Savages and Beasts

When first published in 2002, Savages and Beasts helped create the field of animal history and inspired many writers, myself included. With this fully revised edition, Nigel Rothfels brings new material and perspectives to his classic work, drawing us once again into the entwined histories of colonialism and the exotic animal trade. You'll never look at zoos the same way again.

A lucid, thought-provoking book which charts the complex origins and ethics of the modern zoo. Through the prism of Carl Hagenbeck's multifaceted entertainment empire, Rothfels reveals the brutal casualties of the wild beast trade, the commercial and aesthetic origins of the bar-less zoo and the entangled histories of exhibiting animals and humans, from walrus pups to Sámi reindeer herders.

Rothfels's Savages and Beasts masterfully reveals the wild side of zoos—where science, empire, and spectacle collide in cages and enclosures. A brilliant romp through the entangled and 'unnatural' histories of taming nature, this book is a roaring good read for anyone who's ever wondered about the legacies of animals in zoos.

It is time to revisit the zoo. This must-read revised edition of a classic account of the birth of the modern zoo poignantly shows the 'unnatural histories' behind the big business of animal capture and display as well as the exhibition of peoples deemed 'exotic.'

Nigel Rothfels takes readers on a thought-provoking journey through the history of modern zoos, including Carl Hagenbeck's controversial legacy. With vivid storytelling and critical insight, Rothfels reveals how zoos have shaped, and often distorted, our perceptions of other animals, challenging us to reconsider our relationship with rest of the nature.