What with everyone and their dog seeming to be watching “Tiger King” at the moment, I thought that perhaps bringing attention to a new novel that also takes the world of private zoos in the south-eastern United States as an element in its central plot – or at least, that’s where it begins – might be in order.
“The universal intellectual, the free-standing man or woman making a living more or less from writing or talking, and being known for that in a variety of old fashioned media has disappeared. We shall not see a return or a revival, I think, of that kind of intellectual.” So spoke the late Tony Judt in his […]
In light of the recent decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift the ban on importing “sport” hunted trophies of elephants from Zimbabwe and Zambia, it seems that a short overview of some recent worthwhile books about elephants is in order – in case any readers of The Well-read Naturalist should find themselves […]
What is the purpose of a zoo? Is it a place offering its visitors to opportunity to view animals from far off lands? Is it a public space where people can gather, perhaps for events such as concerts of simply to meet for a few hours of relaxation? Is it a research institution where the […]