Elephant Company

Elephant Company
Author: Vicki Croke
Publsiher: Unknown
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2014
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781400069330

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"At the onset of World War II, [Billy] Williams formed Elephant Company and was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in Burma and saving refugees, including on his own 'Hannibal Trek, ' [becoming] a media sensation during the war, telling reporters that the elephants did more for him than he was ever able to do for them"--

Elephant Company

Elephant Company
Author: Vicki Croke
Publsiher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2015-04-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780812981650

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK The remarkable story of James Howard “Billy” Williams, whose uncanny rapport with the world’s largest land animals transformed him from a carefree young man into the charismatic war hero known as Elephant Bill In 1920, Billy Williams came to colonial Burma as a “forest man” for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence and character of the great animals who hauled logs through the jungle, he became a gifted “elephant wallah.” In Elephant Company, Vicki Constantine Croke chronicles Williams’s growing love for elephants as the animals provide him lessons in courage, trust, and gratitude. Elephant Company is also a tale of war and daring. When Japanese forces invaded Burma in 1942, Williams joined the elite British Force 136 and operated behind enemy lines. His war elephants carried supplies, helped build bridges, and transported the sick and elderly over treacherous mountain terrain. As the occupying authorities put a price on his head, Williams and his elephants faced their most perilous test. Elephant Company, cornered by the enemy, attempted a desperate escape: a risky trek over the mountainous border to India, with a bedraggled group of refugees in tow. Part biography, part war epic, Elephant Company is an inspirational narrative that illuminates a little-known chapter in the annals of wartime heroism. Praise for Elephant Company “This book is about far more than just the war, or even elephants. This is the story of friendship, loyalty and breathtaking bravery that transcends species. . . . Elephant Company is nothing less than a sweeping tale, masterfully written.”—Sara Gruen, The New York Times Book Review “Splendid . . . Blending biography, history, and wildlife biology, [Vicki Constantine] Croke’s story is an often moving account of [Billy] Williams, who earned the sobriquet ‘Elephant Bill,’ and his unusual bond with the largest land mammals on earth.”—The Boston Globe “Some of the biggest heroes of World War II were even bigger than you thought. . . . You may never call the lion the king of the jungle again.”—New York Post “Vicki Constantine Croke delivers an exciting tale of this elephant whisperer–cum–war hero, while beautifully reminding us of the enduring bonds between animals and humans.”—Mitchell Zuckoff, author of Lost in Shangri-La and Frozen in Time

Elephant Company

Elephant Company
Author: Vicki Constantine Croke
Publsiher: Unknown
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: Animals
ISBN: 1410476006

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Billy Williams came to Burma in 1920 fresh from service in World War I, as a "forest man" for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence, character, and even humor of the great animals who hauled logs through the jungles, he became a gifted "elephant wallah." When the Japanese invaded in 1942, Williams joined Force 136, the British dirty tricks department. His war elephants carried supplies, built bridges, and transported the sick and elderly. And when a price was put on his head, they set out on a Hollywood-worthy escape. Book jacket.

The Modern Ark

The Modern Ark
Author: Vicki Croke
Publsiher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2014-09-09
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781501103278

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An in-depth look at the radical changes occurring in our nation’s zoos—from cement-paved mazes to simulated rain forests to completely natural landscapes—as well as the history behind the actual idea of the zoo. Following the lead of private menageries in Europe, public zoos began to proliferate throughout America. What once started as symbols of prestige and power are now educational centers, developing advanced technologies in the race to conserve all that remains of the natural world. With DNA fingerprinting, artificial insemination, embryo transfers, and egg harvesting, zoos play a critical role in the fight to save endangered species.

