Dimensions
147 x 206 x 24mm
'The elephant, I have learned, is unique among all the creatures of earth and sea . . . It appears in the art and myth of virtually all the peoples of the world. It turns up in every major religion . . . [Elephants] have essential nobility, serenity, sagacity, loyalty and playfulness, a simple goodness, a lack of animosity - unless provoked. They occupy a special place in our consciousness; they convey a sense of perfect beings. In many ways, they represent what Jehovah, Jesus, the Prophet, the Buddha, and the other great teachers adjure us to be. Yet these same creatures . . . have throughout history brought out the worst: our savagery, greed, and unfeeling cruelty.
Today both elephant species, Asian and African, tremble on the edge of extinction. If we allow the elephant to vanish from the planet, do we not forfeit some of what is best in ourselves?'
In 'The Astonishing Elephant', Shana Alexander tells a story filled with drama, humour, sorrow, greed, sex and science. She travelled the world for this story, interviewing the zoologists, biologists and other researchers who are devoting their lives to the mysteries of the elephants. She has looked back in history, detailing the elephant's importance in every major religion, in work, in warfare, and in its position - now threatened - at the heart of every circus, from Rome to Ringling.
