{"product_id":"elephant-trails-a-history-of-animals-and-cultures-hardcover","title":"Elephant Trails: A History of Animals and Cultures - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eNigel Rothfels\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy have elephants--and our preconceptions about them--been central to so much of human thought?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom prehistoric cave drawings in Europe and ancient rock art in Africa and India to burning pyres of confiscated tusks, our thoughts about elephants tell a story of human history. In \u003ci\u003eElephant Trails\u003c\/i\u003e, Nigel Rothfels argues that, over millennia, we have made elephants into both monsters and miracles as ways to understand them but also as ways to understand ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on a broad range of sources, including municipal documents, zoo records, museum collections, and encounters with people who have lived with elephants, Rothfels seeks out the origins of our contemporary ideas about an animal that has been central to so much of human thought. He explains how notions that have been associated with elephants for centuries--that they are exceptionally wise, deeply emotional, and have a special understanding of death; that they never forget, are beloved of the gods, and suffer unusually in captivity; and even that they are afraid of mice--all tell part of the story of these amazing beings. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExploring the history of a skull in a museum, a photograph of an elephant walking through the American South in the early twentieth century, the debate about the quality of life of a famous elephant in a zoo, and the accounts of elephant hunters, Rothfels demonstrates that elephants are not what we think they are--and they never have been. \u003ci\u003eElephant Trails\u003c\/i\u003e is a compelling portrait of what the author terms \"our elephant.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNigel Rothfels\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of history and the director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eSavages and Beasts: The Birth of the Modern Zoo\u003c\/i\u003e and the editor of\u003ci\u003e Representing Animals\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.94 x 10.12 x 5.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 30, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42160854958215,"sku":"9781421442594","price":69.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/3729fa4ecbbb682020eef0abb0ab074a.webp?v=1733276408","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/elephant-trails-a-history-of-animals-and-cultures-hardcover","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}