Elephant Company, Vicki Constantine Croke
Elephant Company, Vicki Constantine Croke
11 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Elephant Company
The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II

Author: Vicki Constantine Croke

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Unabridged: 9 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 09/26/2014


Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

The remarkable story of James Howard “Billy” Williams, whose uncanny rapport with the world’s largest land animals transformed him from a carefree young man into the charismatic war hero known as Elephant Bill

In 1920, Billy Williams came to colonial Burma as a “forest man” for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence and character of the great animals who hauled logs through the jungle, he became a gifted “elephant wallah.” In Elephant Company, Vicki Constantine Croke chronicles Williams’s growing love for elephants as the animals provide him lessons in courage, trust, and gratitude.

Elephant Company is also a tale of war and daring. When Japanese forces invaded Burma in 1942, Williams joined the elite British Force 136 and operated behind enemy lines. His war elephants carried supplies, helped build bridges, and transported the sick and elderly over treacherous mountain terrain. As the occupying authorities put a price on his head, Williams and his elephants faced their most perilous test. Elephant Company, cornered by the enemy, attempted a desperate escape: a risky trek over the mountainous border to India, with a bedraggled group of refugees in tow. Part biography, part war epic, Elephant Company is an inspirational narrative that illuminates a little-known chapter in the annals of wartime heroism.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Trish on September 30, 2014

NPR environmental and animal journalist Vicki Croke’s new book about the British elephant mahout and teak man James “Billy” Williams in Burma in the interregnum between the 20th Century’s World Wars easily began as the best nonfiction I’d read all year. Elephants and Burma--what a combination of mys......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on October 06, 2014

I've been to Myanmar, I like elephants, I very much admire Vicki Constantine Croke as an author, but I wanted MORE from this book.......more

Goodreads review by L.G. on March 06, 2021

I seldom read stories of wartime events, but I sensed this book was much more than the title might suggest. Thankfully it was, being more of a biography of James Howard Williams, and of elephants his life intersected with. Though Elephant Bill (as he was dubbed) was nurtured in a time of British colo......more

Goodreads review by Jean on March 26, 2016

This is a fascinating story. I can highly recommend this book. I not only learned more about the days of the British Empire in Burma but also about WWII in Burma under the Japanese rule. The special treat for me was the vast knowledge about the Indian Elephant that was provided. This is the story of......more