Elephants Books

This book is more a historical document than a picture book. It presents a true look at the unintended and often unrealized consequences of war. Animals suffer from war in any area that the people are also suffering.

It is well written and has vibrant illustrations but it is a horribly sad and graphic story. I agree with other reviewers that it is more appropriate for junior and even high school students as an accessible history lesson. It is heart breaking and not for young children.

I use "Faithful Elephants" with my middle school Halocaust unit. My students love to see a different perspective of WWII, and I cry every time I read it. It is probably not suitable for elementary but quite poignant for secondary school students.

I tried to put zero stars, but the computer wouldn't let me. I hate this book. Never in my life have I read anything this disturbing. The fact that this book exists, perterbs me greatly and I wonder what possible purpose these authors could have had in writing it. I am a teacher, and I would NEVER read this to my class. Again, I hate this book.

I read this after reading Roland Smith's Elephant Run, an excellent childrens/young adult book involving elephants in World War II. While that book was even-handed, I found this book to be just plain gut wrenching for adults and even worse for children who often have such a special bond with animals. This bond may be, as my children's lit professor suggested, due to the vulnerability animals and children feel at the hands of bigger and stronger (in most cases) adults. If that idea is true, then the premise of this book is even worse.

Although the author attempts a tenderness in the writing style and the illustrations are well done, the deaths of the elephants seem so cruel and pointless even in war, a war I might add, where the Japanese were aggresors as often as victims. I'm probably more of a pacifist than most (two years in the Peace Corpse should count for something!), but I think there are a lot more effective books to be used to promote peace. There are also a lot more effective books to promote courage and hope against all odds.

I just attended a Peace Prize Forum in Sioux Falls, SD, and this book was part of a curriculum for teaching children about peace and war. I think it is one of the most powerful books I have ever read.
This is a tender book about how war affects life, in a way accessible for children, and equally vivid and profound for adults.
The illustrations are also beautiful.

This poor little elephant gets spanked by each parent, and all relatives, even different species for asking questions. I haven't had to spank my children yet and I certainly wouldn't do it so often, especially not for questioning things.

Geoffry Patterson's beautifully illustrations combine with the easy to read rhythm of this Rudyard Kippling tale. A captivating book. A treasure.

I used to read this story to my son, now 29; and it was always a favorite of his and of mine. I just bought this copy to read to his 3-year-old daughter, who also loves it. I got the "again!" plea from her, which is always a good sign. This is a fun story to read out loud.

This is a wonderful, imaginative, creative take on an old tale. Nicholson is great -- charming, sly, knowing & on top of each character, McFerrin is pure lyric, his vocal skills put to perfect use here, & the whole production is enough to stop you in your tracks. Unless, of course, you have a zombie agenda -- the stubby mustachioed desire to dictate all that happens in the world around you, to re-write history to your preconceptions. Too much whacking? How about you get a real life, load up on the amazing, the unexpected, the delightful, the instantaneous & then try this. Yup, it'll never live up to any PC ideas. It may not be the definitive telling of this story (though I know of no better & don't expect any real soon), but it is a totally charming variation if you are still breathing when you see it.

One of the most original tales in the English language, "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling is published again, this time with pictures by Lorinda Bryan Cauley. The book has been around since 1983, and still holds its own in style.

From time to time, during visits to the zoo, have you wondered why an animal has a certain feature? Giraffes have long necks. Why? Monkeys have feet that are a lot like hands. Why? And, elephants have extraordinarily long noses. What good is that?

Kipling knew why and took time to tell us. With the refrain explaining where it all happened, by "the banks of the great-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees," Kipling shows us what fun alliteration can be.

While in pursuit of an array of questions, especially what crocodiles eat, a young elephant -- an Elephant's Child, goes on a journey to the Limpopo to find out. His quick to spank him relatives don't encourage him to go so much as force him to, fully geared with little red bananas.

Loaded with naivete and his next meal, he heads out. He meets a bi-colored-python-rock-snake and the crocodile who not-so-politely gives him the answer, and the Elephant's Child returns to explain on his own terms what he learned.

A generous mix of black and white, and color pen and ink drawings frame the story. As imaginative as Kipling's words, Cauley's pictures will tease readers to wonder about the animals and exotic jungle and river.

Versions of "The Elephant's Child" abound, as the original tale is part of public domain. Be sure to get an unedited, uncorrected version, as modern editors lack the brilliance Kipling was blessed with.

I fully recommend "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling, and this version is worthy of the story and your shelf.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I found Herrera's take on the people she met in Cameroon to be compassionate, loving, yet not lacking insight. The material on own life adds to the book, which is after all, a memoir, not a scholarly study, about an individual's response to radically new experiences. I do wish the author had more insight into her own psyche; but generally, her observations and experiences are well worth the read.

Overall the book was good. I didn't like the two to four page "chapters" though. At times it seemed like the book was more about the author and her past as opposed to her Peace Corps experiences. But maybe that's what she was going for. Try "Destination Estonia" if you enjoy Peace Corps books.

