Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; INTRODUCTION The World in a Zoo; CHAPTER 1 Where the Wild Things Aren't: Exhibiting Nature in American Zoos; CHAPTER 2 Animal Farm: Making Meaning at the Zoo; CHAPTER 3 Birds of a Feather: Zookeepers and the Call of the Wild; CHAPTER 4 Life Lessons: The Zoo as a Classroom; CHAPTER 5 Bring on the Dancing Horses: American Zoos in the Entertainment Age; CHAPTER 6 Simply Nature: Zoos and the Branding of Conservation; CHAPTER 7 Wrestling with Armadillos: Animal Welfare and the Captivity Question; CHAPTER 8 The Urban Jungle: The Future of the American Zoo; AcknowledgmentsNotes; Index
Summary
Orangutans swing from Kevlar-lined fire hoses. Giraffes feast on celebratory birthday cakes topped with carrots instead of candles. Hi-tech dinosaur robots growl among steel trees, while owls watch animated cartoons on old television sets. In American Zoo, sociologist David Grazian takes us on a safari through the contemporary zoo, alive with its many contradictions and strange wonders. Trading in his tweed jacket for a zoo uniform and a pair of muddy work boots, Grazian introduces us to zookeepers and animal rights activists, parents and toddlers, and the other human primates that make up
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-314) and index
