing, and puts it out of its misery. A calf cries in help after being stuck in a hunters trap. It's family tries to pull it out, but is scared away by hunters. Later, another troop comes, and the calf is adopted. Siblings knotting their tusks in intimate family bonding. In some ways, elephant families are more intimate than human ones.

Later chapters, present the science of the elephant. And since I'm a science fan, I found these chapters the most interesting. Meredith points out the differences between African savannah and forest elephants, and that of Indian elephants. He also writes about how elephants communicate, and their mating behaviors. But, by far the most interesting chapter in the entire book had to do with death. It is speculated that elephants 'know' of death, just as much as we do. They seem to grieve. They bury their dead. The look after the bones of their ancestors. In one story, an elephant breaks into a compound, retrieves the bones of a downed elephant, and places them back at the site where the downed elephant was shot.

Now let's get on with the negatives. Meredith focuses too much on the destruction of the elephant. Instead of having one chapter about how elephants were decimated by colonial europeans, we have several chapters each focusing on a particular region of Africa. And for each chapter, the story is much the same: an explorer finds a route into a region, a trade route is established, tusks, slaves, gold, rubber come out of the region.

It is a sad tale, and the story deserves it space, but I would rather they had focused on other things. For instance, he could have discussed more about the luxury of ivory. What makes it so alluring for people. We could have pictures of some of the items he talks about, like the chyrselephantine that are statues made of ivory and gold. With people more sympathetic to the elephant, it is hardly understandable today why anyone would want to kill an elephant to make a trinket.

Also, there are many questions unanswered that I wish Meredith will address in his next edition. What was man's pre-historical relationship with the elephant? Native Africans seemed to have lived with the elephant peacefully, it was the outsiders and ancient cultures that had a thirst for elephants. Meredith please speculate! Also, Elephants can have a powerful influence on the environment, turning jungles into savannahs. Could it be that the elephant had some influence on the expanding Sahara desert?

This is the biography of the African elephant, but I would have loved to have known the fate of Indian elephants. What about the species of elephants that lived on Greece which were only 3 feet high?

Finally, the illustrations, and pictures were a nice edition, but some key photos/drawings should be added to the next edition. In particular, is the comparison of the African savannah elephant to the African forest elephant to the Indian elephant, comparing the visible differences between these three species.

So, in summary, this book is a broad look at man's relationship with the African elephant. There are some parts that are too detailed, but Meredith overall does a fine job. He shows us just how atrocious, cruel, and mean Man's behavior has been, in stark contrast to the wise, compassionate, and graceful behavior of the Elephant.

PACHYDERMS ARE PRECIOUS...
This is a wonderful, well written, illustrated book about elephants and their role throughout history, as well as their present state in the world. I confess, I did not know much about elephants before reading this book. I now feel I know something about them, and what I have discovered is fascinating. I did not realize how complex and intelligent these magnificent creatures are, nor how dangerously close to extinction they have become. It would, indeed, be tragic were that to happen, for elephants are sociable, sentient, and intelligent.

The author takes the reader on a tour throughout history, describing the elephant's interaction with humanity and its role in the affairs of mankind and its impact on the environment. The book traces the influence of the elephant and the various uses to which mankind has put this great creature. From being used as a conveyance in times of war, to being paraded as an object of wonder and curiosity, to being hunted down mercilessly for its ivory tusks, the elephant has had a somewhat checkered history in terms of its interaction with human beings.

The author also carefully relates the elephant's own social structure, which is a sophisticated and complex one. Their mating rituals, their family life, and their handling of death are all addressed by the author, who paints a picture of a multi-faceted and remarkable society of elephants. It is only in the twentieth century that its complexity has begun to be understood by man. It is hoped that this is not a case of too little, too late.

Unfortunately for the elephant, however, its positive qualities have taken a backseat to its value as a commodity. Elephant tusks may eventually bring about the demise of the entire species, if the world does not take heed. A portion of this book is devoted to the ivory wars that have decimated the great elephant herds of Africa, turning elephants into an endangered species. Were elephants to be driven to extinction by pure, unadulterated greed, it truly would be tragic. This book effectively drives that point home.

A must read for Elephant Lovers!!!
This is one of the most informative and complex book I have read about Elephants so far, and I've read a lot! It is an easy read, which is great for all the info that's inside.

This is for people who are interested in learning a bit more about the history of the elephants and how and when it all started that humans used these majestic animals for wars and started hunting them for ivory.

The book ends with some wonderful thoughts about the future co-existence between humans and elephants and what's at stake.