Customer Reviews

Modoc

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I can't say this is the best book ever written, but the author does spin an engaging tale. However, the book is written at about a 6th grade level while the subject matter reaches into adult themes from time to time.

As you already know, the book is about the life of a circus elephant and her trainer, Bram. The plot moves along at a good clip, but I found it lacking in details that would make it more believable. For instance, nowhere in the book does he mention a year. I guessed that Bram and Modoc were born in pre-war Germany, but it's not specified, and the political unrest should have come into play in the plot.

Then other things started raising questions with me that made me question the truthfulness of this 'true' story. Like several times he mentions Modoc's tusks and how they were decorated and adorned throughout her life. Yet in all the photos of her, she has no tusks. There are mentions of her being in TV shows, but there isn't a credit list. And since the author owned her for awhile, and was a Hollywood animal trainer, you think he would know.

Then as I did a little more research and found that the author has likely combined the stories of a couple of elephants. In the forward he admits to embellishments, but in my opinion, he has gone too far to call this a true story.