Behemoth: The History of the Elephant in America – A Comprehensive Chronicle of Civil Rights, Citizenship, and Politics

by Ronald B. Tobias

If the country's official mascot is an eagle, then its unofficial mascot is the elephant. While the eagle soars above the head of the nation from a dispassionate distance, the elephant stands with his feet on the ground with simplest of wretches and the most powerful of men. The first elephant arrived aboard ship barely twenty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He toured the former colonies on foot from Maine to Georgia, appearing in front of a barn or a tavern, hidden by a canvas curtain, where people flocked to see him, paying the admission fee in cash, rum, or potatoes. Then they went home and told their friends and neighbors, I have seen the elephant. Since then, the elephant has become an unparalleled symbol in the American imagination and a giant figure in our popular culture. As the number of elephants grew in the early 1800s, they ventured onto the frontier, and traveled to every state, territory, and possession in the Union. They worked clearing the land by pulling stumps, laid ties for new railroads, and hauled cargo in shipyards. In 1849, an elephant crossed the Rockies in search of gold in California. The elephant became a symbol of the horrors of the battlefield during The Civil War, and the emancipation of slaves became Lincoln's elephant. Just when excitement over the elephant began to wane, P.T. Barnum started to include them in his traveling caravans toward the turn of the century. Soon, elephants were performing Shakespeare and playing baseball, winning over the American public with their imposing yet gentle manner. In 1884, the famous Jumbo, whose name lives on in our daily lexicon, saved the Brooklyn Bridge from collapse. Elephants resumed their place in our culture, from Thomas Edison's famous electrocution of poor Topsy to the CIA's LSD-dropping Tusko in the 1960s, from D.C.'s political animals to Hollywood's giant stars. In Behemoth, Ronald B. Tobias, a natural historian and filmmaker, has written the first and only comprehensive history of the elephant in America. He traces the elephant from its first steps on our shores to its indelible footprint on our national culture, capturing our imagination and paralleling our own joy and suffering. Interspersed throughout this lively and fascinating chronicle are dozens of illustrations, posters, and news articles from the eighteenth century through the present, underlining the strength of elephant as an enduring symbol of the American experience.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Animals, Wildlife

512 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2013

About the author

Ronald B. Tobias has spent his career as a writer moving from genre to genre, first as a short story writer, then as an author of fiction and nonfiction books and finally as a writer and producer of documentaries for public television. He is currently a professor in the Department of Media and Theatre Arts at Montana State University.

Reviews

[Dan Seitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, yes, this book details quite a bit of animal abuse. To its credit, though, it never shies away from or attempts to justify it in the context of "fair for its time;" Tobias simply states that they were abusive, and it helps that by and large the abusers get what they deserve at the hands of the elephants they abused.

Beyond that, however, this details some fascinating history, especially around the elephant as American symbol, how we got the term "white elephant" and why "going to see the elephant" became a slang term for long-term suffering, and is full of amusing asides and tidbits. You come away both mournful for the suffering of actual elephants and enlightened as to why elephants are so deeply woven into American thought in ways you may not have considered, and the book ends on a relatively happy note discussing how treatment of, and respect for, elephants and their needs is rapidly improving.

[Vinnysaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

The true strength of this book is that it takes such a niche topic, and expands in painstaking detail. Even if you were the number one elephant enthusiast on planet earth, I feel that you would learn something new reading this novel.

That being said, from an “animal lover” standpoint, this book might be a little rough. Considering all of the obvious abuse that comes with the territory of taking magafauna (or any animal, really) out of their native habitat and making them preform in circuses.

Even so, the past has already passed, and the book touches on a much brighter future for the beasts. That is to say: much brighter if all goes well.

Overall a really interesting read with a lot of historical context to back it all up.

[R.Z. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written

If you love stories about cruelty to animals,you'll really get off on this book! Man's insensitivity to the feelings of our fellow creatures seems to know no bounds and the stupidity of those people who are unable to observe someone (human or animal) in pain and not care enough to help rather than further hurt them is certainly demonstrated in this book.

[Scott Waldyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot more insight in this book than just the history of elephants in the United States. Inside is a plethora of rich stories filled with humor, darkness, and tragedy. American culture is placed under a microscope and examined over many decades - from politics and campaigns to marketing and showmanship, this book is much more than elephant facts. It's a rather energetic collection of stories, of thoughts, and of past pop cultural musings that kept populaces occupied.

For the most part, the author tries to stay objective, at times faltering and casting an opinion over certain men, figures, or groups of people. Part of this may just be with the way the book is written, having a rather tongue-in-cheek authorial voice. This works phenomenally well at times, keeping the book energetic, and at certain crossroads, does unfortunately come off a bit moralistically preachy.

