"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.
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