Elephants Books

The text is a good introduction to the french language. The repeation of "chaud" (hot) and "froid" (cold) throughout the book helps the child recognize the words. I like the narrowed focus of each volume in this series because books with lots of information "crammed in" seem to confuse the issue.

Besides this book's focus on hot/cold, others in the series examine location (in, on, under, behind), parts of the body, rooms in a house, simple counting, ... [so far, there are eight volumes]. I feel these are concepts even a pre-school child can relate to.

It's the literary equivelent of crack cocaine,
a small rock/paragraph at a time
will give you a first-bj rush,
attempting to injest the whole thing at once
will make your synapses burn brightly
RIGHT before they explode...

If Kettle ever mistakenly turns the volume knob
all the way up AND hits sustain,
the customs men will have to train dogs
to sniff out his books
and protect our future generations...

I was impressed with this book. It was really interesting and kept my interest as well as the child I was reading it to. The pictures did a great job in telling the story. It's great to find a children's book that you don't mind reading over and over. I plan to give some as gifts, I think other parents will appreciate it!

This book won the Harper Prize in 1959, a well-deserved award. It's an East Meets West story about a teacher who travels to India to visit her sister and finds herself in the position of mediator... between a man she begins to love (Indian), and her own family.

I first learned of this book as it was reportedly found on Ken Kesey's bookshelf while he headed up "The Merry Pranksters," of California's 60s Free-Love Society. Keysey clearly had good tastes in fiction! (I think Robin White was living nearby and he probably got the book for free).

Anyway, this is as much an adventure tale as it is a love story -- and the elephants make it all the more unforgettable. If you enjoy reading stories of Indian culture and everyday life, you could hardly pass this one by. It's nice light reading for anyone and a real page-turner!

This book won the Harper Prize in 1959, a well-deserved award. It's an East Meets West story about a teacher who travels to India to visit her sister and finds herself in the position of mediator... between a man she begins to love (Indian), and her own family.

I first learned of this book as it was reportedly found on Ken Kesey's bookshelf while he headed up "The Merry Pranksters," of California's 60s Free-Love Society. Keysey clearly had good tastes in fiction! (I think Robin White was living nearby and he probably got the book for free).

Anyway, this is as much an adventure tale as it is a love story -- and the elephants make it all the more unforgettable. If you enjoy reading stories of Indian culture and everyday life, you could hardly pass this one by. It's nice light reading for anyone and a real page-turner!

Describes the work of the Friends of the Asian Elephant's [http://www.elephant.tnet.co.th/] Elephant Hospital in Thailand that treats sick, injured, and mistreated Asian elephants. Excellent photographs and engrossing story of elephant medical treatment. Includes an index. Karen Woodworth-Roman, Children's Science Book Review

I love that this book has been translated from the original German. The book offers a fascinating view of life in the late 1800's as well as the immigrant experience. It is an easy read, full of delightful stories that bring the diary to life. Kudo's to Marie Bone Kobres

If you love reading about old time hunting in africa, this is a must have!

This title has long been out of print, but it is well worth hunting down and adding to one's collection. Despite the 1974 publishing date, Scullard's writing style is not outdated, and the level of illustration is sufficient. This book is a model for how an author should go about thoroughly reviewing a specialized component of historical warfare. It presents a complete, cohesive, authoritative, and balanced picture of the subject.

Scullard's interpretations are clearly presented, but he also provides balanced analysis of other possibilities and competing theories. He also does a commendable job of attempting elephant "accounting" in the historical sources, by keeping track of elephant forces changing hands from one ruler/army to others. This lends strength to his interpretations and assumptions.

The elephant in warfare is peculiarly striking since it is both so formidable and unpredictable. Elephants were powerful weapons in their day, at times striking terror into men and horses and thereby securing victory. On other occasions elephants were easily countered and sent amok back into their own forces, resulting in catastrophic disarray for their own army. The mercurial nature of elephant warfare, their declining population in North Africa, expensive upkeep, and improved countermeasures lead to the elephant's demise as a weapon of war. All these aspects are discussed in this fine book.