In the last chapter, the sense of direction, of capturing this rich history, is traded for current state of affairs, and it's in this portion of the book, the very end, that 'Behemoth' derails. We're left slogging through diatribes of elephant sanctuaries, which by themselves, are rather interesting. What's irritating about this part is one in particular, in California, underwent much public debate back and forth over whether it should exist. Celebrities got involved, flapping their lips at both ends of the spectrum, and the writer seems to incorporate every mundane word dripped out of their mundane mouths.

I picked this up to read about history; I didn't pick it up to read what Betty White or Slash have to say about an elephant sanctuary. They can perform a duet together somewhere else.

That being the one big failing of this book, it is otherwise an exciting read. I had a hard time putting it down.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exhaustively-researched history of elephants in the US, and I applaud the authors endurance in compiling it. It's a fascinating read, full of old anecdotes, largely covering escapes and untimely ends (which were pretty common, especially in the early history). However, this would more appropriately be subtitled "The History of Circus Elephants in America" as the author makes only a single passing reference to elephants in zoos until the final chapter, which seems a major oversight in their history. Even stranger, since that final chapter takes a bizarrely sudden turn into animal activism, decrying the poor treatment of elephants in zoos and glorifying the lives of elephants in sanctuaries. It doesn't fit with _anything_ up to that point. I can't tell if he wrote the entire book just to have a place to publish his anti-zoo essay or if he felt obligated to cover the topic and just went with the first information he found (an elephant sanctuary webpage and brochure, by all indications). Still, a very interesting read that inspires me to look up more about several of the historical animals and events he references.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mix of circus, political and American history. It can be a strange mixture but a lot of the more lighter bits are overshadowed by some stories that are just horrific, including lynching a elephant off a railroad bridge in TN.
I have to say it seemed to me this book was written as even handed as possible given the dark subject matter of a lot of the fates of the elephants portrayed. Even factoring in the morals and mindsets of the times of the events took place, I still found many accounts taxing and not for the faint of heart.
I think the final chapter about the modern day zoo-elephant court battles and animal rights the strongest chapter in the book.
I would have liked to see more coverage from the 60's to the 90's on how the view and practices on elephant care slowly changed but I know there's only so much space.
I thought it was decently written yet most of it left my with a deep feeling of sadness, but you can't change history, only learn from it.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall this book was interesting and I enjoyed learning about the history of elephants in America, especially the early history. However I thought it's organization was disjointed and it focused mainly on the negative aspects of elephants in captivity. I also feel that the author did not give zoos the credit they deserve. In fact he didn't even bother to give their side of the story and once again only focused on two negative incidents. I believe that both zoos and sanctuaries play an important role in elephant conservation.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very informitive and well researched history on elephants in America. It goes through the origins of how America has used elephants as symbols and icons and also chronicles the advances we have made in understanding how to care for elephants properly. I think it is written from a very unbiased view point. It simply tells you all the information you could want to know about elephants without the authors opinons. Some parts are hard to read, and early in elephants history in America they were treated very cruely, but it just makes you appriciate them more.

[Br. Thanasi (Thomas) Stama · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts out as a review of elephants in American lore and history from 1700's up until the present age. You learn many things such as how the elephant became the symbol of the Republican Party and where the term white elephant comes from.

But then the last chapters, take issue with the present day. Ethical issues are presented on how we keep elephants. If you read this for no other reason than Chapter 21, Seeing the Digital Elephant, you will learn a lot.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had expected this to be a fun book about elephants - who doesn't love elephants? But while I did learn some interesting things, and truly learned to appreciate elephants more, it was very, very difficult to get through the cruelty inflicted upon elephants in American. I had to skip sections. Having learned what they went through, I guess it does make me feel more invested in trying to help them.

[Teri Zipf]

This book is more--much more--about the elephant as metaphor or symbol than the elephant as an animal. It follows this idea in a historical timeline, but that's about the only thing holding the book together. There's no narrative thread, so once you realize it's not really about elephants, or even about American history, there's not much reason to continue. If you wanted to read about elephants or history, that is.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Behemoth: The History of the Elephant in America by Ronald B. Tobias (Harper Collins 2013) (636.967) is most likely more information than anyone could ever want or need about the history of elephants in America. I had hoped for information about the extermination of prehistoric elephant ancestors by the Clovis people, but this book begins when Columbus and other western sea pirates reached the U.S. My rating: 6/10, finished 4/19/14.

[Avery Arena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided a lot of facts and will be very valuable in the making of my NHD project, but it was not especially well written. The information was very detailed and informative. Overall, this book was very good.

[Bskaught · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific book that spells out the plight of this animal from the 1800s thru the present.
When will we learn to leave animals in thier own habitats instead of forcing them into a lifelong fear of the bullhook unless they perform tricks for humans...Moving, sad and angering...

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! So very sad in many spots, I am starting to understand the point of view of not having zoos! I love elephants! They are amazing!