Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one hundred percent."
                               -Horton, Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss

I probably would never have thought to read this book without one of our book club members selecting it. I surely would not have taken on another nonfiction after working my way through The Path Between the Seas. I did enjoy the book, however, and learned a great deal. I am rating it a 4.

Mostly biographical, the book tells the story of Brit James Howard Williams who comes to be known as Elephant Bill. It begins in 1920 when Williams, as a very young man, arrives in Burma to work for Bombay Burmah Trading, the top teak-cutting corporation in the area. He will end up working with the elephants who haul the teak timber. Over time, he falls in love with these huge animals and becomes something of an elephant whisperer.

In the latter part of the book, Bill, also known as Jim by his family, becomes a hero during WWII when he saves many lives---people and elephants---against great odds. I had never heard of him before reading the book, nor did I know elephants had affected the war effort in any way.

Elephant Bill is a very admirable character---brave, determined, caring, smart. His relationship with the elephant Bandoola, who could easily be called the king of the Burma jungle, was very interesting. One often hears the saying "an elephant never forgets" but who knew that along with a good memory they have many other fine qualities: "courage, loyalty, the ability to trust (and the good sense to know when to be distrustful), fairness, patience, diligence, kindness, and humor." (p xii) Williams felt that he acquired some of these virtues from working with the animals. He said, "...the elephant takes a more kindly view of life than we do."

I was familiar with The Faithful Elephants, a children's picture book by Yukio Tsuchiya. It was also set in WWII. I am glad Elephant Company was not so sad!

If you are an animal lover, I think you would enjoy this book.

The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

            - Theodore Roosevelt, as displayed in the Rotunda of the Administration Building

I honestly would never have undertaken the reading of this book except for a planned cruise through the Panama Canal. Aside from being 600+ pages, it was quite technical at times and had so many names to remember. McCullough's historical writing, though, is so much more interesting than most nonfiction and far more entertaining than a textbook.

The Path... definitely presented more information than I needed to know and likely a lot I won't remember. However, when I hear lectures offered on the cruise ship I'll have some background and probably recall some of the pertinent facts.

Some surprising things I learned in reading (and I confess I knew very little beforehand):

• Interest in and research of the idea of a canal to connect the oceans began in earnest with Grant's term.
• The French began the canal in Panama and worked on it about 8 years before the project went bankrupt.
• When a canal was being discussed in the U.S., many in authority wanted a Nicaraguan route.
• Theodore Roosevelt made the final decision to continue the canal in Panama, influenced greatly by a Frenchman named Phillipe Bunau-Varilla.
• When Columbia would not sign a contract to allow for the building of the canal, the U.S. fomented a rebellion of Panama, then part of Columbia. When Panama won independence in an almost bloodless revolution, thanks to the U. S. Navy, an agreement was reached with the Panamanians.
• Three chief engineers were in charge of the building: John Findlay Wallace, John Frank Stevens and George Washington Goethals (the only name I actually remembered.)
• Though Goethals was given a great deal of credit for the success of the canal, he later said "the real builder of the Panama Canal was Theodore Roosevelt."
• William Howard Taft was very influential, as well. As Secretary of War he visited Panama 5 times and as president, twice. More importantly he hired Stevens who had a huge impact on the successful start of the U.S. efforts and recommended Goethals who brought it to a conclusion---the "giant engineering feat of the ages." [Roosevelt]

I am very glad I read The Path Between the Seas; I will rate it a 4.  Now I'm looking forward to reading a novel for fun!