"Using his mahout training, John Kistler brings a depth and understanding to the role of elephants in warfare. War Elephants is flawlessly written and researched. While the illustrations are a bit sparse this is not surprising given the subject matter….If you are interested in reading about ancient warfare, or the role of elephants in war, then this book is highly recommended."
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Armchair General (Web site)
"[J]ohn m. Kistler, seeks to give elephants the credit they deserve for the sacrifices they have endured in war zones throughout history. Avid military buffs and students of ancient, medieval, and modern warfare, animal rights, and non-Western warfare will find much of interest in this comprehensive resource."
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Library Media Connection
"Generals used elephants as tanks, bulldozers, and cargo trucks long before such vehicles existed, and, until gunpowder reduced the utility of elephants in battle, these beasts built roads, swung swords, and terrified opposing forces. Kistler tells the story of the elephant's largely forgotten role in the history of warfare."
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Reference & Research Book News
"If, as some now apparently believe, the Loch Ness monster has pachydermian antecedents, then John M. Kistler's new book may provide a clue to its origins….[K]istler provides a range of interesting facts about elephant behaviour, not least the actual difficulties of managing a force of war elephants in terms of voracious appetite, enormous thirst, expensive armour and long term commitment to training and care….John Kistler's account is often entertaining and certainly wide ranging."
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Times Literary Supplement
"War Elephants is the fascinating story of how elephants have fought in human armies for more than three thousand years. From elephants that battled alongside legendary Roman legions, to elephants in modern history who have suffered bombs and napalm for their service, War Elephants examines the pachyderms' role in the equivalent of tanks, bulldozers, cargo haulers and cavalry throughout the millennia. Now after the elephants have made such great sacrifices in warfare, it is the elephants themselves who desperately need protection. A serious-minded work of significant military history scholarship by professional librarian John Kistler, War Elephants is recommended reading for anyone curious about the important role elephants have played in human history."
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Midwest Book Review/Wisconsin Bookwatch
"War Elephants provides the full history of pachyderms in battle, presenting an animal historian's in-depth history of evidence tracing the use of elephants in battles from 1100 B.C. to the 17th century. From how the elephants participated in battle to strategies against them, War Elephants provides quite a different perspective and is an unique military survey."
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The Midwest Book Review - California Bookwatch
