Behemoth: The History of the Elephant in America

Documentarian and professor of filmmaking Tobias traces the history of the captive elephant in the U.S. and its development as a symbol of a young rebellious nation. He includes examples of late-19th-century political cartoons by Thomas Nast that established the elephant as a symbol of the Republican Party, resulting in the 1911 race between an actual donkey and an elephant from New York to Washington, D.C., to represent the presidential race of Wilson vs. Taft. He tells the often-tragic stories of elephants in the glory days of the circus. Jumbo, procured from England by P.T. Barnum with much controversy, was killed by a train. Barnum then toured with Jumbo’s “widow” for two seasons before she perished in a fire. Topsy was famously electrocuted by Thomas Edison after a lifetime of abuse and mistreatment. And Big Mary, famous for “playing baseball,” was hanged by a railroad crane for killing her incompetent trainer. Finally, Tobias looks at the more recent treatment of elephants, at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and the Los Angeles Zoo. This book is a vital history lesson on the myriad ways elephants have permeated American culture, from Taft to Dumbo; readers should be advised, however, that it includes graphic depictions of animal cruelty. (Oct)