Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections To Zoological Gardens
Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections To Zoological Gardens Books
Product Description
As one of the world’s most well loved cultural activities, wild animal collections have been attracting visitors for 5,000 years. Below the direction of Vernon N. Kisling, an expert in zoo history, an international team of authors has compiled the first comprehensive, global history of animal collections, menageries, zoos, and aquariums. Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections to Zoological Gardens documents the continuum of efforts in maintaining wild animal collections from ancient civilizations through today.Although historical research on zoos and aquariums is still at a rudimentary stage, this book pulls together regional in rank by the side of with the cultural aspects of each province to provide a foundation upon which further research can be based. It presents a chronological listing of the world’s zoos and aquariums and features many never-before published photographs. Sidebars bestow supplementary in rank on pertinent personalities, events, and wildlife conservation issues. As an overview of the current state of our knowledge, Zoo and Aquarium History: Ancient Animal Collections to Zoological Gardens provides an extensive, chronological introduction to the theme and highlights the published and archival resources for those who want to know more.
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Congratulations on a fine book that really does fill a long-standing gap in the historical literature! Needless to say, I hope it sells well, and gets rave reviews! It deserves them.
Rating: 5 / 5
“Zoo and aquarium history” is the most comprehensive book in probably any language on the history of wild animals in captivity since publication of Gustave Loisel’s three-volume “Histoire des ménageries” back in 1912. In this one volume, zoo historians from five continents and eight countries offer a province-by-province account of the development of menageries, zoological gardens and (to a lesser extent) aquaria since the Renaissance. Ancient and mediaeval collections worldwide are covered well by the book’s editor Vernon Kisling in the first chapter. The various authors approach their task by the side of different paths, for the most part more narrative than reflective, and not all chapters, unfortunately, are equally excellent.
Zoos in Europe have been best chronicled in the past, although observably not everlastingly in English, and the three European chapters may not offer anything really new to the well-read zoo nerd. The book’s division of Europe into Fantastic Britain (including Ireland, which may not be well appreciated by proud Irishmen and -women), Western Europe, and East-central and eastern Europe appears to be to some extent arbitrary, although it may have made sense from an American viewpoint looking at Europe during the Cold War. Nevertheless, as an introduction to European zoo history for the uninitiated, all three chapters carry their consequence.
The brilliant chapters by Ken Kawata on the history of zoos in Japan and Sally Walker on that of India offer genuinely new literature (at least in English); together they’re worth the price of the book lonely. Australia too is well covered. The chapter on South America has a decidedly Brazilian bias to it, and the one on Africa concentrates on Egypt and South Africa (Cape and Cairo, so to converse in), so although neither is really comprehensive, fascinating material certainly is in there. The development of zoos and aquaria in the United States is nicely reviewed by Kisling. The book has left only one space absolutely white on the map: Canada. The reason is not evident; Canadian zoos have a history too. The editor, of course, may possibly only include chapters for which he was able to find competent writers, and as the book, as excellent as it is, hardly promises to be a best-seller, their reward will be more likely be idealistic than mammonish.
“Zoo and aquarium history” is a must in any zoo and natural history library, but it is also highly not compulsory to anyone interested in reading a history of what remains one of the most well loved institutions of recreation and broadcast education, science and conservation in the world. On the theme, there’s no better book in print.
Rating: 4 / 5
As a zoo and aquarium history enthusiast, I have yet to find a book that covers the broad history of zoos and aquariums worldwide. This book fills that niche. Many U.S. zoos are issuing history books celebrating their centennials and Hoage’s book covers the transition from menagerie to zoo in the 19th century. Neither the centennial books nor Hoage’s book cover zoos and aquariums from ancient times to the bestow continent by continent. The chapters cover ancient Chinese “Intelligence Gardens” and early zoos as places where rulers may possibly showcase animals captured from newly conquored lands. We learn about the development of the travelling menageries, 18th and 19th century zoos as living museums for scholars, and the political and social climates that transformed them into institutions of broadcast education, recreation, research, and, frequently in the late 1900s, as centers for conservation. This is the first time I have seen anything in print about the history of African zoos and many of the Asian ones. The chapters are well-researched and well-referenced. Many of the references are hard to find or in foreign languages. Mixed in with brief histories of the individual institutions are small-known tales such as the arrival of the first Giant panda to the U.S., the first female zoo director, and how war affected zoos and aquariums all over the world. The photos selected by the authors clearly illustrate points made in the text.
The authors are well-qualified to tell these tales. Vernon Kisling, the editor and an author, spearheaded the History Task Force for the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums and represents North America to the Bartlett Society (an international zoo history group).
In summary, zoos and aquariums have played and continue to play a vital role in how man interacts with other species. They can foster an attitude of empathy or domination. Their histories are rich and varied. This book is a valuable resource to anyone interested in zoos and aquariums, the history of the natural sciences, or anthrozoology (human-animal relationship studies).
Rating: 5 / 5