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Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Croke

Vicki Croke . Unknown Year . English

The remarkable story of James Howard "Billy” Williams, whose uncanny rapport with the world's largest land animals transformed him from a carefree young man into the charismatic war hero known as Elephant Bill Billy Williams came to colonial Burma in 1920, fresh from service in World War I, to a job as a "forest man” for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence, character and even humor of the great animals who hauled logs through the remote jungles, he became a gifted "elephant wallah.” Increasingly skilled at treating their illnesses and injuries, he also championed more humane treatment for them, even establishing an elephant "school” and "hospital.” In return, he said, the elephants made him a better man. The friendship of one magnificent tusker in particular, Bandoola, would be revelatory. In Elephant Company, Vicki Constantine Croke chronicles Williams's growing love for elephants as the animals provide him lessons in courage, trust and gratitude. But Elephant Company is also a tale of war and daring. When Imperial Japanese forces invaded Burma in 1942, Williams joined the elite Force 136, the British dirty tricks department, operating behind enemy lines. His war elephants would carry supplies, build bridges and transport the sick and elderly over treacherous mountain terrain. Now well versed in the ways of the jungle, an older, wiser Williams even added to his stable by smuggling more elephants out of Japanese-held territory. As the occupying authorities put a price on his head, Williams and his elephants faced his most perilous test. In a Hollywood-worthy climax, Elephant Company, cornered by the enemy, attempted a desperate escape: a risky trek over the mountainous border to India, with a bedraggled group of refugees in tow. Elephant Bill's exploits would earn him top military honors and the praise of famed Field Marshal Sir William Slim. Part biography, part war epic and part wildlife adventure, Elephant Company is an inspirational narrative that illuminates a little-known chapter in the annals of wartime heroism.

Categories: Wildlife & Nature

About the Author

VICKI CONSTANTINE CROKE is a journalist and New York Times bestselling author who reports on animal life, with a particular focus on the profound and transformative connections that are possible between humans and other creatures. She is the author of The New York Times Notable Book “Elephant Company,” which tells the heroic story of J.H. Williams and the elephants he led for the Allied Forces in WWII. His life-long work with elephants and dedication to them, he said, taught him to be a better man. Previous works include "The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China’s Most Exotic Animal." It is the story of socialite Ruth Harkness who not only brought the first live giant panda out of China in 1936, but follows her lesser known, but even more important trek to return a captured young panda to the wild. It was a sacrifice she made believing that the animals belonged not in the hands of humans, but in their quiet forest home. Croke’s first book, praised by her hero, Jane Goodall, was "The Modern Ark: The Story of Zoos—Past, Present and Future." An exploration of the complicated issues of captivity, wildlife medicine, and management. A former news writer for CNN, she has been a featured contributor for NPR’s national newsmagazine show Here&Now, at WBUR, where her story on elephants earned both an Edward R. Murrow Award and a PRNDI (Public Radio News Directors Inc.) Award. Writing The Boston Globe’s “Animal Beat” column for thirteen years as a staffer, she continues to contribute to The New York Times and The Washington Post. Her work has appeared in The London Sunday Telegraph, Time, Popular Science, O: The Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, National Wildlife, and Discover magazine, among others. Vicki has written a pilot for Disney, appeared as an animal expert on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, worked on documentary films including “Gorillas: Primal Contact” for A&E, and anchored NECN’s The Secret Life of Animals. She has traveled extensively, reporting from the field on elephants, polar bears, lions, owls, bald eagles, Tasmanian devils, and Madagascar’s top predator, the fossa, among many others. She is currently a Faculty Fellow at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for Animals and Public Policy. Her writing has been praised by the New York Times, the journal Nature, and The Economist; it has been optioned for film; and has been translated into several languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Turkish, Czech, and French. She is an incomplete human without an Irish wolfhound at her side and argues that her career has been one big excuse to be as close to as many animals as possible.

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