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Love, Life, And Elephants: An African Love Story (2012)

by Daphne Sheldrick(Favorite Author)

4.01 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0374104573 (ISBN13: 9780374104573)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

review 1: This book is important as history. Dame Daphne, also, has devoted her life to elephants. That is undeniable. What is most interesting aside from her dedication to elephants is this elephant-in-the-room: she is a white woman from "settlers", British citizens improving the empire. Which is such an important part of the way things are, such an important part that in her book, almost none of the pictures of African men who cared for these baby elephants are attributed. The elephant is, but the care-taker is not. Unless it is Dame Daphne. Her husband was given care of a "park" (Tsavo) the size of Michigan, an enormous responsibility, and he did an admirable job during his lifetime. It isn't that I don't think the British settlers didn't work hard, or didn't somehow deserve the ... morejobs they were assigned, but Kenya is ready for her own people to get credit for defense of the elephants. Indeed, they are on the front lines, and are all that is keeping this decimated species alive right now.
review 2: I thought this book was very interesting and worth reading. I had a personal connection to the story because I live on a farm with animals, and though they aren't elephants, I know what it's like to live with, take care of and love animals. I do envy Daphne because she got to work with the animals of the Savannah like lions, zebras and most of all, the elephants. The book was well written and showed how whites were treated while living in Africa and going into unsettled areas. The photographs helped visualize the scenery, events and what occurred when working with the animals. The story was sad as it told about the wars and the slaughtering of the elephants and rhinos for their ivory tusks. The love story between Daphne and David also added to the story and explained some of her motivation in helping the animals. less

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