Last Chain on Billie:
How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped the Big Top
arrives July 22.
“Carol Bradley’s Last Chain on Billie deserves a standing ovation! It is a heart-rending and, unfortunately, deadly accurate description of elephant suffering in circuses and zoos. Please read Last Chain on Billie. It will help you understand why the animal rights movement is sweeping the country.”
—Bob Barker, legendary talk-show host and ardent animal lover
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“Last Chain on Billie is a fact-filled page-turning biography of a magnificent circus elephant’s long, painful, and unpredictable journey from reprehensible confinement to freedom. It is at once riveting, haunting, and inspirational. Billie’s story kept me up at night – tearful and joyful – as she entered and then wouldn’t leave my heart. I also was deeply moved by the selfless work of the wonderful people who ultimately were able to free her once and for all so she could live out her life in safety and peace and with the dignity she so deserves. This outstanding and groundbreaking book will make a difference for other circus elephants and other ‘entertainment animals’ who find themselves living horrific and hopeless lives filled with fear, stress, and uncertainty. It gave me hope.”
– Marc Bekoff, author of Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed, The Emotional Lives of Animals, and Rewilding Our Hearts
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“Today, Billie must celebrate every day, for she enjoys a more normal life, thanks to caring humans who spoke up for her and her like. Although the dream of returning to her homeland and her family can never be fulfilled, at least she has other elephant friends and caring humans who treat her kindly. Her story will go a long way towards helping others and saving them from a cruel life of bondage and servitude. Her story will educate people around the world about the nature of her iconic species, sparing many other young elephants miserable captivity.”
– Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick DBE, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi, Kenya, and author of Love, Life, and Elephants
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“Last Chain on Billie is a wonderful book. It is well-written, well-researched, and well thought out. You cannot read it without realizing how extraordinary elephants are and how extraordinarily bad humans, until only very recently, have treated them. To understand what has happened to change our attitude, I can think of no better book than this. It is a labor of love, and I know many people will respond in kind. Anyone who loves elephants will love this book.”
— Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, PhD, author of Dogs Never Lie About Love and Beasts: What Animals Can Teach Us About the Origins of Good and Evil