Customer Reviews

Moose (Reaktion Books - Animal)

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Trivia: Who was the author of the first extant written record of the moose? Answer: Julius Caesar, in his "De bello Gallico", from 53 BCE. Caesar wrote, among other things, that these strange animals "have legs without joints and ligatures; nor do they lie down for the purpose of rest, nor, if they have been thrown down by any accident, can they raise or lift themselves up."

As Kevin Jackson relates in MOOSE, his contribution to the Reaktion Books series on animals, misinformation about the moose (Alces alces) has been prevalent throughout history. One stubborn mistake is taxonomic in nature: the moose of North America is the same animal, biologically, as the European elk. It is the North American elk, or wapiti, that is a different species.

If moose appeal to you, this book is likely to do so also. It contains 174 pages of text and pictures, covering, briefly, the biology and natural history of moose, their use by humans (in Siberia in the Middle Ages they often were used as mounts, and, supposedly, could outrun Cossacks mounted on horses), and various representations of them in literature and the visual arts. It touches on Henry David Thoreau's reverence for the moose (the sobriquet used as the title for this review comes from Thoreau) and there are discussions of Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Party and of the most famous moose ever, Bullwinkle.

I wish the book contained more on the biology and natural history of the moose, but on the whole it is relatively informative without a whiff of academia. The fact that it is so handsomely produced, including the copious illustrations, elevates MOOSE to four stars. It belongs on the shelves of any lodge or B&B-type establishment in the North Woods.

As I ruminated before a shelf of books put out by a British publisher on various animals, I pondered which of them I should choose. I had read books on antelope and others of that elk. I took Kevin Jackson's work because I knew very little about moose, and up to now, have never seen one in the wild, much to my chagrin. I bought MOOSE and brought it home, hoping I had not made a moose-take. No, this is a short, succinct, lightly serious, whole-earth moose book with all kinds of interesting information about Alces alces, the well-known inhabitant of northern forests and beloved character of a well-known TV show. Clearing up some confusion about European and North American names, the author moves on to show how information about the moose in Europe slowly jelled into an accurate picture over the centuries. The moose was the (unwilling) savior of early pioneering efforts in the north, providing food for Indians, explorers, Catholic priests, and Hudson Bay trappers. One writer is quoted as saying that in those northern regions "human existence essentially depended on the moose". In Siberia, if the moose-riding locals could outrun Cossacks on horses, then their existence depended on moose too. Various legends about them, as well as efforts to tame them provide more items of interest. The volume is profusely illustrated with all kinds of fascinating drawings, emblems and photos and contains sections on the early 20th century Bull Moose Party, "the moose in literature", in art, advertising, and the media. Bullwinkle definitely gets a mention. In short, if you ever wanted to know about moose, but were afraid to ask---or maybe---didn't know where to ask, you have come to the right place. Just don't hope for chocolate "moose", OK ?

Jackson describes a trip to Maine, a journey in search of the gigantic elk found over Scandinavia and northern North America:

"I have seen plenty of other animals in the wild--dolphins and whales in the Atlantic, porcupines and martens in Italy, wallabies and camels in Australia--but I have never experienced a sense of privilege and enchantment as I felt watching this peaceable she-creature. After about 20 minutes, she ambled away into the foliage and was gone. In the following days, we saw several more moose at close range, including a frisky youngster cantering down a roadside. But you never forget the first time."

The Reaktion Book series on animals numbers over 35 with many more in the works. Crow (Animal) by Boria Sax was first in 2003; Owl (Reaktion Books - Animal) by Desmond Morris is the latest entry. Each volume starts with a personal experience of the author and the star of the book, followed by a natural and cultural history. Some are familiar animals, but many are more exotic.

Most of the authors are not naturalists but novelists or professional writers with a strong background in cultural matters. Our cultural reactions to each animal are the essence of each volume; "This cow moose did not look silly at all -- she was anything but clumsy and sluggish and dumb. She was a beauty." (Jackson plays against Ted Hughes description of the moose as "dopes of the deep woods.")

Johnathan Burt is the editor of the series. He writes that he has had the template for each book from the beginning. Each book contains 200 pages with around a hundred illustrations. Structurally: "Natural history-slash-evolutionary history at the beginning of the volume, then the cultural history later on." The animals all have a wide geographical distribution, strong identities in myth, religion and legend, and plenty of interesting images from a variety of cultures.

The Moose (North America) or Common European Elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest living member of the deer family. Male moose have palmate antlers; other members of the family have antlers with a "twig-like" configuration. (The American Elk is an entirely different species.)

Jackson traces the name from one Algonquian language, with the possible meaning of "stripping off". The word moose first entered English in 1606 from Captain Thomas Hanham's Mus, and in 1616 from Captain John Smith's Moos.

The earliest recorded description of the elk is in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico:

"There are also [animals] which are called elks. The shape of these, and the varied color of their skins, is much like roes, but in size they surpass them a little and are destitute of horns, and have legs without joints and ligatures; nor do they lie down for the purpose of rest, nor, if they have been thrown down by any accident, can they raise or lift themselves up. Trees serve as beds to them ; they lean themselves against them, and thus reclining only slightly, they take their rest; when the huntsmen have discovered from the footsteps of these animals whither they are accustomed to betake themselves, they either undermine all the trees at the roots, or cut into them so far that the upper part of the trees may appear to be left standing. When they have leant upon them, according to their habit, they knock down by their weight the unsupported trees, and fall down themselves along with them."

Jackson follows the moose through many other iterations, including Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party: his leader was "as strong as a bull moose." This entry is a worthy member of a series devoted to a light hearted, but well researched, introduction to a number of very interesting animals.

Robert C. Ross 2010