Mango Elephants is a book from the heart. Herrera shares her vulnerabilities and strengths, courage and fears, joys and sorrows, all in the jumble of extremes that is so real for any traveler living alone in a culture very different than her own.

The reader becomes inspired, as Herrera was inspired, by many of the villagers she met in Cameroon. What amazing individuals they were, and what deep bonds she formed with them! Mango Elephants leads the reader through a door into their worlds. The presentation is simple, but the feelings are raw, and very human. Ultimately Susana proves to be courageous, reaching out to find mutual meaning and to offer those around her concrete signs of love.

Skip this one, IF you only have the time or interest to read ONE book from a Peace Corps worker in Africa.*

Author Susana Herrera goes to Africa thinking herself oppressed in America, due to her Hispanic heritage, etc., but by contrast, sounds like a typical valley-girl-bimbo-whiner once she gets to her Peace Corps village. Her story is mostly about HER coping with her own emotions and physical lack of niceties like shampoo, and not about sharing insights into the lives of the local people and the problems the Peace Corps is trying to help them solve.

She comes across as selfish and self-absorbed, trying to explain to the locals in Cameroon that she also comes from an oppressed background. Overall, she doesn't keep her private life private, never tries to objectify her observations, and as a result seems very unprofessional.

If you want to read about a rather spoiled woman who "finds herself" in Africa and becomes a teacher when she returns to California, go ahead and read this book.

*If you'd prefer to read an inspirational, informative, professional account of life in the Peace Corps in Africa, hurry to get a copy of -Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village- by Sarah Erdman.

I'm reading this book right now for an English class at the school where Ms. Herrera currently teaches. After hearing her slide show on the book, the images she describes were brought to life. Without this, it still is a great book. It's more about what would I do in her position than it is about being a volunteer. For those who want to read a story about the need to fit in in a new place, this is it!

As a Children's librarian, I must take exception to the age recommendation for Pete & Pickles. This story is dark and deals with death by drowning. It is not a typical "bedtime story" for children under the age of 10. No cozy dreams offered here. Most pictures are scary with several pages having wall art dealing with sinking ships, hurricane-force waves, and piggies floundering in stormy and deep water. This is fun? Buy it for your adult self, but keep it away from snuggly bedtime reading with your kids.

I purchased this book without knowing one of the quiet little side-plots was the recent death of a spouse (not a spoiler - it's clear by page 3). Since my husband recently died, I thought others should know who might be in the same emotional place. It's a beautiful book, and can bring a sorrowing widow/widower some hope, but it sure can take you by surprise if you're not prepared <>! This is one you definitely want to pre-read before the little one climbs into your lap for story time!!!

This was a wonderful story and my daughter loves it! We read it over and over again.

I've been an Opus fan for many years and Bloom County nearly back in college. So as I realized that Opus would not be part of my Sunday's any longer... I started out to find more about Berkeley Breathed, who it seems, is very private person with a modest web site. What intrigues me was the story of his daughter being the creator of this idea of a little pig with a caring elephant as a friend. So I purchase the book to give as a gift to a niece. When it comes to illustration in such a stunning way, Berkeley is a true artist which draws you in... but the story line was way out of line for a "picture" book. It was odd that Pete was vacuuming Pete's wife Paprika's grave. But to sleep... knowing to dream death by drowning?!

Maybe some would say not to mollycoddle your children and I'm well aware of the nightmares that so many children of the world face from hated, poverty, starvation and disease. But if I could, I would shield all children from the disappointing behavior of so many adults. So reality happens... I would just prefer to keep at bay for at least kindergarten. Just as an FYI... Amazon cut the book viewing just as this event was to occur... I wonder why?! Good book for non-English speaking kids... they can fantasize a better story line!

I chose this book for my granddaughter because it has a message about friendship but also has lots of fun! Every time I ask her which book she wants me to read it's this one.

A horrifing serial killer is loose in the north Indian state of Assam. He has claimed 38 victims. Horrible murders, all have literally been beat into pulp. Additionally,some are impaled-some receive a final crushed head. The killer is most cunning. He lays ambushes, he is even capable of tracking a victim to his home,destroying the house to make his kill. For some he will bury his evidence,others are left to rot so others will see what may await them. The populace is powerless to stop the killer and demand relief. The government decides that these killings will end. There will be no need for a trial. An execution contract is put out for bid. Who steps forward but India's greatest elephant hunter- Dinesh Choudhury. Elephant hunter? Yes, that's right, our serial killer is a terribly cunning and dangerous rogue elephant! Choudhury assembles a seasoned team including a war decorated Gurkha tracker and elephant professionals-mahouts- with their own trained elephants. While Choudhury has accepted the execution contract,he is not sure he will complete the killing. He wonders why the rogue is bent on this road of human destruction? Is it possible to reform the rogue..to separate him into the wild? If not, will he have the strength to finish the rogue before the elephant can kill him?Choudhury endeavors to learn the elephant's story and move toward a final decision all the while closing in on the killer. You see not only is Choudhury India's greatest elephant hunter but he also deeply loves and respects them all. To this strange crime story comes a British journalist-Tarquin Hall- our author. Indeed a strange tale,but true none the less. As the mystery unfolds,Hall fills in the atmosphere of the crime scene. He tells of Northern India, it's people,sights,history..just like a good traveloge. He also tells us much about elephants and what they mean to north Indians,so there's a little zoology. There it is.... a zoological traveloge murder mystery hunting book. I can't say I've ever read such an odd mix of ideas. But it all melds well and in the end it's a surprisingly pleasant read.

