This sumptuous, large-format volume may be the last word on elephants that any library will need. Although the publisher describes the work as an art title--and with more than 800 illustrations it definitely qualifies as aesthetic--the text takes it beyond the realm of the coffee table. The first three chapters provide a good overview of the evolution of the Proboscidea and the anatomy of the two surviving species and their behavior in the wild. The meat of the book is embodied in the next 12 chapters, on the human relationship with elephants. They are followed from the ancient world to modern times and filled the role of sacred animals, forestry workers, state gifts, bearers of ivory, and as war animals (from Hannibal crossing the Alps to the Vietnam War). Tamed elephants were (and still are) mostly of the Asian species, African elephants unfortunately mostly serving as targets for their ivory or for big-game hunters. The last two chapters discuss elephants as they are found today, mostly in zoos and refuges. Excellent appendixes provide maps of the current ranges of elephants, surviving population numbers, and elephants in zoos. This beautiful book is an absolute bargain at the price and highly recommended for all libraries. - Nancy Bent; 484p - YA: A must for reports, and a visual feast for elephant fans. NB. NAT HIST Here is an entertaining, informative, and often disturbing look at all things elephant, from their evolution and life in the wild to all aspects of their connections to human culture, both historical and modern. The chapters on elephants in the ancient world, India, and Southeast Asia are illustrated with gorgeous photos of paintings, sculpture, and other artwork that reveal how elephants were used for labor and warfare or as models for Ganesh and other Hindu gods. Other chapters concern the modern-day hunting, trapping, and taming of elephants; circus and zoo life; the ivory trade; elephants in art; and conservation issues. Appendixes provide maps, charts, articles, and a lengthy bibliography (most entries are for European journals and monographs). The authors appear to have credentials primarily in journalism and art direction; their book is beautifully designed, well written, and reasonably priced given its heft. Recommended for academic and larger public library collections. [For another cultural and artistic exploration of the elephant, see Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture, LJ 7/95. Ed.] Beth Clewis Crim, Prince William P.L., VA.