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    Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived
    Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived
    Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived
    Audiobook10 hours

    Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived

    Written by Ralph Helfer

    Narrated by Adam Verner

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    ""Once I started this incomparable story, I couldn't put it down, and I cannot get it out of my mind—nor will I ever. The message of what can be accomplished by training through affection and joy will thrill all animal lovers."" —Betty White

    A captivating true story of loyalty, friendship, and high adventure that spans several decades and three continents, Modoc is one of the most remarkable true stories ever told, perfect for fans of The Zookeeper's Wife or Water for Elephants.

    Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again: through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940s New York City. As the African Sun-Times put it, Modoc is ""heartwarming. . . probably the greatest love story ever told.""

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateSep 10, 2019
    ISBN9780062937940
    Author

    Ralph Helfer

    Ralph Helfer is a well-known Hollywood animal trainer who was one of the first to use affection and kindness to train wild animals. He is the author of The Beauty of the Beasts, and he lives in Los Angeles and Kenya, where he leads safari tours.

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    Reviews for Modoc

    4/5

    213 ratings24 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer

      325 pages

      ★★★

      The story of Modoc is definitely an impressive one. Within the elephant’s life she would go through war, shootings, fires, and much more. Such a wild adventure for such a large animal. And I don’t dislike the story, as it is indeed a fascinating one. Is it true? I don’t know. As a big nonfiction reader I live for documents and proof – there’s really none in the book and even in my own research I found very little proof of any of the places or people ever existing. Then again, perhaps the author chose to change the names of people and places because…why not? In the beginning of the book the author even states that some “poetic political license” was used. This is obviously the case in such instances ***spoiler*** as when the elephant is attacked by a drunk man. By the time anyone notices anything the elephant is injured and the man is dead yet the book gives a several page detailed story of what the man said and what went down. Interesting since no one was there to witness it except a dead man and an elephant – neither said a word about it I’m sure.***end spoiler*** I feel this book would have better been advertised as BASED on a true story…yes, that one word can make a huge difference on how I look at it.

      At the end the story itself didn’t bother me, I just took it with a grain of salt what was true and was given “poetic license” by the author. The writing bothered me. For some reason the author’s way of writing really got to me. Then again he is known as an animal trainer, not an author. While the man may have heard this fantastic and wonderful story of Modoc and Bram (Modoc’s trainer and friend) from Bram himself, I think the story would have been better written by someone else. Don’t get me started on the author’s need to put exclamation points in practically every paragraph because….exciting!!! I was expecting such wonderful things from this book since so many people I know loved it and I feel snobbish to say that I didn’t like it more. Sorry, Modoc the Greatest Elephant Ever, your story deserved to be better written in my opinion.