Let me say first of all that I'm really fond of elephants, India and travel writing, separately or together, and quite frankly this book is an affront to all three. It's one of the worst books I've read recently, both for style as well as content.

Mr. Hall's narrative suffers from "Dr. Watson Syndrome." No matter how trivial or well-known a piece of information is ("Yes, elephants can swim"), he responds with the stunned equivalent of "Holmes, you astound me!" Upon catching sight of the rogue elephant and seeing a broken chain still on one of its legs, he is absolutely stumped for any explanation at all until his companion tells him the animal obviously used to be captive. ("Holmes...!)

On the other hand, he swallows whole the most blatant bunk: "I can turn myself into a tiger (for 800 rupees)!" "Sure, there's an elephant graveyard! I'll take you there right now!" "Yes, I saw the elephant run away from my house carrying a whole case of my Scotch!" In one passage, Mr. Hall reports that the footprint of the rogue elephant, measured right in front of him, is over four feet in diameter! That would make the poor animal about the size of a Seismosaurus! (Perhaps he misunderstood his informant, who might have been referring to length of stride.) I got the distinct impression, though, that many of his companions on this journey were having some fun with him at his expense, as when a mahout encouraged him to come climb aboard a kneeling trained elephant. During the process, the elephant mysteriously stands up, leaving the author dangling from its side with both hands painfully snarled in the rope harness. I suspect the mahout -and possibly the elephant - worked that one out beforehand. And I don't blame them.

I say that because Mr. Hall's "gee whiz" style is not the only problem here. For the most part, he shows contempt for most of the Indians he meets. "Plump Punjabi aunties with flabby midriffs bulging from their polyester saris gobbled down ...chicken as their undisciplined children chased each other..." They're filthy, their food is disgusting. One of them, born with the wrong number of toes on one foot, is "hideously deformed." And one of the most egregious passages in the book: "I guessed that he was a Marawari, a term used to describe businessmen...who are said to own half of India. ...Indians despise them as a class for their ...materialism and legendary stinginess. They are...the Jews of India."

I did enjoy some examples of his prose style because they were unintentionally comical: "An old mahout...was preparing an herbal mixture for the wounded elephant in the pot over the fire." How do you suppose they got the elephant into that little pot?

In short, if you love elephants and books about elephants, please do not choose this one. Mr. Hall's motivation may have been of the very best (his Author's Note, on the last two pages, is the only worthwhile part of the book), but it's poorly written and fairly offensive, plus it insults your intelligence. There are many beautifully written, informative books, such as "When Elephants Weep," by Masson and McCarthy, and "Elephant Memories" by Cynthia Moss. Please enjoy them!

It is a great travel book that, as one review says, 'wonderfully hits on all cylinders'; and I, being from the sate of Assam, can vouch for that. Mr Hall ventured into Assam, the remote North-East corner of India, and accompanied Mr Chaudhury, the Assamese Elephant Hunter in his wild journey across the roads and paddy fields of Assam. In the process, Mr. Hall not only gave a gripping portrayal of his close encounter with elephant hunting in Assam, a state famous for elephants from ancient days, but he also described about Assamese life and culture. He narrates his meeting with Mr Gaela, the greatest elephant catcher (bor-phendi) of Assam, in whose house he ate authentic Assamese dish, 'patot-diya-mas'(fish cooked in banana leaf). He also described his brief encounter with the some ULFA insurgents of Assam in its reality. Mr Hall did not forget to capture the scinic beauty of Assam. I liked his following narative which seem to capture Assam in its totality:
"Despite the staggering beauty and rich folklore, India's North-East is a part of the world avoided by even the most intrepid backpackers. As such there was little in my guidebook about Assam: it has been off-limits to tourists for many years. However it did say thay that the word Assam is derived from the Sanskrit word 'asama' meaning 'peerless'. or 'unequalled'. It was so named by the Thai or Shan invaders called the Ahoms who conquered the valley in the thirteenth century and loved it so much that they never left. I was beginning to appreciate why. Whenever I looked, the landscape was lush and green. Rickety wooden bridges spanned streams and brooks whose surfaces were covered with sweet smelling water lilly blossoms. Peepul trees, their branches straining under flocks of white birds that suddenly lifted intothe air at the sound of our approach, lined the road. In the distance, hills bristling with jungle rose up above the fields, mist crawling across the foliage and pouring down into the valley like amoke brimming off a witch's cauldron,"

