TITLE: AT THE HAND OF MAN
AUTHOR: RAYMOND BONNER
PUBLISHER: KNOPF; 322 PAGES; $24
THE BOTTOM LINE: A myopic, self-righteous take on the politics of ivory sheds little light on Africa's ecological tragedy.
The villains of Raymond Bonner's confused rant about elephants in Africa are misguided animal-rights activists, well-born white conservationists and elephants. Elephants? Bonner's subtitle, Peril and Hope for Africa's Wildlife, constitutes false advertising since the book's sympathies lie with Africans who suffer at the hooves of elephants that trample crops, destroy property and kill natives. According to Bonner, elitist conservationists unleashed these malevolent beasts on hapless villagers when the...
