Save the elephants! (postscript, captioned photographs, glossary) (Memoir. 10-16)
“In 1999, I was asked to accept a herd of troubled wild elephants on my game reserve, Thula Thula. I had no idea how challenging it would be or how much my life would be enriched.”
Readers wary of nonfiction should be informed that this tale races along like a fictional action adventure; small wonder that its late author was dubbed “the Indiana Jones of Conservation.” A herd of nine “tuskers” has been so traumatized by humans that their behavior is deemed incorrigible; if Anthony won’t take them within two weeks, all will be killed. Anthony hires large numbers of men to erect essential, electrified fencing at a feverish pace while simultaneously building a holding pen, or boma, for the newcomers—and dealing with game poachers. Seven of the elephants arrive; the matriarch and her baby have been executed. Many breathtaking adventures ensue—some highlighting Anthony’s game ranger’s loyal, death-defying risks. Most of the 64 chapters end with an enticing cliffhanger. Anthony’s goals are not simply altruistic; he and his fiancee earn a living by entertaining game-enthusiastic tourists at their lodge. The specter of colonialism is unavoidable. However, Anthony’s patient attempts to rehabilitate elephants—and the ensuing accounts of intelligence and emotional connection from these behemoths—are moving and fascinating. There are hard moments, especially toward the end, but there is plenty of foreshadowing and humor throughout.
Save the elephants! (postscript, captioned photographs, glossary) (Memoir. 10-16)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62779-309-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Wordplay and wry wit put extra fun into a trove of fundamental knowledge.
With an amped-up sense of wonder, the Science Guy surveys the natural universe.
Starting from first principles like the scientific method, Nye and his co-author marvel at the “Amazing Machine” that is the human body then go on to talk up animals, plants, evolution, physics and chemistry, the quantum realm, geophysics, and climate change. They next venture out into the solar system and beyond. Along with tallying select aspects and discoveries in each chapter, the authors gather up “Massively Important” central concepts, send shoutouts to underrecognized women scientists like oceanographer Marie Tharp, and slip in directions for homespun experiments and demonstrations. They also challenge readers to ponder still-unsolved scientific posers and intersperse rousing quotes from working scientists about how exciting and wide open their respective fields are. If a few of those fields, like the fungal kingdom, get short shrift (one spare paragraph notwithstanding), readers are urged often enough to go look things up for themselves to kindle a compensatory habit. Aside from posed photos of Nye and a few more of children (mostly presenting as White) doing science-y things, the full-color graphic and photographic images not only reflect the overall “get this!” tone but consistently enrich the flow of facts and reflections. “Our universe is a strange and surprising place,” Nye writes. “Stay curious.” Words to live by.
Wordplay and wry wit put extra fun into a trove of fundamental knowledge. (contributors, art credits, selected bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 11-15)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4676-5
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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