Customer Reviews

The Beauty of the Beasts

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4 star:		(2)
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After laughing and crying my way through "Modoc, The True Story of the Greatest Elephant that Ever Lived" by Ralph Helfer, a beautiful true story of Modoc an extraordinary elephant and life-long companion of her friend and trainer Ralph Helfer, I wanted it to go on. So thanks to Modoc and Ralph, "The Beauty of the Beasts" made its' way into my cart. Revealing the personalities of the animals by guiding them to perform many unbelievable tasks, Ralph became a legend in the field of animal behavior. From working with bees, flies, and geese to lions, chimpanzees, and elephants on a very personal and respectful level, Ralph Helfer shows the intelligence and emotional attributes of other species, far above the one-dimensional instinctive existence we assign to them.
Wonderful books.

A great book. It made his two other books MODOC and ZAMBA even more meaningful. His use of "Affection Trainiing" is very interesting and heart-warming. I strongly recommend this book for any animal lovers who want an easy to read book.

First I must admit that I am a "nut" when it comes to animal stories, especially those that are true and are based on the retelling of actual animals lives. Ralph Helfer has 3 books as far as I know and I have been riveted by all of them. This was the last one and I wished that there were more.

Getting to know the animals in this book was wonderful. His writing is average as if I had written it myself, but gives the reader a very good feel for the life of the animals he writes about. He was a pioneer in opposing the FEAR based training that use to be so prevalent.

I have since read another book by his wife, Toni Helfer, which is equally good.

For those of us who grew up watching Daktari, Clarence the Cross Eyed Lion, and Gentle Ben on Saturday mornings, this is the story of the kind gentleman who owned and trained them. Ralph Helfer never used violence or intimidation to train the animals, which in the early days of television and film, was unheard of. Painting a beautiful picture of mutual respect and stewardship, Ralph delves into the lives of many of his famous animals, and the movie stars who he befriended on the sets of movies, including Clint Eastwood, Bo Derek, and many more. This book can be read in an afternoon. If you enjoy it, it can be followed by other books by Ralph including MODOC and ZAMBA. MODOC is an unbelievable, true story of an elephant, and is one of my favorite books ever.

Many very inspiring and, at times, funny stories by Ralph Helfer. A lot of the stories in this book are told in his other books Zamba and Modoc. So if you've read those already, be prepared to read parts of them again. A great overall book and a very fun read.

This book was very interesting and well-written. It is reassuring to read about how Helfer was so dedicated to keeping these working animals safe and well.

Love these books by this author. Have read them all and told others how good they are.

Great book by a great author. If you like animals you will enjoy this book. Helfer is a rare breed.