Mr Hall is also keen to catch a lively conversation with Rudra, the betel nut chewing driver as noted in the following excerpt:
"Rudra, the driver of the Hindusthan Ambassador, had been chewing paan all night. He kept his stash in a stainless steel dabha, an Indian lunch box, in his glove compartment and periodically would ask me to take it out and open it for him. Keeping an eye on the road, he would first extract a lump of lime paste with index finger and smear it into the space between his teeeth and his bottom lip. He would then pop one or two choice chunksof betel nut into his mouth. Finally, uttering a satisfied grunt, he would start to chew.....By Indian stadrds, Rudra was a good driver - that is to say, we only came close to death once during more than six hours on the road....
By now, I was in no mood for conversation. All I wanted to do was sleep. I tried conveying this to Rudra, but even when I closed my eyes and pretended to snore, he kept up his one sided, tedius conversation. His main interest in life, apart from betel nut and playing chicken with oncoming heavt vehicles, was the vital statistics of Bombay's Hindi film actresses. The latest goddess to grace the Indian screen, Karishma Kapoor, had won a special place in his heart - and, no doubt in his fantacies.
"She is the most beautiful pearl of our continent!" he boasted, pushing the Ambassador into fourth gear around a tight bend.
He slapped me hard on the thigh and guffawed, grunting and breathing through his nose and mouth simultaneously, a feat that would have been remarkable had it not been so revolting.
"You should see her dance! Her legs go all the way up! And for her breasts - they are big! As big as mangoes!"
I reccommend this book to anyone who wants to know about Assam or wants to travel to Assam.

Rajen Barua, Houston, Texas

This is the kind of book I usually love, where a writer brings you into intimate contact with another human culture, and at the same time acquaints you with the behavior of a fascinating animal.

However, like other reviewers here, I found the prose clunky, shallow, and rather egotistical and condescending. Maybe that's due to the youth of the author.

There are occasional bright spots, where Hall weaves in information about Asian elephants, and historical and cultural information about the Assam region of India.

As you can tell from my moniker, I am a lover of elephants. So it was with some trepidation that I bought this book (against my wife's advice) to read about a modern version of George Orwell's short story "Shooting an Elephant." Here, it seems that a rogue elephant has gone berserk in India and is killing a number of Indians for no apparent reason.

The narrator, an AP reporter, catches up with the hunter who has been retained by the local government to kill the elephant. The hunter, Mr. Chowdhury, is, strangely, a lover of animals, especially elephants. There is some nice discussion of why he nevertheless takes tasks like this one.

The book takes Hall (the narrator), Chowdhury, and others (mostly elephant riders) on a hunt for the rogue throughout northeastern India. They have a number of interludes, some of which are funny, others tragic, until the final confrontation. Along the way, we learn a bit about why the elephant was going berserk.

Hall has a nice, unobtrusive writing style. It's not flashy, and he knows enough to let the narrative momentum carry the book, although he throws in occasional travel- or history-related discussions of the local Indian culture. For example, he recounts the myth of why the Indian god Ganesh has the head of an elephant. (The gods had to replace his head after an accident, and an elephant was the first creature they saw.)

I was afraid that I would find this book incredibly sad and painful (see Barbara Gowdy's "The White Bone"), but instead, it was very saistfying. It's still sad about the rogue elephant, but maybe because it's not as senseless as poaching, the story, while sad, is understandable.

Before coming across this book, I had never heard of Ryan Sager. What a pleasant surprise when I began reading! I will definitely keep my eyes out for anything else published by him.

Mr. Sager has written -- excellently, by the way, and often with laugh-out-loud humor -- all the things that I'd been thinking (and often getting frustrated & angry about) politically for the last 6+ years. It was like reading my own nebulous thoughts and feelings on the hijacking of conservatism by big-government Evangelicals, only done in a much more articulate and well-researched way than my own ramblings could ever have managed.

His primary thesis is that the alliance between 'social conservatives' (those concerned primarily with 'values' issues rather than individual rights or small gov't, and who are often Southern & evangelical) with 'libertarian' or 'fiscal conservatives' (those focused more on small gov't and individual rights, more likely to be from the interior West), is in danger, primarily as a result of the Bush Administration and the 2000-06 Congresses, combined with historical changes. According to Sager, this alliance, first begun in the 1950s, first brought to national prominence in the Goldwater campaign ('64), and brought to electoral victory by Reagan in the '80s and Gingrich in the mid-90s, was a marriage of convenience. The two strands of 'conservatism,' which in fact seem contradictory when you think about it, allied first against communism (and the aftertaste of the New Deal), and then, in the '90s, against the Clinton administration. Now, however, without a foe both strands recognize (libertarian conservatives tend to be less hysterical about the Islamic threat than social conservatives), the marriage is on the rocks.

As a former registered Republican, turned off from the Party by the Bush Administration's and the Hastert/Lott/Frist Congresses' big spending (they made Clinton look like a fiscal conservative!), religious pandering, government enlargement(NCLB, Prescription Drug entitlements, anyone???) and Wilsonian interventionism (make the world safe for democracy!), I have now been a proudly registered Libertarian for several years.

