Giants of the Monsoon Forest: Living and Working with Elephants [Paperback]

No one who loves elephants or how humans interact with wildlife should pass up Jacob Shells remarkable book. Dan Flores, author of A beautifully written travelogue. The awe in which we hold elephants is amply fed by the stories and history in this fascinating book. Shells research is extensive and meticulous. The greatest strength& is its authors clear-eyed pragmatism. Mr. Shell respects elephants without sentimentalizing them. Human relations with animals have so often been brutally exploitative and cruel. At last, An urgent, impassioned, and important reminder that relations between humans and nonhumans need not and must not be as disastrously dislocated as they usually are; that human dignity is increased if we recognize the dignity of our nonhuman cousins, and dangerously diminished if we do not. Thought-provoking.& Examining everything from the muscular miracle of the beasts proboscis to the species wartime work, Shell also charts the threats facing Asian elephants, and the dearth of local voices in relevant policymaking. A deep dive into the surprisingly complex relationship between [elephants and humans].& Illuminating. Shells narrative is skilled at sketching the sociological, geographic, and ethical complexities of human-elephant relationships. Among the most enjoyable parts of the book are the stories of individual elephants, some of whom provided distinguished service to humans.& Highly readable. US