The Medici Giraffe
And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power
Seiten
2006
Little, Brown & Company (Verlag)
978-0-316-52565-7 (ISBN)
Little, Brown & Company (Verlag)
978-0-316-52565-7 (ISBN)
A fascinating exploration, spanning two thousand years, of the central role exotic animals have played in war, diplomacy, and the pomp of rulers and luminaries.
When Julius Caesar first brought the giraffe to Europe, the stunned Romans called it "camelopardalis," as a cross between a camel and a leopard? That the Medici organized hunts with cheetahs and staged animal combats in the Roman style? That Josephine Bonaparte was the first to breed black swans in captivity. Or that William Randolph Hearst kept a private preserve at his California home, with animals from all over the world? Exotic animals have entranced and inspired us and this book explores their remarkably influential role in history as among the most advantageous diplomatic gifts, the most cherished royal treasures and the most impressive symbols of power and learning. How did these creatures come to make or break rulers and help shape the definition of what it means to be civilized? These questions are explored through a chain of stories, beginning in ancient Alexandria and traveling through imperial Rome, Renaissance Florence, Aztec Mexico, baroque Prague, Napoleon's France, the robber barons' America, up to the present day, when two sets of giant pandas helped warm frosty relations between two superpowers.
When Julius Caesar first brought the giraffe to Europe, the stunned Romans called it "camelopardalis," as a cross between a camel and a leopard? That the Medici organized hunts with cheetahs and staged animal combats in the Roman style? That Josephine Bonaparte was the first to breed black swans in captivity. Or that William Randolph Hearst kept a private preserve at his California home, with animals from all over the world? Exotic animals have entranced and inspired us and this book explores their remarkably influential role in history as among the most advantageous diplomatic gifts, the most cherished royal treasures and the most impressive symbols of power and learning. How did these creatures come to make or break rulers and help shape the definition of what it means to be civilized? These questions are explored through a chain of stories, beginning in ancient Alexandria and traveling through imperial Rome, Renaissance Florence, Aztec Mexico, baroque Prague, Napoleon's France, the robber barons' America, up to the present day, when two sets of giant pandas helped warm frosty relations between two superpowers.
Marina Belozerskaya was born in Moscow, USSR and was an award-winning teacher at Harvard, Tufts, and Boston Universities. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, a curator at The J. Paul Getty Museum, and her own exotic animal, a Vizsla named
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 5.10.2006 |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | New York |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Gewicht | 300 g |
| Themenwelt | Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Natur / Ökologie |
| Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Tiere / Tierhaltung | |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-316-52565-0 / 0316525650 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-316-52565-7 / 9780316525657 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
die Geschichte einer außergewöhnlichen Begegnung
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
Klett-Cotta (Verlag)
CHF 34,90
eine Geschichte der letzten 500 Jahre
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 47,60
