Thirty-Three Ways of Looking at an Elephant

Dale Peterson's twenty previous books have been named Best of the Year by the Boston Globe, the Denver Post, Discover, the Economist, the Globe and Mail, Library Journal, and the Village Voice. Two titles have been honored as Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. Peterson is the author of the definitive biography Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man, as well as Elephant Reflections, Giraffe Reflections, The Moral Lives of Animals, and The Ghosts of Gombe. With Jane Goodall, he coauthored Visions of Caliban: On Chimpanzees and People, and he is coeditor, with Marc Bekoff, of The Jane Effect: Celebrating Jane Goodall, published by Trinity University Press. A former fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Peterson teaches at Tufts University and lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.

• Table of ContentsPart 1: Cultural and Classical Elephants The Meaning of ElephantsThe Origin of ElephantsWar ElephantsAristotle's Elephant Pliny's ElephantsBeasts of the BookPart 2: Colonial and Industrial ElephantsKillers and HeroesIndustrial KillersPart 3: Working and Performing Elephants To Break and Tame A Mother's LoveJumbomania: A Circus StoryDeath and the CircusCutting the ChainAbusing Captive Elephants in IndiaPart 4: Scientific and Social Elephants IndividualsFamiliesGreen Penis DiseaseSexPart 5: Emotional and Cognitive Elephants JoyTriumph and GriefBig LoveA Concept of DeathThe Secret Language of ElephantsElephant in the MirrorAn Interest in Ivory and SkullsPart 6: Empathic and Endangered Elephants The Good SamaritansRescuing the AntelopesScents and SensibilitiesBlood IvoryIn Praise of PachydermsPart 7: Fictional and Literary Elephants The Faithful ElephantsA Mahout and His War Elephant"Dear Elephant, Sir"

"An illuminating collection...Will strike a chord with readers fascinated by the mysteries of the animal kingdom, and by humans’ commonality with other species.“ — Publishers Weekly"Elephants are amazing beings. They're really smart and have legendary memories; are deeply emotional, compassionate, and empathic; and form and maintain strong family ties for generations on end. This landmark book shows just how special these mammoths truly are. It's a game-changer for sure.” — Marc Bekoff, author of The Animals' Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Age“A thoughtfully crafted and valuable resource for ethnozoologists and animal lovers more widely. From accounts of the trained elephants of the ancient Mediterranean to tales of the First Indochina War's anticolonial elephant-human duos, from essays on elephants' complex emotional lives to critical looks at the elephant ivory trade, this elegant and fascinating book offers a broad sampling of how both elephant species groupings—Asian and African—have interacted with human cultures over the last several millennia.” — Jacob Shell, author ofGiants of the Monsoon Forest: Living and Working with Elephants“To know what our species is like, read this book about elephants. I swear by all that’s holy that no book like it has ever appeared before. It will leave you gasping, sometimes with pleasure, other times with unimaginable horror. It’s carefully, beautifully presented, brimming with accuracy, and so utterly fascinating that you cannot put it down.” — Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of Life"A must-have treasure for anyone who loves elephants—and who doesn’t? Humorous, heartbreaking, and revelatory, it contains a pachyderm’s worth of facts, stories, and wisdom." — Sy Montgomery, author of How to Be a Good Creature