The Elephant Whisperer

My Life with the Herd in the African Wild

By: Lawrence Anthony, Graham Spence

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Biography/Memoir, 2014

When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them. In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.

The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad account of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, it is a delightful book that will appeal to animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.

©2009, 2012 Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An inspiring, multifaceted account, Anthony's book offers fascinating insights into the lives of wild elephants in the broader context of Zulu culture in post-Apartheid South Africa." ( Publishers Weekly)

I Love this story immensely! For people like Mr Anthony, his wife Francois, and all the staff at Thula, Thula! Thank You

Beautiful, just incredible beautiful. I would love to visit the reserve one day in the near future!

Magnificent

A fabulous book, for those who love the animal world and wish to conserve it. It’s fantastic to hear the whole honest story told by Lawrence, a true humanitarian and high level being. His establishment of communication with the elephants and descriptions of all the wildlife is amazing. Thank you to Lawrence and Francoise!

Beautiful true story

I absolutely loved this narrative and the narrator. I learned so much about elephants and the balance of life in the wild of Africa. I’m reading the The Last Rhinos next before we go on safari in October

Exquisite!

A beautiful, well told story about the lives of majestic elephants and their ability to persevere when first mis-treated by humans. There needs to be many more people like Lawerence Anthony to rescue and understand wild animals and to let them be just that, wild.

The Elephant Whisperer

It's interesting. It doesn't hold your attention like some books do. I'm giving it 4 stars and I would recommend it.

This is an amazing story!

Thank you Lawrence Anthony for sharing this story and for your sincere love and respect of nature, wildlife and conservation. You truly are a Global Hero!

Beautiful story of trust and hope!

So glad I discovered this story. Amazing narrative creates imagery that gets you lost and makes you feel like you're right there in the bush.

I love elephants and this is a beautiful story

I very much enjoyed this book. Lawrence Anthony is a hero to me. He cared about people and animals. He wanted what was best for both. Plus he was disgusted by trophy hunters. You will love this book if you care about making the world a better place.
Simon Vance is a rock star audiobook narrator.

loved this story.

great story of herd of elephants and a man who earns their trust. I really enjoyed it.

A Must Read

Sufice it to say, "You absolutely gotta listen to this book." I happen to love, wonder at, and admire elephants and a few other wild animals. I happily learned so much about elphants from Lawrence Anthony, who denies -- without any crdibilty for me -- being the "whisperer" for elephants, as was the "horse whisperer." Anthony vividly describes so many surprising, poignant, revealing incidents that tell us so much about elephants. Most heartbreaking was the struggle of the baby elephant who was born with deformed feet -- tears came to my eyes. I can say this about very few books: I will will listen to it again, soon.