Product Description

Spanning several decades and three continents, Modoc is one of the most amazing true animal stories ever told. Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again; through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940s New York City. Modoc is a captivating true story of loyalty, friendship, and high adventure, to be treasured by animal lovers everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5612 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-01
• Released on: 1998-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060929510
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Modoc is the joint biography of a man and an elephant born in a small German circus town on the same day in 1896. Bram was the son of an elephant trainer, Modoc the daughter of his prize performer. The boy and animal grew up devoted to each other. When the Wunderzircus was sold to an American, with no provision to take along the human staff, Bram stowed away on the ship to prevent being separated from his beloved Modoc. A shipwreck off the Indian coast and a sojourn with a maharajah were only the beginning of the pair's incredible adventures. They battled bandits, armed revolutionaries, cruel animal trainers, and greedy circus owners in their quest to stay together. They triumphed against the odds and thrilled American circus audiences with Modoc's dazzling solo performances, only to be torn apart with brutal suddenness, seemingly never to meet again. Hollywood animal trainer Ralph Helfer rescued Modoc from ill-treatment and learned her astonishing story when Bram rediscovered her at Helfer's company. His emotional retelling of this true-life adventure epic will make pulses race and bring tears to readers' eyes. --Wendy Smith

From Kirkus Reviews
The simply astonishing, exhilarating story--complete with high adventure, betrayal, and resurrection--of Modoc, elephant extraordinaire, told by Helfer (The Beauty of the Beasts, 1990). They were born on the same day, a hundred years back, in a Black Forest village: Bram Gunterstein, son of a circus animal trainer, and Modoc, an Indian elephant headed for big-top life with the Wunderzircus, a provincial troupe. Their love for each other develops early, when Bram is just a toddler and Modoc a youthful one-ton package, and Bram's father on his deathbed councils Bram to watch after Modoc. That he does, and the tribulations and pleasures they share defy the imagination: The circus is sold out from under Bram to the sinister Mr. North; Bram stows away on the vessel transporting Modoc, leaving behind the girl of his dreams; discovered, Bram wins over the captain, but the ship sinks during a hurricane; Modoc and Bram float to the shores of India, where Bram learns further tools of the trade at the maharaja's elephantarium; there he lives in a teak-built compound, tends to Modoc, and is honored to have an audience with the sacred white elephant; he woos and wins a woman from the village but is warned that North is on his trail. He strikes out with Modoc to the teak plantations of Burma, is captured by rebels, loses his wife, confronts North, journeys to the US and fashions a spectacular show for Modoc, wins back his earlier love, only to have the elephant sold out from under him again. Helfer (an animal trainer by trade) happens across Modoc and buys him in the 1970s, then Bram appears yet again. The story is told with a heart-tugging warmth that, granted, at times slips into Disney mode, but that feels credible: There is, amazingly enough, a truthful tang to the picaresque proceedings. One glorious pachyderm and one cracking story. (b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"A captivating tale." -- -- Publishers Weekly

"A captivating tale." -- Publishers Weekly

"Heartwarming, captivating...a beautifully true story that will make you think twice about the incredible and very real feelings of elephants, and probably the greatest love story ever told." -- African Sun-Times

"Once I started this incomparable story, I couldn't put it down, and I cannot get it out of my mind--nor will I ever. The message of what can be accomplished by training through affection and joy will thrill all animal lovers." -- Betty White

"Once in a while, a book comes along to prove that wonderful friendships can occur between the animal kingdom and mankind. Ralph Helfer has done it with Modoc." -- San Antonio Express-News

Customer Reviews

Modoc: A fictional tale of true beauty
Let me start off by saying that I do love this book. It's a beautiful story that is well written and filled with emotion. Admittedly, this book had me in tears a few times. It is definitely aimed at tugging the heart strings.

What disappoints me about this book is that it claims to be a true story, when it is indeed mostly fiction. There are only tiny bits of fact in there, and those facts are mostly exaggerated. Things that started tipping me off:
1. The author describes most of the Indian elephants (aka Asian elephants) as having tusks. In reality, tusks on Asian elephants are pretty uncommon.
2. The author describes Modoc as having tusks, even to the end of the book soon before she died. Yet in the pictures in the book, the elephant shown has no tusks at all.
3. A circus owner on the hunt for *years* in a foreign country all for one elephant? I doubt that seriously.
4. No dates are given, and for being a work of "fact", I found it odd that no sources are ever listed except for very vague comments (i.e. saying that newspapers wrote articles, but never naming any specific paper)
5. Most information cannot be found except in reference to this particular book.
6. There is an act of a bull's mating with a cow (bull=male elephant, cow=female elephant) that seems way over the top and incredibly ferocious, quite unlike actual mating "rituals" among elephants.
After some extensive research, including research with the Circus Historical Society, I discovered that many elephants were named Modoc, the most famous being "Big Modoc" owned by the Ringling Bros Circus. In fact, Ringling Bros owned 3 elephants named Modoc, the youngest eventually being owned by Helfer, only years after being passed around from circus to circus. Helfer only owned this elephant for 3 years before she was passed onto another place, where she died at the age of 55, not 70 as the book claims. The elephant pics of one performing in the circus is that of Big Modoc, the elephant Helfer did *not* own. While a wonderful story, the bottom line was that Helfer made up most of what was going on. There is no elephant that went through the life that this fictional Modoc went through, there is no Bram Gunterstein...this is a story made up by a man who took an elephant he owned for three years and greatly exaggerated her life.
I also did take issue with the absolutely unnecessary writing style towards human sexuality. It was too graphic, and served no purpose except to throw in sex. The graphic details could have easily been left out without compromising the tenderness of the romantic relationships described in the story.

As I said, I do love this book. But I love it as a work of fiction, not as one of fact. I do not understand why Helfer would choose to make up a story and then call it true, because in my opinion, that greatly hurts his credibility. Unfortunately most people simply take him at his word without actually researching the truth behind the book. I believe the actual plot, writing style, and emotional depth make it a five star book. However, after my extensive research proved that Helfner fabricated almost all of this yet claimed it to be true, the credibility made me think "three star". Yet I couldn't justify rating such a lovely and romantic story so low, so I compromised and gave it four stars.

Please, do read and enjoy this book. But read it with the thoughts that the "greatest elephant whoever lived" merely lived in someone's imagination. It is a great love story that ultimately teaches that it's love, kindness, and affection that prove to be the best way to care for ANY animal. And even for a work of fiction, that is a lesson that is definitely applicable to real life.

heartwarming, breathtaking, and wonderfully written for all
Modoc has to be the most amazing story ever told about one's love for the animal kingdom. I was astonished with the retold accounts throughout the text........always reading on to find out what happened next to Bram and his beloved Modoc. I can honestly say it is my favorite book of all time for it touched my heart and actually did bring tears to my eyes as I completed it aboard an airline. I've handed it down to my sister to be read to my 6-year-old nephew. He's intrigued with the story and loves hearing it aloud. It's a book for all ages indeed!

An Inseparable Pair
This story starts with the birth of a boy and a girl. A human and an elphant. Born at the exact same time on the same farm, from the beginning their futures were together. Modoc tells of the amazing journey of this pair from life to death, beginning to end. Filled with heart-wrenching hi's and low's, before the end you'll have used a full box of Kleenex at least.

Bram (the boy) and Modoc (the elephant) travel all over the world. Their status changes from lowly son of a circus elephant trainer to stowaway, from fugitive to star. It even weaves the author's own part in this epic into the tale of life and death.

Modoc is a fantastic novel from start to finish and definitely worth the read.