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The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild (Elephant Whisperer, 1) Paperback – May 22, 2012
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Lawrence Anthony devoted his life to animal conservation, protecting the world's endangered species. Then he was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand. His common sense told him to refuse, but he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them.
In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.
The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad memoir of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, Anthony's unrelenting efforts at animal protection and his remarkable connection with nature will inspire animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSt. Martin's Griffin
- Publication dateMay 22, 2012
- Dimensions5.45 x 0.95 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-10125000781X
- ISBN-13978-1250007810
- Lexile measure840L
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“Anthony has made a difference in the lives of many magnificent animals who otherwise would have been lost to the world. When you're feeling down and out and defeated and ready to give up, read this inspiring book and share it widely with others.” ―Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
“In my thirty-five years of studying man/animal communication I have met only a few individuals who have the ability to enter into the metaphysical realm of the exotic animal. Lawrence Anthony has been there and back. His wonderfully written book The Elephant Whisperer is a true reflection of his ability to be one of the pachyderms.” ―Ralph Helfer, author of Modoc
“A lovingly written tale of close encounters, some beautiful and some frightening, with humans and nonhumans alike. Anthony's story of his trials and tribulations in preserving a herd of African elephants is a parable for the continent.” ―Irene M. Pepperberg, author of Alex & Me
“An engaging and vividly personal account, The Elephant Whisperer invites you in, as confidant and confederate, from the first page and holds you rapt to the very last. A compelling reminder of the power and mysteries of the natural world, Thula Thula's elephants are lucky to have a friend like Lawrence Anthony.” ―Amelia Thomas, author of The Zoo on the Road to Nablus
“The Elephant Whisperer is every bit as much a page-turner as a novel. … Anyone who remembers Born Free, a personal story of tamed East African lions, will hope this book, too, is destined for the screen.” ―San Francisco Book Review
About the Author
GRAHAM SPENCE is a journalist and editor. Originally from South Africa, he lives in England. Together he and Lawrence Anthony wrote Babylon's Ark: the Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo.
Product details
- Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (May 22, 2012)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 125000781X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250007810
- Lexile measure : 840L
- Item Weight : 13.1 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.45 x 0.95 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #9,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2 in Biology of Wildlife
- #3 in Biology of Mammals
- #398 in Memoirs (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Graham Spence is a journalist; born in Zimbabwe, who grew up in Mozambique and lived in South Africa, working at various stages on daily, Sunday and regional newspapers. At the time South Africa was engaged in a low-level civil war, a society seething with fear and resentment. It was, however, an intensely interesting and often surreal time to be a journalist.
He has co-written three non- fiction books with conservationist Lawrence Anthony: Babylon's Ark, The Elephant Whisperer and The Last Rhinos.
He has also written fiction - The Apocalypse Chase, an eco-adventure; and Keepers of the Flame, a novel about the existential struggle for the Western World in the war against terror.
His website is www.grahamspence.com
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"<i>In our noisy cities we tend to forget the things our ancestors knew on a gut level: that the wilderness is alive, that its whispers are there for all to hear – and to respond to.</i>"
"<i>Living rough in the wilderness is a salve for the soul. Ancient instincts awaken; forgotten skills are relearned, consciousness is sharpened and life thrums at a richer tempo.</i>"
"<i>Under the microscope, living organisms are just a soup of chemicals and minerals. But what about what the microscope doesn’t see? That life force, the vital ingredient of existence – from an acacia to an elephant – can it be quantified?</i>
"<i>My herd showed me that it can. That understanding and generosity of spirit is alive and well in the pachyderm kingdom; that elephants are emotional, caring and extremely intelligent; and that they value good relations with humans.</i>
"<i>This is their story. They taught me that all life forms are important to each other in our common quest for happiness and survival. That there is more to life than just yourself, your own family, or your own kind.</i>"
The story can be seen in one vein as the age old struggle between the primal savagery of trigger happy men killing for the thrill of it, and wiser minds trying to protect wildlife, knowing humankind's future is at stake. It perplexes me how our blinkered cognitive processes exhibit such vagaries, even though knowing of the fickleness of evolution's trials and the influences of subjective experiences.
"<i>It was something I simply couldn’t fathom … what type of person would shoot a terrified teenage elephant, and a female at that? For a tawdry fireside trophy? For the pleasure of the kill? And what kind of reserve owner would hawk a vulnerable young animal for such a reason?</i>"
The message comes through loud and clear, that to truly protect any life form is to protect all by living in respectful coexistence with all life forms in the natural world model of life fueled by life. In such, death and the recycling of essential elements is a necessary precursor to new life in Earth's closed system of physical life.
"<i>Death is an integral part of life. This is the dominant bush reality and I like it that way. It’s natural, uncluttered by materialism or artificial ethics and it helps me to maintain a wholesome perspective of my own existence and that of my friends and family.</i>"
Yet, in this book I was also amazed by the cognitive processes of the wildlife, especially the elephants. Whatever the explanations, it is beyond doubt that these creatures have senses far superior to ours, and more acute life forces. What have we lost in our human bubble?
"<i>We also have to understand that there are things we cannot understand. Elephants possess qualities and abilities well beyond the means of science to decipher. Elephants cannot repair a computer, but they do have communication, physical and metaphysical, that would make Bill Gates’s mouth drop open. In some very important ways they are ahead of us.</i>"
Lest one get the wrong idea, reading this story is definitely not wading through didactical musings. It is for the most part presented as an engrossing adventure in an edge of the seat manner. Could you retain your cool with a charging bull elephant bearing down on you, or for that manner on finding yourself face to face with a black mamba, or even confront poachers that would happily shoot you? What is depicted are varying mesmerizing situations the author has experienced that the reader may glean the relevance of. The occasional opining is hardly noticed as such.
"<i>Every wild thing is in tune with its surroundings, awake to its fate and in absolute harmony with the planet. Their attention is focused totally outwards. Humans, on the other hand, tend to focus introspectively on their own lives too often, brooding and magnifying problems that the animal kingdom would not waste a millisecond of energy upon. To most people, the magnificent order of the natural world where life and death actually mean something has become unrecognizable.</i>"
In closing I should note that in March of 2012 the author Lawrence Anthony passed away. As reported by the CBC on July 25, 2012, "After his death, although they were not alerted to the event, a group of wild elephants Anthony helped to rescue and rehabilitate travelled to his house in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. They stood around the house in an apparent vigil for two days, and then dispersed. Today, the elephants are 'completely wild and doing fine' according to Graham Spence, Anthony's brother-in-law and co-author of three books."
The imaginative concoctions of too much of storytelling these days don't elicit anyway near the real life emotional swings and metaphysical aspects inherent in this book.
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” ― Henry David Thoreau
The story itself was very charming. I couldn't put it down. Half way through, I started reading it out loud to my husband, and he sat glued to his seat to hear it. I even recommended it to a girlfriend of mine, who had just returned from living in Ethiopia with her husband for a couple years, and she told me she enjoyed the story, and that the native peoples speak just like stated in the book "Ye'boh!"
The story enchanted me and helped me appreciate elephants and their amazing intelligence, and have a great appreciation for the good man that lived the experience and wrote about it, as well as the good people he had working for him (and sympathy for the ones he had working for him that were living in fear, not love). I think the tale would be best appreciated by people at least 15 years old.
I positively recommend this book, and positively recommend this seller.
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Alka Parikh
The loss of Lawrence Anthony to the world earlier this year is so tragic and there are few so dedicated, understanding, respectful and caring towards wildlife and humans as he was.
I can't wait to read his other two books.