It is here that I differ with Mr. Sager (and agree with several other reviews of this book) because I don't share the author's optimism that the alliance between libertarian and social conservatives can (or, even moreso, should) be fixed. Instead, I think the Republican party may well be on its last legs if it continues to pander to Southern Evangelicals at the expense of the rest of the party. Many people like myself don't like the fact that the two options in major parties today are a big government party that takes the Bible literally (GOP) and a big government party that doesn't (Dems). If these trends continue, I think we can expect more Democratic electoral victories. Whether the Libertarian Party or some other option will take the place of the GOP if it does indeed disintegrate(like the Whigs in the 1850s) remains to be seen......

Still, this book is excellent, very well-written, and I think vital to anyone who wants to understand what's going on in the Republican party & conservative movement today. I couldn't put it down and read it very quickly. This is the best book on current politics I've read in a while.

I once thought of myself as a libertarian, until I actually starting trying to interact with them. This may sound harsh, but the only word I can use to describe the libertarian philosophy is, well, shallow and materialistic. Ryan Sager pretty much proves my point in this book. I agree with his general sentiment that we should avoid religious extremism within the party, but Sager takes it one step beyond that. He basically thinks that Republicans ought to be totally indifferent to ANY kind of questions about culture and religion.

This is why I can't quite embrace the libertarian ideology- they seem to have little concern with anything other than money and self- gratification.

One way this was brought home to me was with case of a senator in my home state of Louisiana: David Vitter. When it came to light that he'd been having affairs with prostitutes, I made the mistake of saying some less than flattering things about him in front of a self- described "libertarian Republican."

This person had a different reaction to Vitter's escapades. That is, anyone who expressed any kind of concern, AT ALL about Vitter paying for sex was a Religious nut job and was destroying the Republican party.

This person told me that he literally didn't give a damn about who Vitter slept with, as long as he "kept his hands off my money."

This person hadn't bothered to think through the implications of what Vitter's actions meant for him and his fiscal priorities. It didn't cross their mind that a guy who lied to his wife and paid for sex (which is illegal) may be less than trust worthy.

My concern was that if he is willing to lie and break promises to his wife, (and values voters), then he can just as easily do the same thing to fiscal conservatives.

This isn't the argument of a religious nut- it's the argument of a person who thinks about more than his immediate, short- term self- interest. It's the kind of thinking that Ryan Sager and many other libertarians seem incapable of.

I don't consider myself a part of the "religious right" or even a "social conservative." But I often find myself defending them when people like Sager insist that they shoulder ALL of the blame for GOP'S losses.

They deserve some of the blame to be sure for things like the ridiculous Terry Schiavo debacle.

But Libertarian ideas have done more than their share of alienating the middle class.

Sager manages to miss another "elephant in the room" called "free-trade." Libertarians aggressively promote the kind of trade deals that handed Michigan, Pennsyvlvania and Ohio to the Democrats.

Millions of manufacturing Jobs have been lost to off shoring in those states, made possible by libertarian-inspired trade deals.

Open borders with Mexico is another staple of Libertarianism- and hugely unpopuplar with middle America and another reason we lost in '06.

Everything is accurate in the book and the commentaries on it except the fact that both the book and everybody here is overlooking >> there is a third and extremely powerful faction in the Republican Party that straddles both Libertarian and Big Government factions. And they are the faction in power. That is the Corporate CEO big money bigwigs who get far more of their agenda enacted than either the social conservatives or the libertarians. And they do it by having it both ways. Huge tax cuts aimed at them? Why that's 'libertarian', isn't it? Big subsidies such as the medicare drug plan, which shuts out any 'free market' competition while at the same time granting new entitlements forever? Why that's 'compassionate (social) conservatism'! Gigantic No-bid contracts for Halliburton, Bechtel, etc? That's Republicans 'Strong on defense'! No regulation for pollutors? No increase in mileage standards to free us from oil dependence on our enemies? Libertarian! Both libertarian and social conservatives are played for suckers by these guys, and they are the ones (literally) running the White House and controlling the actual Republican agenda.
The deep contradictions in the Republican 'coalition' have been there all along. It's corporate 'big government socialism for the corporations and the rich, capitalism for the poor and middle class' Privatize social security to pump billions of taxpayer money to Wall Street con artists? Libertarian AND big government compassionate conservatism at the same time! Huge tax breaks for the world record breakingly profitable oil companies >> NONE of which is passed on to the consumer (about as likely to reduce oil dependence on our enemies as tax breaks for alcohol production would end alcoholism) ? Strong on defense! That's been the real 'social engineering' that's been going on in the last 10 years. A giant Amazon river of public money for these guys, and a $500 tax 'break for the rest of us". A piece of red meat thrown to one side or another has kept this unholy alliance alive as improbably long as it has. The dustbin of history is sweeping the whole mess away, since the American people more and more realize whose agenda is REALLY being brought to life by the monied elite that actually runs the party.