This work is for those whose imaginations are captured by the battles of Hannibal, Phyrrhus, and Alexander that involved elephants, and those who want a full understanding of elephants as weapons of war. Scullard does a fine job of reviewing elephant usage of the period from Porus vs. Alexander all the way to Sassanid Persia. Within the covers one will find descriptions of elephant use by Carthage, Numidia, Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucids, Sassanids, Rome (via allies), and more.

The author has included numerous archaeological examples of plates, figures, and stele depicting elephants with riders and/or towers. In addition there are photographs of many coins of different eras that featured elephants. These are discussed at length in the text. The text does a fine job of reviewing literary evidence, the archaeological discoveries, and more modern knowledge of elephants to paint a plausible picture of their use in war.

Although I had a fair grasp of elephant warfare before obtaining this book, I learned some surprising things. Chief among these is that towers/turrets were apparently used on forest elephants at times. While such use is mentioned several times by primary sources and I knew of such references, other modern authors have suggested it was not possible. Scullard accepts that it was possible, and was in fact necessary in the case of the Ptolomies facing turreted Indian elephants. If there is one thing that could be added to this work to improve upon it, it would be some modern artistic depictions of elephants in battle.

A moving story

It was the title which aroused my curiosity: "Elephants in the Pit" sounded a bit strange, at least it did not create any immediate mental image. I felt that I had to read how a book could end up with such a title. Well, it was a rewarding experience. The book gets right into it, the everyday life of the 1900 India, the poverty, the caste system, and its unjust treatment of lower classes, difficult to fathom for us in the western world of 2000, with its democratic and equality rules in place.

The (true) story tells us about the life of MP, as he is known to his friends (his full name is Madath Padinharathil Krishnan), an individual who did not fit into the caste-governed life of the early India, who had revolutionary ideas that made him an outcast even in his caste. MP encountered his role model at the age of seven, when he read the story of Bhishma, a legendary crown prince, a great warrior and statesman, who lived a model life full of virtues and concerns for justice. MP despised the caste system and readily mingled and communicated with lower caste members, a no-no in contemporary India. Even his relatives, including his mother, would ask: "Why do you have to be so different from everyone?" He made himself unpopular with persons of authority because he ever so often asked questions which expressed his doubts on the fairness of the governing systems. At college, when he read about western philosophers, he liked Locke's dictum that "everyone is obliged not to harm another person or take his possessions."

After graduating from college MP became a lawyer and very much involved in solving disputes between landowners and land tenants. What upset him most was the callous treatment tenants received and the arbitrariness with which land-lease contracts were interpreted vis-à-vis the illiterate farmers. He assisted tenants in their disputes with the rich landowners and made himself many enemies among influential people. Finally, when he made speeches at meetings of the tenants and encouraged them to resist actively the suppressive treatment by the landlords the authorities had enough. He was arrested on trumped-up charges, convicted by an unsympathetic British judge of having been found guilty "of waging war against the King," and given a life-long sentence.

Even in his jail MP continued to fight, this time for the rights of prisoners, who were under the control of corrupt officials who used money, budgeted to feed the prisoners, for their own purpose. He organized sit-down strikes until the jail warden gave in to the prisoners' demands. Of course, MP's behaviour caused him trouble again and again, but he was adamant in his pursuit of justice and fairness. Even harsh beatings could not change his determination.

Finally, his friends at home were able to convince the authorities that MP should be released from prison... after 13 years. He returned to his home state, now a well-known public figure, because so many people had heard of him, his fights, and determination. Many thought his advice and parties tried to recruit him as a member or even representative. He continued where he had left off: helping the poor and disadvantaged.

MP's story is a remarkable one and well told. His struggle in embedded in contemporary Indian surroundings, telling and illustrating vividly the idiosyncrasies of the local culture. The author is able to bring alive the supporting cast, like in a good movie: one can smell the flowers, hear the birds, and listen to the stories told by individuals who play a role in MP's life. Elephant in the Pits keeps one entranced and eager to turn pages... and it keeps one thinking about the unfairness of life. But it can be said: End is well, all is well!

There is one distraction in this book. The publisher points out that at the specific preference of the author the manuscript was not edited and it shows. There are a number of typographical errors, missing words, and some grammatical mistakes. Still, it is a worthwhile reading.