Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World [Hardcover]

Perhaps you have flown on a jumbo jet, and certainly you have seen jumbo sized bags of corn chips. "Jumbo" is even an official designation for a particular size of olive, among other things. Of course, these are big olives, and "jumbo" means big, but you might not realize that it is an eponym, a word taken from a name. It comes from Jumbo the elephant, but how Jumbo got that name isn't recorded; other elephants at the London Zoo were called, say, Tommy or Jack. Jumbo did not get his name because he was big (he got it long before he grew big), but "jumbo" came to mean big because Jumbo became big. In _Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World_ (Steerforth Press), Paul Chambers has produced a delightful biography of what really was, for many reasons, the greatest elephant in the world. It is in many ways a sad story, with human greed and folly taking their toll on the poor pachyderm, who lost his life directly because of his fame. Jumbo's is, however, a unique story, in which are remarkable, flawed men, only some of whom had his best interest at heart.

Jumbo was far from jumbo when his mother was killed and he was captured; he was a scrawny runt, and it would have surprised no one if he had died on his caravan of rhinos, giraffes, antelopes, and more heading to the Red Sea. After a sea voyage and transfer within Europe, the little elephant was bought by the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The French never appreciated their acquisition, and the Superintendent of the London Zoo, Abraham Bartlett was eager to get Jumbo when the French zoo was selling off extra animals. Bartlett also hand picked a handler for the elephant, the keeper Matthew Scott, because although Scott had worked wonders with parrots and elands, he had no experience with elephants and Bartlett was sure that Scott could thus be made to take charge of Jumbo in just the manner Bartlett wanted. Bartlett's thinking on the issue was completely wrong. Scott was to become inseparable from Jumbo, and was to use his connection with the elephant to become more influential and rich than the London Zoo ever intended any zookeeper to be. He was continually to annoy Bartlett who could not transfer him or dismiss him because he had such close control of Jumbo. The increasing influence of Scott, and the difficulty of maintaining such a huge and sometimes unrestrained beast at the zoo, bothered Bartlett, who was glad to get rid of the pair when P. T. Barnum offered to buy Jumbo. The elephant was a sensation, attracting huge crowds when he landed and went on procession to the site of Barnum's circus at Madison Square Garden. Barnum forbade any measurements to be made of Jumbo, aware that the press and public would happily exaggerate his size. Jumbo was well worth any expense or trouble Barnum had undertaken; attendance at the circus was never better, and Jumbo took to circus life well. He was, however, to be with the circus only four years; a collision with an unscheduled train in Ontario killed him. Barnum not only arranged for his body to be mounted and put on display (where it was still a draw), but started the story that brave Jumbo had lost his life while heroically protecting the circus's dwarf elephant from that oncoming train.

Scott was bereft. He was let go from the circus, but continued hanging around aimlessly for a while; no one knows what became of him. Jumbo's stuffed hide was in a museum for decades before the museum burned to the ground in 1975, and his skeleton is in storage vaults of the American Museum of Natural History, where people still ask about it. Jumbo's legacy does not just include his named used as a word, as elements of his story were included in a children's book in 1939, _Dumbo_, which had a small print run until Walt Disney got hold of it. Chambers has told Jumbo's story with affection and detail, giving us a good idea of the character of the big elephant, but also of the characters around him that turned him into a world-renowned star.

"JUMBO"The Greatest Elephant In the World; by Paul Chambers is truly a JUMBO piece of literature in a small book.

This is the true and sad biography of the world's most publicized elephant and those individuals who shared in his life. Mr. Chambers' has gvien the reader a superb history of a unique elephant, a unique time, and the unique men who shared in that long forgotten drama.

This story somewhat parallels "Modoc" and yet, differs greatly. None the less, man's cruelty ceases to amaze me. In the interim, the reader not only learns a great deal about elephants and suffering but...him/herself as well. Despite the fact, JUMBO has been dead now for 123 years (at this writing), I could not help but become emotional as I read his life's story and his sad end.

JUMBO's skeletal remains have been perserved but gone the way of Gargantua the gorilla...lost in the dark and dusty confines of a musem. A testament to times long since forgotten.

A truly intersting and informative book and a real JUMBO of a story!

If, you appreciate wildlife, zoos, animals and or...history then you MUST READ THIS BOOK!

The only reason I picked up this book, is because it was front row at the dollar store, and the colorful book jacket caught my attention. I have always been an animal lover, but knew very little, and had no particular affection for elephants. After reading Jumbo, it has stayed with me, which, being a voracious reader, very few books do. Although it is non-fiction, it reads like fiction, i.e. the characters and events come alive, and the story moves quickly. It was a "can't put it down" book. Jumbo is well written, and apparently well researched also (unlike the "true story" of Modoc, another circus elephant.) There are quite a few pictures of Jumbo who ultimately came to a tragic end. The book was so compelling that even the sad bits are overshadowed by the great storytelling.