Wow, it's so clear to me now! An unpopular war wasn't the half of how the Republican leadership self-destructed.

This book presents a stunningly eloquent exposition of the current state of the Republican Party, from the perspective of 'before the fall'. Essential information for voters on the motivating ideas of US federal leadership. This book will make the Republican half of the story strikingly clear.

The writing is entertaining and an 'easy read' while covering what could be a dry subject. The book is of modest length but impressive depth. It reads like a conversation with a master of the subject conveying a rich scope in a terse 250 pages.

I can understand Kristen's review below but it hardly seems fair to criticize a book for doing what it promises, explaining the battle for control, so well that the reader wishes there was an easy answer. Sager could have given us one, as we are so accustomed to hearing from political candidates. I'm glad he did not. It would have encouraged readers to consider the `problem solved' and slip back into our daily complacency. Having seen and understood the Republican dilemma I feel motivated to address it and armed with the clarity to push through pat answers for real actions.

Now where's the book that will explain the Democrat malaise, including why their leadership seems to hate the central values of the American Experiment?

Ryan Sager quite clearly and carefully tracks the history of the conservative coalition and how its promise, for the most part, has been either thwarted or outright betrayed. Unfortunately, his vague and sometimes shifting references to the titular "elephant in the room"- the fact that conservatives only hold power through the alliance of social conservatives and civil libertarians- miss the point his analysis actually makes. His attempt to argue that the alliance should be reformed only shows that, for libertarians at least, it would have been better if the alliance had never been made at all. Indeed, throughout the history of the alliance the libertarians come off as second-class stooges to the big-government social conservatives, receiving little more than table scraps under Reagan and nothing at all at any other point in the alliance's forty-year history.

More to the point, Sager really gives no alternatives to libertarians except the traditional alliance- despite the fact that it is now clear social conservatives want nothing to do with small-government ideas or goals. The book makes it crystal clear that not only do libertarians have no hope of a new alliance with any faction of the Democrats- united in the drive for socialism- but that the social conservatives would rather see the alliance destroyed and an overwhelming Democratic hegemony for the next decade than give up any part of their new agenda. Sager's book leaves no options for libertarians except to continue following the lead of the big-government Republicans in the faint hope that those people will honor their side of the alliance- something they have never done.

For a light mystery this series has been very enjoyable. The killer isn't someone from out of town but a well known resident. I like that in these books. She makes her characters real down to earth.

I love this series and look foward to more of them in the future.
These are enjoyable books and easy reads.
Keeps your attention and they are like old friends visiting

This is a good book. It is what it is, light and enjoyable reading.

This book, the first in this series that I've read, was okay. The plot was paper-thin, and there wasn't enough tension to keep me turning the pages. However, Swanson's writing is smooth.

Swanson's characters need more development to make them compelling, and I felt that she treated them as naive country bumpkins. Just because someone lives in a small town doesn't make them ignorant or unsophisticated.

Not a winner, but definitely in the running.

Skye Denison, school psychologist thought she had trouble with her job, but she actually had it easy compared to her brother Vince.

Normally a hairdresser, Vince and his band, formerly known as the Plastic Santa's have renamed themselves as the Pink Elephants and are playing at the Valentine Dance at the high school. That is if he and his band can stop beating each other up.

Things get really hot when a fire breaks out at the high school and Logan Wolf, lead singer winds up dead.

Skye is determined not to get involved in the investigation, but when Sheriff Wally seems to have Vince in his sights again as the murder suspect, Skye decides she has to act.

Could Logan's murder have anything to do with the rumors of drugs in the school? Or maybe it had something to do with Logan refusing to sell Moss Green his farmland so Moss could put up Pig In A Poke - his amusement park.

Wally isn't too pleased with her investigations, he's running for mayor and he's hassled at every press conference about the fact that he can't solve a crime and has to rely on a citizen to do the investigating.

Even after several attempts on her life, Skye continues her search until she comes face to face with the murderer.

Highlights:

Skye's family. Her parents and godfather Charlie and brother Vince are very close and obviously adore Skye.

Sheriff Wally. I've like him since the first book, he doesn't mind Skye investigating usually, but doesn't like the fact that she takes unnecessary risks.

Justin And Frannie, two somewhat geeky high school students who work on the school paper and do a lot of undercover investigation. They come across a lot of clues that they then pass on to Skey.

May's cement goose that she dresses up on her front lawn.

Lowlights:

Skye - I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with this woman. She surprised at her brother censure of Logan sleeping with a groupie, after all Vince has quite a reputation. Skye obvioiusly doesn't think there is a difference between the single Vince being with someone and the married Logan being with someone.

Skye gets into trouble several times when she should have given some information to Wally, he didn't answer her phone calls and when she went to the station she realized his ex-wife Darleen was intercepting the messages, so next time when she really needs to tell him something and he doesn't call her back, does she go to his house and tell him? Of course not, she'll do it in the morning, afterall what could happen before then? Justin and Frannie show more intelligence in their investigating than she does.

