Topsy

Topsy
Author :
Publisher : Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
Total Pages : 403
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780802194572
ISBN-13 : 0802194575
Rating : 4/5 (575 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Topsy by : Michael Daly

Download or read book Topsy written by Michael Daly and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2013-07-02 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of a nineteenth-century elephant caught between warring circuses and battling scientists, from the author of The Book of Mychal. In 1903, on Coney Island, an elephant named Topsy was electrocuted. Many historical forces conspired to bring her, Thomas Edison, and those 6,600 volts of alternating current together that day. Tracing them all in Topsy, journalist Michael Daly weaves together a fascinating popular history, the first book to tell this astonishing tale. At the turn of the century, circuses in America were at their apex with P. T. Barnum and Adam Forepaugh competing in a War of the Elephants. Their quest for younger, bigger, or more “sacred” pachyderms brought Topsy to America. Fraudulently billed as the first native-born elephant, Topsy was immediately caught between the disputing circuses as well as the War of the Currents, in which Edison and George Westinghouse (and Nikola Tesla) battled over the superiority of alternating versus direct current. Rich in period Americana, and full of circus tidbits and larger than life characters, Topsy is a touching and entertaining read. “A rollicking pachydermal tale . . . A summer escape.” —The New York Times “A nineteenth-century reality show that boggles the mind as the pages fly by with events that have you laughing out loud one moment and gasping in disbelief the next.” —Tom Brokaw “I’ve always respected Michael Daly as a great New York writer . . . He humanizes and speaks for those animals who cannot speak. He touches the hearts of those of us who are not animal activists.” —James McBride “A skillfully told and admirably researched reminder of a time not as long ago as we’d like to think.” —The Wall Street Journal


Topsy Related Books

Topsy
Language: en
Pages: 403
Authors: Michael Daly
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-07-02 - Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

GET EBOOK

The true story of a nineteenth-century elephant caught between warring circuses and battling scientists, from the author of The Book of Mychal. In 1903, on Cone
The Topsy-Turvy Bus
Language: en
Pages: 35
Authors: Anita Fitch Pazner
Categories: Juvenile Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-03-01 - Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing ®

GET EBOOK

Reuse, recycle, renew, and rethink! Climb aboard the Topsy-Turvy Bus with Maddy and Jake as it travels around the country teaching communities the importance of
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Language: en
Pages: 342
Authors: Harriet Beecher Stowe
Categories: African Americans
Type: BOOK - Published: 1852 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK

Topsy
Language: en
Pages: 95
Authors: Marie Bonaparte
Categories: Psychology
Type: BOOK - Published: 2024-11-01 - Publisher: Taylor & Francis

GET EBOOK

Topsy is a psychoanalytic tale of the effects of a dog on its owner; the analyst is the great Marie Bonaparte. Only after being told that her dog had cancer did
A Topsy-turvy Tale
Language: en
Pages: 28
Authors: Pat Jamieson
Categories: Juvenile Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 1978 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK

A sailing car, flying children, and talking cows are all part of a very topsy-turvy world.