John Frederick Walker

Review: Ivory’s Ghost by John Frederick Walker. 04/16/2018

This book was interesting, informative with past and recent history on a very popular jewel Ivory that was collected from humans at the beginning of mankind. The book was well written and covered so much data on mostly the Ivory but also states some information on what species of Elephants are still roaming on earth. I was surprised that Ivory came from several animals starting with the extinct mammoths, bison, antelope, hippo’s, walrus, and even a certain whale species. Walker seemed accurate about how popular ivory was and still is but he seems to stay away form the controversy issues behind the trade of ivory and the killing of elephants to a most severe statistic loss of these animals.

I got the feeling that Walker was writing more on the beauty, use, and necessity of ivory and not the issue of animal extinction but why would he. The book is about the product and its history and he did write good data on the subject. He stated how important the ivory trade was for different projects as piano keys, billiard balls, crafting figurines, and jewelry. Every one has their own reasons for their own point of view. I just thought that Walker should have covered both sides of the issues. Yes, ivory is beautiful, but how long will these animal be roaming this earth if an important perspective towards a solution. There are Countries that has banned the taking of ivory but poaching these animals has not been stopped. However, Walker did not cover that part of the issue so I will say his information about the Ivory trade has plenty of history behind what he states.… (altro)

A readable and engaging history of the use and allure of ivory in human history and how the fate of elephants both has been affected by ivory's popularity and has influenced the use and availability of the material. Also, how ivory was bound up in the African slave trade and the development history of Africa. The author contemplates the current conservation situation in Africa and the varying viewpoints on whether to use ivory to fund conservation or to ban it to protect elephants from poaching. Enlightening and enjoyable.… (altro)