Bunny - the mother of Simon (Skye's boring boyfriend). Fortunately, she is only in a few pages of the book. I cannot stand this character, Skye finds her refreshing after having to put up with her overbearing mother. I suppose she would have liked it if her mother ran out on her and her father, came back several times and ran off again, the last time twenty years ago when she not only ran off but took all the money out of her husband's savings account. That's the kind of mother Bunny was to Simon.

As I said in my earlier review of this series. Skye picked the wrong boyfriend. Simon, local funeral parlor owner and coroner is ok, but there are absolutely no sparks between Skye and him.

Skye seems so flaky at times that I would wonder about her abilities at her job in helping troubled kids.

This is a strange series where I find that everyone but the heroine, her boyfriend and his mother are so wonderful you want to continue reading about them. The mystery itself is very good. A lot of clues but no cheating on the ending, although I suspected who the killer was but wasn't confirmed until the end.

It's not too late to dump Simon and his mother.

Other reviewers have said it is not up to par with River God, also by Smith, this is true, but River God was a masterful piece of writing that places itself as one of my favorite books ever. Elephant Song is still an exceedingly well written novel with a well thought out storyline. Many of the scenes invoke rage and disgust, while the scenes such as that which gives the book its name create emotions of deep loss and sadness. This book is not an environmentalist reader, though it does have strong themes of it, nor is it a conservationist reader, though it has strong themes of that as well. Overall if you're looking for a Wilbur Smith novel, you already know what you're looking at. If you're new to his writing but you want something with greed, murder, corruption and righteous revenge, all while looking after the environment, this book has it in spades.

Great and exciting book would recomend to anyone. 5 star totally, Wilbur Smith is a great author, once again very captivating.

if this was the first wilbur smith book I read, I may not read any more but he has written some top notch epic adventure fiction like birds of prey and 7th scroll.
in elephant song the characters fall a bit flat and the story line is a bit simplistic.

Smith does it again. Set in Africa, as most of his novels, this one evolves around the illegal trade of Ivory. Packed with heroes you will love and villains you will despise. If you are a wildlife and adventure enthusiast you cannot go wrong with Elephant Song

If you like Wilbur Smith you will love this book. It is the only book that has made me cry. My favourite book ever

This book is like potato chips. Read one page and your hooked. A must read for all first timers to Thailand. And makes good reading for the more experienced expats too.

A most amazing insite to the bars in Bangkok , and a very wonderful i hope true story of thw mistakes foriengers make when they go there. After the bargirls have to make a living with in what they only know to do . To us so sad but to them a whay of life . Just remember these beautiful deep down do have a heart aswell.

I enjoyed the book very much. Didn't care for the ending. Going back to Thailand in 2 weeks. I will be more a tuned this time.

This is a helpful book. This is a horrible book. Japan may have the most polite people on earth but Thailand has the warmest, most friendly, most giving and kind people you will find anywhere. Sure, maybe not the most direct and honest. A book such as this is not what they deserve. It is true it is a textbook for seeing bar girl con games and swindles and it is a strong reminder to over the hill beer belly men that women half their age may not love them as they claim but is all this flood of abuse towards the Thai people and Thai men in particular really necessary? For example? Well the chapter where Joy's father regularly rapes her and this is somehow accepted as one of those Thai family things. Oh, and her brothers jump in and her brother's friends rape her too. And let's look for a moment at Joy secret Thai husband. Not only is he perfectly content on her renting her body to foreign men to support him but he is a masterpiece of laziness and violence towards Joy when she mis-steps. And Pete, the main character, well look. There were warnings everywhere. He just goes on and on like a moth straight into the flames. It's like watching a driver that decides traffic lights don't matter. If you are into self-mutilation then this is the book for you! Watch the guy destroy himself. Then we the reader are suppose to have sympathy for him. It does not mean that wonderful lasting loving and trusting relationships between Thais and foreign men are not possible. Take care, watch your step, don't swallow every sweet mouth complement you hear but by all means DO NOT take this book as final word on what to expect if a pretty Thai woman that works in a bar smiles at you.

Posted by Admin / 31. January 2008, 03:37
UP UNTIL a couple of weeks ago, I must have been the only foreigner in Thailand who had not read Stephen Leather's novel Private Dancer. I knew about the book; I'd heard great things about the book; but I'm not what you would call a prolific reader, having read perhaps only twenty books during my lifetime. A friend loaned me his copy of Private Dancer and, thanks to two visits to Bangkok in three days, I found the four road trips of two hours each provided the perfect opportunity to finally read it.

