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Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family | 
 enlarge | Author: Cynthia Moss
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.00
Buy Used: $9.95
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 134580
Media: Paperback
Pages: 364
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.1
ISBN: 0226542378
Dewey Decimal Number: 599.674
EAN: 9780226542379
ASIN: 0226542378
Publication Date: July 15, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: University Of Chicago Press , 2000 PB - light corners wear to cover , text is fine no marks.
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Product Description
Cynthia Moss has studied the elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park for over twenty-seven years. Her long-term research has revealed much of what we now know about these complex and intelligent animals. Here she chronicles the lives of the members of the T families led by matriarchs Teresia, Slit Ear, Torn Ear, Tania, and Tuskless. With a new afterword catching up on the families and covering current conservation issues, Moss's story will continue to fascinate animal lovers.
"One is soon swept away by this 'Babar' for adults. By the end, one even begins to feel an aversion for people. One wants to curse human civilization and cry out, 'Now God stand up for the elephants!'"—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times
"Moss speaks to the general reader, with charm as well as scientific authority. . . . [An] elegantly written and ingeniously structured account." —Raymond Sokolov, Wall Street Journal
"Moss tells the story in a style so conversational . . . that I felt like a privileged visitor riding beside her in her rickety Land-Rover as she showed me around the park." —Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, New York Times Book Review
"A prose-poem celebrating a species from which we could learn some moral as well as zoological lessons." —Chicago Tribune
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Great Historical View of Amboseli's Elephants... December 1, 1999
M. Mueller (Juneau, Alaska)
47 out of 48 found this review helpful
Moss' "Elephant Memories" provides intimate detail of her experiences with Amboseli's elephant herd in the 1970's-early '80s. Some of the material is dated as she has since learned new truths and details of elephant behaviors since this book was first published. One example was the discussion of the twin calves: Equninox and Eclipse. Moss was wondering if these male and female calves would be free-martens like cattle twins and unable to reproduce. Well, since those early days, the female has since matured and has had a calf. So the free-marten theory was disproved. But it was interesting to ponder. Basically, the story follows the lives of four closely related family groups--the "T" familes. In her research, she names most of the family members in one family starting with the same letter. So most of the "T" family members names start with the letter "T". I found the book to be entertaining, an elephant saga, yet informative, also. Moss teaches yet inspires empathy for these magnificent creatures. The celebration of elephant births and sorrow of their deaths with the continuation of their daily hardships--drought, killings, hunger and human encroachment are discussed in easy to read detail. "Elephant Memories" is part elephant soap opera and part Moss' speculations regarding her dealings with these pachyderms. There are two separate inserts of photos--one section is in black and white, the other is in color. For anyone who follows Moss' books and videos, it is a must to read this book. It shows photos of elephant's when she first started taking their photos up to the 13 years she researched them before publishing the book. It is interesting to see the "before" and "after" pictures of some of the younger elephants who then grew up. "Elephant Memories" is a great read. I've gotten a lot of detail in my own quest for elephant information by reading this book.
The lives of elephants revealed January 18, 2002
Claus Hetting (Gentofte, Copenhagen Denmark)
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful book. Cynthia Moss takes the reader deep into the intricate social lives of Africa elephans in Amboseli National Park (Kenya), and leaves a profound impression. How very sensitive these animals are, and how endearing. It is entirely clear how these creatures have suffered at the hands of humans, but also nobody can read this book and not feel the urge to conserve this fantastic species. Also it may inspire some to travel to Amboseli to see the elephants 'in person' - an experience that you will never forget!
 Intriguing January 5, 2002
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book. At first, the book seems confusing as the author continuously refers to the individual elephants on a first name basis when one has no idea of who these "people" are. As the names become more familiar and the individual stories develop, the strange names develop into a wonderful, although at times anthropomorphic story on the natural history of these gentle animals. As she warns us, the author takes the liberty of adding unwitnessed, fictional pieces to most stories, which can be confusing and at times blur the objective observations that she makes with subjective, although probably real, assumptions.
But this book is not a hard core technical text, despite glimpses of it being so in the beginning. The book is about remembering the wonderful social and behavioral characteristics of individuals that make up a population. From matriarchs to lonely males, from birth to death during periods of drought or at the hands of Masai warriors, this book gives a comprehensive insight into relevant issues affecting the survival of the African elephant. The author comes across as a human being, with emotions that go beyond the hard-core science. Although her prose is dry at times, this book is very enjoyable and opens a magnificent window into the world of the Amboseli elephants.
Thorough and moving study of elephants! January 11, 2001
stardustraven (Europe)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
This book covers thirteen years of Cynthia Moss' elephant research at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Several of the elephant families which reside at Amboseli are featured in this book. Cynthia Moss learned to distinguish each individual elephant by such characteristics as the shape of their ears, ear markings or the size and shape of the tusks. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of elephant life like mating, draught etc. Together with fellow researcher Joyce Poole Cynthia Moss discovered that the bulls like their Asian cousins go into musth too (the period during which they are the most attractive for the cows). Thus a longstanding mystery was solved. But through it all shines Cynthia Moss' deep love for the elephants, she found with them so much to recommend. Learning from them. She certainly succeeds in sharing the joy of studying and living with elephants. I warmly recommend Ian and Oria Douglas-Hamilton's and Joyce Poole's books as well. Indeed Cynthia Moss has found new insights but this is still the book to read on elephants in the first place.
by stardustraven
Captivating Elephant Saga December 21, 2006
M. King (Louisville, KY)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Moss takes you on an incredible journey into the lives of African elephants and allows you to take a bird's eye view of the research she has done. The book, while captivating, can seem a little discombobulated to some, however. The book divides itself into the different years Moss is writing about, each chapter being a different year. This set up, however, is a bit confusing as the chapters do not limit themselves to that particular year, but instead discussed a myriad of years all while focusing on a particular topic. That said, you do see progression in the timeline as the book reads on.
The only downside I saw to this book was the fictional retelling of circumstances that she was not witness to. She describes the deaths of a few elephants as well as some mishaps involving the elephants in near poetic detail, though she never actually saw what happened, or she only witnessed the very end of the circumstance. She does not note where the fictionalization begins, and you only understand what parts are ficionalized after reading on and seeing where she says "I don't know what happened." These are merely assumptions made on the part of the author and though they could have very real merit, it can hurt the integrity of the book when read by someone who is looking for a purely factual account of African elephants. While Moss does warn that she does make assumptions, it would have been better if she noted right before each fictionalized story that it was an assumption. That said, the stories do involve true elephant behavior and shows the audience how elephants may react in certain situations.
There is an incredible amount of insight in this book. You become attached to certain elephants, feel joy over new births, celebrate victory over hardship, and mourn the deaths of these creatures. It teaches the reader about their behaviors, environment, and most of all, the conservation of these majestic animals.
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