If the country's official mascot is an eagle, then its unofficial mascot is the elephant. While the eagle soars above the head of the nation from a dispassionate distance, the elephant stands with his feet on the ground with simplest of wretches and the most powerful of men. The first elephant arrived aboard ship barely twenty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He toured the former colonies on foot from Maine to Georgia, appearing in front of a barn or a tavern, hidden by a canvas curtain, where people flocked to see him, paying the admission fee in cash, rum, or potatoes. Then they went home and told their friends and neighbors, I have seen the elephant. Since then, the elephant has become an unparalleled symbol in the American imagination and a giant figure in our popular culture. As the number of elephants grew in the early 1800s, they ventured onto the frontier, and traveled to every state, territory, and possession in the Union. They worked clearing the land by pulling stumps, laid ties for new railroads, and hauled cargo in shipyards. In 1849, an elephant crossed the Rockies in search of gold in California. The elephant became a symbol of the horrors of the battlefield during The Civil War, and the emancipation of slaves became Lincoln's elephant. Just when excitement over the elephant began to wane, P.T. Barnum started to include them in his traveling caravans toward the turn of the century. Soon, elephants were performing Shakespeare and playing baseball, winning over the American public with their imposing yet gentle manner. In 1884, the famous Jumbo, whose name lives on in our daily lexicon, saved the Brooklyn Bridge from collapse. Elephants resumed their place in our culture, from Thomas Edison's famous electrocution of poor Topsy to the CIA's LSD-dropping Tusko in the 1960s, from D.C.'s political animals to Hollywood's giant stars. In Behemoth, Ronald B. Tobias, a natural historian and filmmaker, has written the first and only comprehensive history of the elephant in America. He traces the elephant from its first steps on our shores to its indelible footprint on our national culture, capturing our imagination and paralleling our own joy and suffering. Interspersed throughout this lively and fascinating chronicle are dozens of illustrations, posters, and news articles from the eighteenth century through the present, underlining the strength of elephant as an enduring symbol of the American experience.

About the Author
Ronald B. Tobias is a professor of science and natural history filmmaking in the School of Film and Photography at Montana State University. He was a producer for the Discovery Channel for fifteen years and has produced, written, and directed more than thirty natural history films, many of which have appeared on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

Reviews
"A thoroughly entertaining history." -- The Boston Globe "This book is a vital history lesson on the myriad ways elephants have permeated American culture, from Taft to Dumbo." -- Publishers Weekly "Behemoth is a fitting title for this most welcomed book about elephants -- huge, magnificent, and sentient beings with legendary memories -- who have captured the hearts of innumerable people. Ronald Tobias's book is a wonderful read, packed with detailed information about these iconic animals." -- Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and editor of Ignoring Nature No More: The Case for Compassionate Conservation "Behemoth reveals in devastating detail the 200-year history of the elephant in America... Ronald Tobias's meticulous research should encourage us to make the future for these animals a brighter, more respectful, and more caring episode." -- David Hancocks, author of A Different Nature "Carefully researched and elegantly written, Ronald Tobias's book brings shape and color to America's longstanding tradition of hucksterism-this time, at the expense of the world's largest land animal." -- John Heminway, author of Yonder "In his unique book Behemoth, Ronald Tobias brilliantly weaves the story of captive elephants into the very fabric of America's history, revealing the glory and the grief until the reader hangs his head and vows that they shall never again suffer as they have and, disturbingly, still do." -- Dr. Rob Atkinson, former Chief Executive Officer, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee "Behemoth is an astounding collection of everything elephant in America: the most magnificent animals on earth against small, exploitive humans. The battle continues, and the elephants are losing." -- Ed Stewart, Co-Founder and President, Performing Animal Welfare Society



Book Information
ISBN 9780062244857
Author Ronald B. Tobias
Format Paperback
Page Count 512
Imprint HarperPerennial
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Weight(grams) 399g
Dimensions(mm) 203mm * 135mm * 21mm