I've never done a book review since I finished high school and I don't intend to start now, but I must report on what I discovered was a fabulous book. First of all, Private Dancer is a novel with the usual disclaimer that "All characters in this publication are fictitious ..." I don't believe that for a second; the reason being that I have personally met them all. They may not have been the exact characters Mr. Leather was referring to but they were their cosmic clones. Trust me, these people do exist. In fact, I was once one of them but I'm not going to disclose which one!
In this I found the only negative feature of the book: I suspect it would be far more enjoyable if the reader had prior knowledge of Thailand and, in particular, the foreign bar scene. To someone who has never been to Thailand, a lot of the events, the irony and the dialogue may be wasted. Nevertheless, I could relate to all of it and form a clear picture of every scene in my head, making it chilling reading.
This was another indication that although the novel may be a fictional story in its entirety, it must be based on a series of real events. Nobody could describe episodes so accurately and believably without having either experienced them himself or observed them first hand. Putting it crudely; you can't make this stuff up! For example, there is a scene in which the enraged hero tries to smash a television set. He throws it to the floor repeatedly and kicks it but still the screen doesn't break. Having never attempted this silliness myself and with a negligible knowledge of electronics, I would have thought a television set was a sensitive piece of equipment and the screen would be delicate. Our hero eventually gives up with the words, "God knows what they make the screens from, but take it from me, they're practically indestructible." In my opinion you would not know that unless you had actually tried it yourself or witnessed someone else in the act.
I confess that when I was a quarter way through the book, I had to stop reading. It was making me angry and frustrated. How could any man be so blind and stupid? I found myself shouting at the main character and fighting the urge to rip him from the pages, grab him by the throat and slap some sense into him - one slap for each syllable of my lecture. This was the beauty of Mr. Leather's prose; he made me feel like I was part of the action and, irrationally, that I could actually do something about it.
Thankfully, once my blood pressure went down I picked the book up again and continued reading. I thought the best line was after the hero broke into his girlfriend's apartment to find her alone with a young Thai man. When he'd calmed down some time later, she explained, "Pete, he not my boyfriend. He my drug dealer." Wow! Isn't that a position in which every man in love would like finding himself? Does he accept she is screwing around or does he accept she is a junkie? Talk about having to choose the lesser of two evils!
But the novel is predominantly about the Bangkok bar scene and the inherent deceit and deception - from both sides. There are no chapters to break up the flow and I liked the way every pivotal event is related from the viewpoint of each of the participants. Basically, you get to hear both sides of the story and can make up your own mind which one you believe.
There are also some poignant comments about, and criticisms of, foreign men who flirt with the bar scene. Some commentary is supposedly extracted from an essay `Cross-Cultural Complications of Prostitution in Thailand' by a real or fictitious Prof. Bruno Mayer. A scathing attack comes from one of the characters, a Thai private investigator. I felt the overwhelming desire to disagree with much of what he said but for the life of me I couldn't think up a valid argument to use. Citing one or two exceptions does not invalidate a rule unless the rule or argument uses specific terms like `all', `none', `every' or `never'.
The only statement I could dispute was, "But one thing is for sure - the relationship [between sex tourists and bargirls] won't last. Guaranteed." First you need to define the term `last'. A high percentage of marriages in the West between non-sex tourists and non-bargirls end in divorce. Some last a week; some last for many years. Does a happy 10-year marriage suddenly gone sour constitute a relationship failure? If so, and the only benchmark of success is `till death us do part', then there are a lot of unsuccessful relationships throughout the world, not just those originating in Thailand.
Being branded a `long term sex tourist' didn't thrill me either, having never thought of myself in those terms. But then I asked myself the definitive question: if they closed down all the bars and sent the girls packing back to their families, would I still want to live here? The answer, unfortunately, was `no'. Mr. Leather was correct once again.
Private Dancer contains hard and valuable lessons for us all and, as the cover says, "Should be compulsory reading for all first-timers to Thailand." I agree, with the rider that, once they've read it the first time without fully understanding it, they should wait a few weeks or months then read it again. All will become clear.
From Pattaya Today

I bought this book to help me with my M.F.A. thesis about femme fatale, mermaids and beauty.
I thought it was a lovely book for what it is, simple with little stories and poems, but it is not really scholarly. There is not much information, but a lot of legends and texts. Obviously the research to make that book was really good. The images are BEAUTIFUL. Don't expect information though, cause there is none.

Very good historical information of mermaids....but did not give the book to my young child because of the nudity featured in the artwork. The artwork is indeed classical, beautiful, and very sensual.

I had my eye on this book for quite some time when I ordered it a couple months ago. I was looking for a book with mostly pictures and not too much text on mermaids. This is perfect. I only wish it was longer. This book has page after page of beautiful pictures. There are also poems and quotes from books, journals, etc about merfolk.
If you're interested in learning more about all the different types of merfolk and other mythical water creatures, I recommend Magickal Mermaids and Water Creatures Invoke the Magick of the Waters, by D.J. Conway.

If you love Mermaids you must own a copy of this book! This book is so sweetly put together. The images were carefully chosen; so beautiful and elegant. Ratisseau did an exquisite job. Her Fairies book is just as lovely too. One will also like Lori Eisenkraft-Palazzola's books too if they like this one.

And in this book I found a pretty good assortment. I'm very fond of Laughing Elephant Books, which seems to specialize in illustrations from old children's books. I was pretty pleased with the group of pictures in this book and can only complain that I wanted MORE!