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| Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived | 
 enlarge | Author: Ralph Helfer
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $5.00
You Save: $8.95 (64%)
New (42) Used (29) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  135 reviews
Sales Rank: 4135
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 1
ISBN: 0060929510
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.320929
EAN: 9780060929510
ASIN: 0060929510
Publication Date: October 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Modoc is the joint biography of a man and an elephant born in a small German circus town on the same day in 1896. Bram was the son of an elephant trainer, Modoc the daughter of his prize performer. The boy and animal grew up devoted to each other. When the Wunderzircus was sold to an American, with no provision to take along the human staff, Bram stowed away on the ship to prevent being separated from his beloved Modoc. A shipwreck off the Indian coast and a sojourn with a maharajah were only the beginning of the pair's incredible adventures. They battled bandits, armed revolutionaries, cruel animal trainers, and greedy circus owners in their quest to stay together. They triumphed against the odds and thrilled American circus audiences with Modoc's dazzling solo performances, only to be torn apart with brutal suddenness, seemingly never to meet again. Hollywood animal trainer Ralph Helfer rescued Modoc from ill-treatment and learned her astonishing story when Bram rediscovered her at Helfer's company. His emotional retelling of this true-life adventure epic will make pulses race and bring tears to readers' eyes. --Wendy Smith
Product Description
Spanning several decades and three continents, Modoc is one of the most amazing true animal stories ever told. Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again; through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940s New York City. Modoc is a captivating true story of loyalty, friendship, and high adventure, to be treasured by animal lovers everywhere.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 130 more reviews...
 great book November 15, 2008
I love this book. It starts a tiny bit slow, but is so engaging once you get into it. I gave it to everyone one Christmas. Great book.
 padded with meaningless dialogue, reads like fiction October 17, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Much of the book is imagined dialogue between the elephant trainer and various characters. The relationships with parents, girlfriend and elephant are unrealistically idealized. The theme is pantheism and the trainer even assumes he was also an elephant in another life. I was not even able to finish this book.
Wow, what a book! September 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a "must read". An incredible, true story! I've shared this book with at least 15 people.
Modoc August 21, 2008
I discovered this book by accident and must say it was such a pleasant surprise. The story catches you from page one and takes you on an unbelievable journey with Bram and Modoc. I found myself sobbing when I read the chapter on the two of them being separated and the cruel treatment Modoc underwent. Their love for each other was overwhelming. Whether the book has elements of truth in it or not, it doesn't matter. Anyone who has been touched by an animal with find themselves falling in love with Modoc. What a magnificent animal and what a lovely story.
Incredible! August 15, 2008
This is a fantastic book and stands as the only book outside of Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and McCarthy's The Road that I've actually felt compelled to buy and give to others. I read the book solely because it too was pushed my way by someone urging me to read it despite it not being my typical cup of tea. The story was fantastic and every bit the tear-jerker you've read about elsewhere. A triumph of spirit and the bond that can be built between man and animal. I cried like a blubbering baby in my backyard while turning the pages of this book - and have enjoyed inflicting the same upon others. It's really, really good - and not just for animal lovers. Beats the heck out of stinker Life Of Pi too.
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