Animals have played critical roles throughout history. Especially intriguing have been exotic fauna from distant lands. Ancient rulers saw the value of possessing everything from lions, tigers and bears, to tapirs, kangaroos and giraffes. Obtaining such specimens was—and still is—proof of a ruler’s or government’s power. This in-depth history chronicles seven major points in history, which could not have taken place without the animals.

Elephants in ancient Egypt helped influence a precarious rule. Exotic animal fighters in Rome both helped and hindered a war hero’s determination to maintain the trust of the people. A Medici merchant used a giraffe to secure a princedom. New World animals and deformed and albino people from Montezuma’s menagerie became Cortés’s symbol of triumph in Europe. A seventeenth-century ruler/recluse marveled in his study of exotic flora and fauna. Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife created her menagerie to prove her worth and power in a society that saw her as too silly for her position. Finally, meet the media magnate who, known for his strange ways, created a private zoo that both entertained and terrorized the rich and famous.

Marina Belozerskaya introduces readers to an ancient phenomenon that continues to this day. In each tale of power and loss, she fuses painstaking research with a gift for storytelling, giving life to each of the chronicled leaders. In order to provide context for each tale, she delivers in-depth details of the socio-political climate at the time. Then she blended what she could learn of the leader’s personality, allowing the reader as complete a picture as possible.

For anyone interested in political history, animals, or history in general, I highly recommend this for your library. Some readers will find the extensive detailing overwhelming or a bit dry at times, but they will discover it is with purpose. Other readers, especially those sensitive to violence—toward humans and/or animals—should be prepared for rough passages, but don’t let that stop you from marveling at the importance of exotic animals throughout history.

Pick up this historical narrative, for it is as exotic as the animals it portrays.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
8/22/2006

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