The Lady and the Panda

The Lady and the Panda
Author: Vicki Croke
Publsiher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2006-06-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780375759703

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Here is the astonishing true story of Ruth Harkness, the Manhattan bohemian socialite who, against all but impossible odds, trekked to Tibet in 1936 to capture the most mysterious animal of the day: a bear that had for countless centuries lived in secret in the labyrinth of lonely cold mountains. In The Lady and the Panda, Vicki Constantine Croke gives us the remarkable account of Ruth Harkness and her extraordinary journey, and restores Harkness to her rightful place along with Sacajawea, Nellie Bly, and Amelia Earhart as one of the great woman adventurers of all time. Ruth was the toast of 1930s New York, a dress designer newly married to a wealthy adventurer, Bill Harkness. Just weeks after their wedding, however, Bill decamped for China in hopes of becoming the first Westerner to capture a giant panda–an expedition on which many had embarked and failed miserably. Bill was also to fail in his quest, dying horribly alone in China and leaving his widow heartbroken and adrift. And so Ruth made the fateful decision to adopt her husband’s dream as her own and set off on the adventure of a lifetime. It was not easy. Indeed, everything was against Ruth Harkness. In decadent Shanghai, the exclusive fraternity of white male explorers patronized her, scorned her, and joked about her softness, her lack of experience and money. But Ruth ignored them, organizing, outfitting, and leading a bare-bones campaign into the majestic but treacherous hinterlands where China borders Tibet. As her partner she chose Quentin Young, a twenty-two-year-old Chinese explorer as unconventional as she was, who would join her in a romance as torrid as it was taboo. Traveling across some of the toughest terrain in the world–nearly impenetrable bamboo forests, slick and perilous mountain slopes, and boulder-strewn passages–the team raced against a traitorous rival, and was constantly threatened by hordes of bandits and hostile natives. The voyage took months to complete and cost Ruth everything she had. But when, almost miraculously, she returned from her journey with a baby panda named Su Lin in her arms, the story became an international sensation and made the front pages of newspapers around the world. No animal in history had gotten such attention. And Ruth Harkness became a hero. Drawing extensively on American and Chinese sources, including diaries, scores of interviews, and previously unseen intimate letters from Ruth Harkness, Vicki Constantine Croke has fashioned a captivating and richly textured narrative about a woman ahead of her time. Part Myrna Loy, part Jane Goodall, by turns wisecracking and poetic, practical and spiritual, Ruth Harkness is a trailblazing figure. And her story makes for an unforgettable, deeply moving adventure.

The Soul of an Octopus

The Soul of an Octopus
Author: Sy Montgomery
Publsiher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2016-07-12
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781501161148

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Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * Starred Booklist and Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year “Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK “One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (The Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans. In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food. Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

Animal Vegetable Criminal

Animal Vegetable Criminal
Author: Mary Roach
Publsiher: Unknown
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2021-10-14
Genre: Human-animal relationships
ISBN: 1786078341

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In her addictive, bold voice, bestselling author Mary Roach delves into the unpredictable world where wildlife and humans meet.

H Is for Hawk

H Is for Hawk
Author: Helen Macdonald
Publsiher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780802191670

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New York Times Bestseller: This account of adopting and raising a vicious bird of prey while grieving a father’s death is “a soaring wonder of a book” (The Boston Globe). One of the New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year One of Slate’s 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Last 25 Years Time’s #1 Nonfiction Book of the Year An instant classic and award-winning sensation, Helen Macdonald’s story of adopting and raising one of nature’s most vicious predators has soared into the hearts of millions of readers worldwide. Fierce and feral, her goshawk Mabel’s temperament mirrors Helen’s own state of grief after her father’s death, and together raptor and human “discover the pain and beauty of being alive” (People). H Is for Hawk is a genre-defying debut from a unique and transcendent voice. “Her prose glows and burns.” —The Wall Street Journal “An elegantly written amalgam of nature writing, personal memoir, literary portrait, and an examination of bereavement.” —The Washington Post “Breathtaking . . . Macdonald renders an indelible impression of a raptor’s fierce essence—and her own—with words that mimic feathers, so impossibly pretty we don’t notice their astonishing engineering.” —The New York Times Book Review Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, O, The Oprah Magazine, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Slate, Shelf Awareness, Book Riot