Thirty-Three Ways of Looking at an Elephant : From Aristotle and Ivory to Science and Conservation

Peterson, Dale (EDT)

Trinity University Press,U.S.（2020/12発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 320 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781595348661
• DDC分類 599.67

Full Description

Elephants have captivated the human imagination for as long as they have roamed the earth, appearing in writings and cultures from thousands of years ago and still much discussed today. In Thirty-Three Ways of Looking at an Elephant, veteran scientific writer Dale Peterson has collected thirty-three essential writings about elephants from across history, with geographical perspectives ranging from Africa and Southeast Asia to Europe and the United States. An introductory headnote for each selection provides additional context and insights from Peterson's substantial knowledge of elephants and natural history.

The first section of the anthology, "Cultural and Classical Elephants," explores the earliest mentions of elephants in African mythology, Hindu theology, and Aristotle and other ancient Greek texts. "Colonial and Industrial Elephants" finds elephants in the crosshairs of colonial exploitation in accounts pulled from memoirs commodifying African elephants as a source of ivory, novel targets for bloodsport, and occasional export for circuses and zoos. "Working and Performing Elephants" gives firsthand accounts of the often cruel training methods and treatment inflicted on elephants to achieve submission and obedience.

As elephants became an object of scientific curiosity in the mid-twentieth century, wildlife biologists explored elephant families and kinship, behaviors around sex and love, language and self-awareness, and enhanced communications with sound and smell. The pieces featured in "Scientific and Social Elephants" give readers a glimpse into major discoveries in elephant behaviors. "Endangered Elephants" points to the future of the elephant, whose numbers continue to be ravaged by ivory poachers. Peterson concludes with a section on literary elephants and ends on a hopeful note with the 1967 essay "Dear Elephant, Sir," which argues for the moral imperative to save elephants as an act of redemption for their systematic abuse and mistreatment at human hands.

Essential to our understanding of this beloved creature, Thirty-Three Ways of Looking at an Elephant is a must for any elephant lover or armchair environmentalist.

Contents

Table of Contents

Part 1: Cultural and Classical Elephants

The Meaning of Elephants

The Origin of Elephants

War Elephants

Aristotle's Elephant

Pliny's Elephants

Beasts of the Book

Part 2: Colonial and Industrial Elephants

Killers and Heroes

Industrial Killers

Part 3: Working and Performing Elephants

To Break and Tame

A Mother's Love

Jumbomania: A Circus Story

Death and the Circus

Cutting the Chain

Abusing Captive Elephants in India

Part 4: Scientific and Social Elephants

Individuals

Families

Green Penis Disease

Sex

Part 5: Emotional and Cognitive Elephants

Joy

Triumph and Grief

Big Love

A Concept of Death

The Secret Language of Elephants

Elephant in the Mirror

An Interest in Ivory and Skulls

Part 6: Empathic and Endangered Elephants

The Good Samaritans

Rescuing the Antelopes

Scents and Sensibilities

Blood Ivory

In Praise of Pachyderms

Part 7: Fictional and Literary Elephants

The Faithful Elephants

A Mahout and His War Elephant

"Dear Elephant, Sir"