Book Review: Giants of the Monsoon Forest by Jacob Shell

Giants of the Monsoon Forest: Living and Working With Elephants
by Jacob Shell (599.67 She)

Giants of the Monsoon Forest: LIving and Working With Elephants takes us on an adventure through the rainforests of Burma and India. We are shown a glimpse of the Asian Elephants and their unique relationship with their mahouts – elephant riders. Giants of the Monsoon Forest is a non-fiction nature book written by Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, Jacob Shell.

This book celebrates the symbiotic relationship between humans and the magnificent Asian elephant. Through a collection of personal stories, Shell illustrates how intelligent, emotional and independent elephants are. Similar to working dogs and horses, elephants engage in a medley of work. During wartime, elephants transported people through secret and treacherous pathways to avoid the enemy. In day to day operations, they log giant teak trees and transport goods. But their true courage comes out during monsoon season where, time after time, they save their humans from being whisked away and drowning. The book abounds with harrowing stories of villagers who were saved solely by the wit and athleticism of the elephants.

What astounded me most, and ultimately drew me in, was the fact that these elephants are never truly domesticated. They are released into the wilderness in the evenings and during mating season, only to willingly meet up with their human counterpart the next day to continue working. They seem to instinctively enjoy work, creating a mysteriously primitive and organic alliance between elephant and man. Further, the nature of their work require them to rely upon their own wit, intelligence, athleticism. Many of rescues were the result of the initiative of the elephant, not simply the actions of a beast of burden following orders.

I would describe Shell’s writing style as feature journalistic in that it is informative and well-researched yet captivating. A smart, engaging read that still feels accessible and not overly technical or dry. Several beautiful black and white photographs are sprinkled throughout the book as well, including maps for those who are intrigued by cartography.

This book will appeal to many as it is part history, part zoology, and part anthropology. Shell also touches on environmental and ethical dilemmas. If you enjoy reading about the relationships between animals and humans, I highly recommend this book.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, The Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts, or Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds by Joy Adamson.]

[ publisher’s official Giants of the Monsoon Forest web site ] | [ official Jacob Shell web site ]

See also: Bob B.’s review of When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Life of Animals here on BookGuide in August 2006

Recommended by Monica K.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!