Amy Reiter

Readers could be forgiven for approaching Paul Chambers’ “Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World” with a degree of caution. A whole book about a circus elephant who died in 1885? Could be seriously sentimental. Could be a kitchy freak show. Could be as flat as yesterday’s cotton candy. In fact, it is none of the above. Clear-eyed, carefully researched, and crisply written, Chambers’ book explores the surprisingly compelling life story of the African elephant whose name would become synonymous with “extra-extra-large” and whose saga would inspire a classic Disney movie about a flying pachyderm …

In Brief: “Jumbo” (The Barnes & Noble Review)