Reviews for Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power

The average rating for Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-06-25 00:00:00 Jean Grier While I struggled to enjoy this book in some parts (It is hard to read about the abusive way many of the animals and native people were treated) overall I liked the glimpse it gave me of the entwined history of human power and exotic animals and how our changing attitudes have brought about good and bad for all species.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-11-12 00:00:00 John King Exotic animals as tools of diplomacy did not start with giant pandas. Belozerskaya delves back into the days of Alexander the Great to look at the various ways highly valued species (war elephants) or individual animals of particular charm (the titular giraffe) have influenced history. This was an interesting history book and mostly seemed well researched but somehow the author appears to have a phobia about emus of all things. She makes them sound like the most dangerous species ever to prowl a private menagerie. She also hit a pet peeve of mine, listing the number of "animal" species in a collection and then adding the number of birds as well. Now I know that recently evidence has lumped the birds into the same class as reptiles but they are now and always have been animals.