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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOKThe remarkable story of James Howard Billy Williams, whose uncanny rapport with the worlds largest land animals transformed him from a carefree young man into the charismatic war hero known as Elephant Bill Billy Williams came to colonial Burma in 1920, fresh from service in World War I, to a job as a forest man for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence, character, and even humor of the great animals who hauled logs through the remote jungles, he became a gifted elephant wallah. Increasingly skilled at treating their illnesses and injuries, he also championed more humane treatment for them, even establishing an elephant school and hospital. In return, he said, the elephants made him a better man.
About the Author
Vicki Constantine Croke has been exploring animal life for more than two decades - tracking the fossa in Madagascar, polar bears in the Arctic Circle, and Tasmanian devils in, of course, Tasmania.
She now covers animal issues for WBUR-FM, Boston's NPR news station, on air (Here and Now) and on WBUR's The Wild Life online at thewildlife.wbur.org. Her work there earned a 2013 regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
She is the author of The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal, The Modern Ark: The Story of Zoos - Past, Present and Future, and Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II.
Vicki has worked on nature documentaries for Disney and for the A&E channel and anchored The Secret Life of Animals on NECN-TV. She also wrote The Boston Globe's "Animal Beat" column for thirteen years, and has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The London Sunday Telegraph, Time, Popular Science, O: The Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, National Wildlife, and Discover magazine, among others.
