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Outdoors & Nature |
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Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants
written by Katy Payne
Studio : Penguin (Non-Classics)
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
Publisher : Penguin (Non-Classics)
Released : 1999-09-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780140285963
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 10 reviews)
List Price : $13.95
Our Price : $19.88
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Product Description |
An engaging account of a renowned biologist's pioneering work with African elephants
This remarkable memoir of scientific discovery begins at the Washington Park Zoo in Portland, Oregon, where Katy Payne's revolutionary work in the field of elephant communication began. It was there that she first discovered the idea that elephants use infrasonic sounds--sounds below the range of human hearing--to communicate. This led Payne and her colleagues to conduct field research in Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe that brought about fascinating new insights into elephants' social lives. When five of the elephant families they were studying became victims of culling, Payne changed her approach to her research as she fought valiantly to protect African elephants.
Silent Thunder is a natural history rich in observation of the animal world and how humans participate in it. It is also a passionate story of Payne's own spiritual quest as she turns a keen eye on her own role in this world. On every page Payne's courage and empathy shine through, giving this unique combination of scientific journal and personal memoir an unforgettable emotional power.
* A 1998 Scientific American Best Book for Young Readers
* A Book-of-the-Month Club Alternate and Quality Paperback Book Club selection
* Silent Thunder was featured on NBC's Dateline
"Payne excels at helping us to experience Africa and the majestic elephants." --The New York Times Book Review
"This book will make a wonderful addition to the library of any animal lover." --Publishers Weekly |
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Americancivilwar.com Review |
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Naturalist and bioacoustics researcher Katy Payne stood near an elephant cage at a zoo and felt a strange "throb and flutter" in the air. When she later realized that the feeling was very like that caused by the lowest notes of a pipe organ, she embarked on a journey of scientific and personal discovery that took her to Africa to study how the huge mammals communicate. For years, she lived close to the elephants she loved, getting to know individuals and describing their long-distance infrasound "conversations." After her fifth such expedition, one third of the elephant population she was studying was killed in a planned cull by the Zimbabwean government. Whether or not you accept Payne's hypothesis that elephants are extraordinarily intelligent and capable of communicating with each other and with other species (including humans), you will find her descriptions of the animals compelling and compassionate. Her grief at the loss of her elephant friends is palpable, and she uses it to utmost effect in decrying not only the ivory trade, but the way in which humans have decided to live on the planet. --Therese Littleton |
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Marvelous Bush Stories About Elephant Communication |
Did you know that elephants communicate with sounds that are below the range of human hearing? Similar to whales, they can speak over long distance with each other using infrasound. I can't help but wonder if their infrasonic vocalizations are what contribute to the palpable energetic vibrations I felt, sitting amongst the clusters of elephants in Northern Kenya.
Katy Payne is one of the elephant researchers in Amboseli Park, Kenya, that helped to discover the infrasonic rumbles of elephant communication (along with Joyce Poole and Cynthia Moss) during the late 1980's and early 1990's. She is also an eloquent writer with a passion for the elephants she studied for many years.
In Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants, she shares some facinating stories of what it's like to be in the bush with wild elephants...and one gripping story of an encounter with a lion. Her personal accounts hint of her strong intuitive gifts, where she touches on her precognitive dreams. She stops short of using direct language on some of these topics, which left me longing to hear more of what the real Katy Payne is all about. But I applaud her for bringing up spiritual topics at all. It's unusual for a scientific researcher to make personal revelations. I found it refreshing that she did.
Jaya Schillinger
Matriarch of Sacred Elephants.net Blog |
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silent thunder is the new star wars |
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silent thunder has been the best book ever it teaches you about elephants and it is a great read. i wish that i could on the book but i can't i only rented it but finished it in one day. the charecters are great and it is really nice but not many people read it. |
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A Wonderful Writer with Tremendous Talent |
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Katy Payne is a wonderful writer with a tremendous talent for integrating life with her research. This book is about elephants, about Katy, about the men and women and societies that she meets in a wonderful pilgrimage. You experience her joys, her sorrows, her love for elephants, her research breakthroughs and the distress of the wildlife situation, especially within Zimbabwe. Katy also has a beautiful talent for gracefully understanding how other societies function and for developing a culturally sensitive learning posture. This is a great book. For those reviewers who want "more pictures," there are thousands in this book that Katy brings to your mind when you READ it. I learned a tremendous amount about elephant behavior/communication, wildlife biology and the lifestyle of a wildlife biologist in this book. Wonderful, wonderful work! Thank you Katy! |
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something is missing |
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I have not read the book yet, but I am very disappointed that she has not photos! Having read Joye Poole's book that lots of tremendous photos and Cynthia Moss's book that at least some black & white photos, I thought this book would have some also. As a photographer and elephant lover, I expected them. |
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Happy |
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FANTASTIC book. Can't believe it's on sale when I bought it for full-price! Definitely the thing for anyone who likes non-fiction. It's totally poignant and fascinating - not an easy combination. |
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