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Summary: An amazing window into the lives of elephants
Review: A fascinating story about the discovery of infrasonic communication between elephants, her experiences with elephants, and the implications of culling on these magnificient creatures. Payne maintains a foundation of integrity in her book which opens your heart to these beautiful animals. It is full of facts, anecdotes, stories and passion. I highly recommend buying this book as it is an incredible story and it is for the elephants!
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Summary: Okay, but not as good as that of some of her peers.
Review: Anything about elephants is worth reading. To really understand elephants and the complexities of the impact of human society on them, I recommend Douglas Chadwick's The Fate of the Elephant first. To read about a female scientist's experience of elephants, I recommend Joyce Poole's "Coming of Age with Elephants." Even the story of Modoc the elephant is more engaging.There's something remarkably un-magical about the writing here. I don't understand it. Ms. Payne's public presentation of her experiences with elephants is so interesting, incredibly engrossing. An academic/lecture setting offers the benefit of her pre-recorded elephant calls played at different speeds. She shows several photos of the elephants, her research setting, and her friends. She explains technical diagrams of sound speed and pitch and their distribution across geographical settings. (The absence of photos or other illustrations is quite noticeable in this book.) Experiencing Ms. Payne "live" infuses the book with more import, but I can't in good faith claim that the book stands that way on its own.
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Summary: Happy
Review: FANTASTIC book. Can't believe it's on sale when I bought it for full-price! Definitely the thing for anyone who likes non-fiction. It's totally poignant and fascinating - not an easy combination.
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Summary: something is missing
Review: I have not read the book yet, but I am very disappointed that she has not photos! Having read Joye Poole's book that lots of tremendous photos and Cynthia Moss's book that at least some black & white photos, I thought this book would have some also. As a photographer and elephant lover, I expected them.
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Summary: something is missing
Review: I have not read the book yet, but I am very disappointed that she has not photos! Having read Joye Poole's book that lots of tremendous photos and Cynthia Moss's book that at least some black & white photos, I thought this book would have some also. As a photographer and elephant lover, I expected them.
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Summary: A fascinating and lovely recounting
Review: I read Ms. Payne's book in two days. It gripped me with its tales of Africa, and scientific discoveries, and magnificent, intelligent, sentient beasts. She describes clearly the people and animals of Africa, and treats all with equal respect. The description of the night she spent staring down a lion a few feet away was worth the price of the book alone. This is a wonderful book that taught me a lot about African wildlife and people--and the courage and soulfulness of a biologist who spent time among them.
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Summary: A Wonderful Writer with Tremendous Talent
Review: Katy Payne is a wonderful writer with a tremendous talent for integrating life with her research. This book is about elephants, about Katy, about the men and women and societies that she meets in a wonderful pilgrimage. You experience her joys, her sorrows, her love for elephants, her research breakthroughs and the distress of the wildlife situation, especially within Zimbabwe. Katy also has a beautiful talent for gracefully understanding how other societies function and for developing a culturally sensitive learning posture. This is a great book. For those reviewers who want "more pictures," there are thousands in this book that Katy brings to your mind when you READ it. I learned a tremendous amount about elephant behavior/communication, wildlife biology and the lifestyle of a wildlife biologist in this book. Wonderful, wonderful work! Thank you Katy!
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Summary: These giants have a message for us all
Review: Katy Payne's Silent Thunder is a giant of a book about the giant of land animals. These salient creatures were here long, long before us. (Remember learning about the hairy mammoth?) They survived ice ages, plate technonics, fire, draught, meteors and more. But can they survive us? Does it matter? Once you read Ms. Payne's sensitive account of the elephants of Africa and the people who study them, the survival of these giants will matter as never before.
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Summary: This a great book; elephants, like humans create culture.
Review: This is a stunning and important book. When I finished I was overjoyed -- that Katy Payne had found language for the reality of elephant culture and the spiritual depth and integrity of the native peoples in Africa -- and I was ravaged by the truths she exposes of the ways that the colonial mind and presence have undermined the natural world and the lives of the indigenous peoples; ultimately animal and native peoples are marginalized and pitted against each other for survival. This book carries a profound understanding of the complex nature of elephants and dares to present the terrible vision of their circumstances from which we cannot and must not turn away. Because Katy Payne is such an honest and lyrical writer, because she is exacting as a scientist and a compassionate person, we can, if we allow ourselves, truly be transformed by taking in the implications of her observations and understanding. It is no exaggeration to say this is a great book which will forever change the ways we see the world. Deena Metzger, co-editor Intimate Nature: The Bond Between Women and Animals, Fawcett Columbine, The Ballentine Group.
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