    • 5/5
      Best book I’ve ever read it’s got a range of emotions that is like a roller coaster ride very moving very lovely book. I will never forget this book it is full of love and compassion definitely something we need now.
      Awesomely done book awesomely narrated as well. I always knew that animals were special, but this was mind blowing.
    • 5/5
      Modoc is one of the most beautiful books I have read/listened to. The humanity and love can truly be felt.
    • 5/5
      What an amazing read. Follows the life of Bram Gunterstein and his best friend Modoc the elephant. Born on the same day in the 1890s. His father is an elephant trainer and Bram follows in his footsteps. They start life in the circus. Then the animals from the circus are sold to an American. They're to be shipped to the states with a side trip to India. En route they encounter a typhoon. Modoc saves many who would have otherwise drowned. Bram while in India meets the maharaja and becomes a favorite son to him. They soon leave however to go work in the teak jungles. The village there is taken over by guerrillas and they must traverse a mountain pass. Eventually the American who had bought Modoc finds them and takes them to the US. Modoc goes on to have a career in the US as a circus performer. Along with other adventures. Can be a bit of a tear jerker in parts. They have so much that goes against them.
    • 1/5
      Adult nonfiction; animal/love story. The author has taken enough creative license with this true story to make it read like fiction, and it has all the makings of a wonderful story--boy meets elephant, boy meets girl, boy runs off with elephant, who saves his life, and adventures ensue, but boy still loves girl. Unfortunately the writing is sloppy enough to detract--if you're not easily distracted by that sort of thing, you might really love this book, but if you are the type that is bothered by unclear sentence structures, you can just skip it.
    • 3/5
      LOVED the cover. Loved the idea of the book. Unfortunately, the writing didn't bring the story to life for me. And it is quite a story.
    • 5/5
      Whether true or not, this book enveloped me in a wonderful story that had me doing the ugly cry at the end. I loved it.
    • 2/5
      I find it extremely hard to believe that this was all a true story. Based "loosely" and with exaggeration, that I believe. I kept rolling my eyes and thinking, here we go again, this duo of Modoc and Bram must have 9 lives. It was crazy ! I think if it was pushed as fiction, instead of non fiction, I would have enjoyed it better. Maybe not, but it was just to unbelievable for me to fathom that they could survive all that trauma. Crazy !
    • 4/5
      This is the story of the love between a man and an elephant, and their adentures - many times heart-rending, always triumphant.I really liked this book. It was right up my alley. I really wanted to love it. The problem is that it seemed 1% true, and 99% story, while it was marketed as non-fiction.Nevertheless, I enjoyed it greatly. It had all the elements of a fictional book that draw me in - the connection between Modoc and her trainer, Bram, high adenture, emotional highs and lows. It was wonderful. If it had been sold as fiction, I would have loved it unreservedly.
    • 5/5
      Exactly my kind of story: a true love story of a man (and elephant) who followed his heart into every adventure life presented him. Even with atrocious editing, the story came through loud and clear. Spiritual, wordly and full of soul. Bravo. One in a million.
    • 4/5
      The true story of an exceptionally caring and daring boy, a highly intelligent and devoted elephant, a lifetime of high adventure featuring ruthless cruelty and intense love, yet relayed to the audience with average writing abilities. Nonetheless, it is one heck of a unique story (with some black and white photos included) and a welcome addition to any animal lover's library.
    • 4/5
      Modoc was an elephant born in a circus in Germany. Bram was born to the elephant trainer of that circus on the same day Modoc was born; they grew up together. When the circus is sold, Bram stows away to be with Modoc. This sets off a chain of adventures from Germany to India to the U.S. and follows Modoc and Bram through their lives, almost eighty years.It's a good story, but I'm not really sure how much of the story was real. It seems a little too much to happen to one boy and elephant for it to all be true. It was written as if fiction, as well. Which is fine – it's often easier to read as fiction. I really did enjoy the story, but I just have a hard time believing it all. I appreciate that there are trainers out there trying to train using a gentler approach and not abusing their animals, that's for sure. Overall, despite my negative-sounding review, I did really enjoy the story.
    • 5/5
      I thought this was a very good book. Yes, as someone else said, there are a couple of hard-to-read places but it's movie-worthy, without question. That was my first comment to my sweetie as soon as I finished it: "Where's the Movie?!?!?"
    • 3/5
      Apparently this "true" story is not really true at all. It was a quick read and at times an exciting story, but I thought the writing was rather simplistic and the characters one-sided. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been billed as fiction and if I had read it in the 7th grade.
    • 2/5
      Corny but somewhat moving account of an elephant and her trainer, Bram, and their lifelong bond. After surviving a shipwreck together and becoming big circus stars, their story takes a sad turn when Modoc kills a man who was tormenting her and is sold by the circus. She and her trainer were separated for years. Finally, after years of neglect, she's bought by a Hollywood animal trainer (the author), Bram finds her, and they're reunited in her last years. It's true that elephants never forget. However, apparently not much in this purported "true story" actually happened. Lots of mystical and new agey stuff, too, which annoyed me.This was one of those magazine article length stories that was spun out to book length, not that it would have been believable if it were shorter.
    • 3/5
      The writing and composition leave something to be desired but the story draws you in and, whether it's a true story as the book cover claims or fiction it's a facinating read if you're a sucker for stories dealing with animal/human relationships.
    • 4/5
      Modoc was a nice, easy to read journey. It is as much a story about Bram as it is about Modoc, and I am happy about that. Much of the action that Bram and Modoc went through is extremely fantastical. I find it difficult to believe that this has a nonfiction classification. I think it is more like fiction based on fact.
    • 5/5
      The absolute astonishing story of the relationship between a boy and his elephant. There are moments in the story when you question whether the events in the story can be real, as the life of Bram and Modoc is fantastical. I highly recommend this book, as I think that it is a great read.
    • 5/5
      Modoc is my favorite book of all time, not joking. I could read it a million times and still love it...which says a lot because I usually don't read something twice. Heartbreakingly brilliant...it takes you through the life of Modoc and the love of her life, Bram. Through the good times and the bad...its a page turner. Warning...do not read without a box of cleanex close by :-)
    • 1/5
      This is supposed to be a true story, but the writing is so weak and unconvincing, I have a hard time believing it. It is written like a novel, with little indication of how the author knows any of the information, and with such shallow characterizations that the story comes across as a complete fairy tale. There is little indication of passage of time, settings are not well described, the plot borders on being preposterous and the main character talks and acts as if he is a five year old throughout. If any of this story is true, it is really sad that this is how this elephant's life will live on.
    • 5/5
      I actually had this book for some time before I started reading it, because I wasn't really sure if I would enjoy it. I ended up enjoying it very much and will likely hold on to it to read a second time. That is high praise coming from me because I rarely read the same book twice. This is an incredible story of adventure, friendship, and love. It is essential reading if you are an animal lover and highly recommended if you are not.
    • 5/5
      Helfer is the owner/operator of Africa, USA - the Hollywood company that supplied many of the animals for movies and TV shows; most notably Clarance the Cross-Eyed Lion and Judy the Chimp from Daktari (a series from the '60's). Modoc is the first elephant he had in his stable. Helfer met Modoc when she was already in her 30's. He later met (and worked with) Modoc's original handler (Bram Gunterstein) who told him Modoc's story. And what a story it is!! Modoc and Bram were born on the same day in a little German circus. They were shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean, adopted by an Indian maharajah, employed in the teak jungles, hijacked by rebels, brought to the US as star circus performers, separated by a cruel twist of fate, and later reunited by Helfer. It's animal adventure in the tradition of [Lassie, Come Home] or [Lad, A Dog] - and it's all true.
    • 5/5
      A great read; it was an unexpected adventure story that started in Germany, with survival adventures in India, and a circus nemesis named Mr. North in the USA. Fast moving and engaging and despite Modoc being trained for the circus this is not a circus story. Main characters are Bram, the boy who grows up with Modoc and becomes his trainer and friend, Gertie, the girlfriend and Mr.North the evil circus owner who buys Modoc but hates Bram because he is a Jew. The story startes in the 1930's in Germany, moves to India due to a storm that sinks the ship carrying the circus to the US and eventually to the USA over 70 years. Each chapter is very exciting with adventures of survival and bravery. There is real devotion between Bram and Modoc.
    • 4/5
      A touching story of an elephant and her mahout of seventy eight years, the elephant's whole life.