Spanning several decades and three continents, Modoc is one of the most amazing true animal stories ever told. Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again; through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940s New York City.

Modoc is a captivating true story of loyalty, friendship, and high adventure, to be treasured by animal lovers everywhere.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

On a quiet morning in 1896, in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant were born. The boy was named Bram, the elephant Modoc. Bram was the son of a local elephant handler, and even as a child he showed signs of becoming a master handler. Modoc grew impressively beyond anyone's imagination - exceptional intelligence, massive size, and a gentleness surpassing that of even the kindest elephants. The two were raised as siblings, and when news came that the circus was being sold, thirteen-year-old Bram did the only thing he could imagine: He stowed away to be with Modoc. In the 1930s they finally arrived in New York, where for the next two decades Modoc rose to great performing fame in the center ring of the world's most popular circus. Then tragedy struck, and the lives of Modoc and Bram were forever changed. Modoc is an epic for the ages, destined to be a classic, and sure to be cherished by readers young and old.

SYNOPSIS

The author traces the friendship of an elephant and her trainer spanning seven decades and three continents.

FROM THE CRITICS

San Antonio Express-News

"Once I started this incomparable story, I couldn't put it down, and I cannot get it out of my mind--nor will I ever. The message of what can be accomplished by training through affection and joy will thrill all animal lovers." "Once in a while, a book comes along to prove that wonderful friendships can occur between the animal kingdom and mankind. Ralph Helfer has done it with Modoc.

African Sun-Times

"Heartwarming, captivating...a beautifully true story that will make you think twice about the incredible and very real feelings of elephants, and probably the greatest love story ever told.

VOYA - Karen Herc

This picaresque tale of Modoc, the elephant who saved sailors from drowning, survived gunshot wounds and a poisoning attempt, and learned to perform alone without a trainer, strains credibility although the author claims his account is based on truth. In an introductory disclaimer, Helfer discusses his attempts at research before mentioning that in writing this type of story "a little (poetic) political license is taken." No sources of information are given and no dates are mentioned in the book, although the jacket copy says Modoc was born in 1896. The book is as much about Modoc's trainer, Bram Gunterstein, as it is about the elephant herself. Bram and Modoc were born on the same day, and the man risked much to be with the elephant, including smuggling her away after she had been sold. Although their adventures together are fascinating, a lot of the book is plodding and some of the presumably fictionalized dialogue is laughable. Bram spouts a great deal of philosophical speculation about humans and animals and their interaction. The love scenes between Bram and the two women he marries contain descriptions straight out of a serial romance novel, and the scenes where Bram confronts prejudice because of his Jewish background are heavy-handed. Bram and the author, who appears as a character late in the book rather than as a narrator, shared a preference for gentle training methods for animals. Helfer's love of Modoc shows, and young adults who are equally enamored of animals may enjoy this long tale of her life, but others will find it difficult to wade through the philosophical bog to reach her adventures. Photos. VOYA Codes: 3Q 2P S (Readable without serious defects, For the YA with a special interest in the subject, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Kirkus Reviews

The simply astonishing, exhilarating story—complete with high adventure, betrayal, and resurrection—of Modoc, elephant extraordinaire, told by Helfer (The Beauty of the Beasts, 1990).

They were born on the same day, a hundred years back, in a Black Forest village: Bram Gunterstein, son of a circus animal trainer, and Modoc, an Indian elephant headed for big-top life with the Wunderzircus, a provincial troupe. Their love for each other develops early, when Bram is just a toddler and Modoc a youthful one-ton package, and Bram's father on his deathbed councils Bram to watch after Modoc. That he does, and the tribulations and pleasures they share defy the imagination: The circus is sold out from under Bram to the sinister Mr. North; Bram stows away on the vessel transporting Modoc, leaving behind the girl of his dreams; discovered, Bram wins over the captain, but the ship sinks during a hurricane; Modoc and Bram float to the shores of India, where Bram learns further tools of the trade at the maharaja's elephantarium; there he lives in a teak-built compound, tends to Modoc, and is honored to have an audience with the sacred white elephant; he woos and wins a woman from the village but is warned that North is on his trail. He strikes out with Modoc to the teak plantations of Burma, is captured by rebels, loses his wife, confronts North, journeys to the US and fashions a spectacular show for Modoc, wins back his earlier love, only to have the elephant sold out from under him again. Helfer (an animal trainer by trade) happens across Modoc and buys him in the 1970s, then Bram appears yet again. The story is told with a heart-tugging warmth that, granted, at times slips into Disney mode, but that feels credible: There is, amazingly enough, a truthful tang to the picaresque proceedings.

One glorious pachyderm and one cracking story.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

"Once I started this incomparable story, I couldn't put it down, and I cannot get it out of my mind--nor will I ever. Were Modoc a work of fiction it would still be a wonderful read, but the fact that it is based on a true story makes it absolutely irresistible. The message of what can be accomplished by training through affection and joy will thrill all animal lovers, and will, hopefully, bring new insight to others as well."  — HarperCollins