Elephant Reflections

by Dale Peterson, Karl Ammann (Photographer)

Elephant Reflections brings award-winning wildlife photographer Karl Ammann's gorgeous images together with a revelatory text by writer Dale Peterson to illuminate one of nature's greatest and most original works of art: the elephant. The photographs move from the purely aesthetic to the informative, depicting animals who are at once enigmatic, individual, mysterious, elusive, and iconic. In riveting prose, Peterson introduces the work of field scientists in Africa and explains their recent astonishing discoveries. He then explores the natural history and conservation status of African elephants and discusses the politics of ivory. Elephant Reflections is a book that could change the way the world thinks about elephants while we still have some measure of control over their fate.

Read an excerpt here:

Elephant Reflections by Dale Peterson and Karl Ammann by University of California Press

Genres: Photography, Animals, Nonfiction, Africa, Nature, Natural History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 4, 2009

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous pictures, and a great commentary at the end. At first I was frustrated that the captions were in the back of the book instead of with the photographs, but then I realized that it gave me time to really look at the pictures first before making any judgments about what I was seeing. Great commentary at the end by the author and photographer, and they both have interesting ideas on how to solve poaching problems. I really enjoyed the history lesson on the study of elephant behavior. Very well done.

[VJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that some female elephants have tusks!

I learned that some people kill elephants for their meat. This was hideous to learn.

[Shawn Fahy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent Christmas with a friend and his family, including his MIL, who's kind of a hippy. She gave me a large book called "Elephant Reflections" by Karl Ammann and Dale Peterson (2009). The book is mostly photographs and much of the text is about photography too. There was some other text that revealed some interesting facts about elephants that I hadn't known. For example, elephants bury their dead and often bury the dead of other species, including recorded instances of them burying human bodies. Elephant populations have been severely reduced by ivory poaching, which reached its peak in the 80's but still continues to this day. There was an argument that while elephants are still getting poached, the real profit might now be coming from their meat rather than their tusks. There are also studies being done about elephants' ability to communicate via tones that the human ear cannot pick up.

Overall, it's the kind of book you might want to keep in the bathroom to flip through when you've got a minute, largely because of the photos. Besides the photos, the most interesting part to me was how elephants are being treated (or mistreated) as a resource by various African nations. That's something I can see looking into more in the future but I'm not sure I'd read this one again.

[Lyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, technically I didn't actually read this, I just skimmed through the pictures. But the photos were fantastic. I loved them!

[Last Ranger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family Ties!

This oversized coffee-table book really delivers the goods. Science writer Karl Ammann and wild life photographer Dale Peterson collaborated for this in depth look at the largest, and most mysterious, extant land mammal -- the elephant. The full color pictures are arranged in 9 chapters, starting with: Beginnings and ending with Passages (look for the captions, in order, at the back of the book). Some of the photos are displayed full page, some smaller as one or two to a page and there some two page spreads. With these stunning shots the reader gets an up-close look at this magnificent animal. From new born to old age and all in between you will see how they live their lives, eat, play and interact with one another and with other animals. Some of the pictures are peaceful and serene, some violent and some of an intimate nature, this book pulls no punches. The text is equally well done. Ammann covers his ( and Peterson's) experiences as they did the field work for the book. He also goes into elephant biology and anatomy, including a look a elephant evolution and the paleontologists that found some of the first fossils in Africa, Eurasia and the Americas. Do elephants experience emotions like love, hate, fear, grief? How can we tell for sure? Do they remember events in their life? Are they self aware? The author addresses all these questions and more in an entertaining, thought provoking, way. In one way or another man has been exploiting the elephant since prehistoric times. At first it was just the necessities of life: food, clothing, shelter. But as time went on our exploitation of elephants changed from basic human needs to something more abstract: cultural symbolism and luxurious niceties from ivory and other body parts. Some African countries ban the export of elephant products while others use the elephant as a "renewable resource" and actively harvest the herds. Poaching has changed from local hunters just trying to make a living to international gangs of well armed men that are not afraid to kill park rangers to get at the ivory. Sometimes the modern poachers will wipe out entire herds from the oldest to the youngest. According to authors the only way to end the carnage is through the consumer--dry up the market and there will be no reason to kill the elephants. The elephant is a true miracle of nature, it would be tragic indeed if we were to cause its extinction because of such mundane needs as "elephant feet wastebaskets" and "ivory handled knives".

Last Ranger

[AJ Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a photography book, but did include commentary on the author's travels and feelings about elephants. The pictures were nice, but I wouldn't say I was blown away by the collection. Though it was fun to look at.

I found the narratives interesting and enjoyed reading them. I think the most interesting part of the book came at the very end when the author makes a case for why elephant poaching, particularly in central Africa, is continuing unabated. He says it's the bush meat trade, and not the ivory trade, that is the real problem. I had never heard this theory before - and maybe I have been living under a rock or something - but I found it very interesting, and likely.

[pati · Rating 5 out of 5]

A revelatory collection of photos and text on elephants. Ammann's photographs capture an astonishing range of elephant behavior, but Peterson's text—with its scope, synthesis of history and observation, précis of the ivory trade and conservation—is what distinguishes this book

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a picture book with little reading involved. Great shots and background information. Had dreams about elephants immediately afterwards!

[Sem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give ten stars if I could. The photographs are splendid and the substantial and elegantly written essay by Peterson makes this far more than just a coffee-table book.

[Carolyn Canavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about elephants and it has amazing pictures. Of course it's fabulous!