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

In the nineteenth century Uncle Tom's Cabin sold more copies than any other book in the world except the Bible.

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 she realize the attachment she developed to Topsy. She describes the emotions she experienced during the time of Topsy's illness and subsequent healing. Written in France and Greece at the onset of World War II, the story of Topsy's cancer clearly is intended to convey the ills of Europe at that time.Bonaparte's relationship with her dog reveals her own fears about aging, dying, being alone, as well as the uncertainty of the political situation. As she tells her story, Bonaparte is reminded of the experience of her father, who also suffered from cancer. Topsy, while not written as a scientific study, provides insight into the psychoanalytical effects of relationships between humans and animals. It tells us much about one of psychotherapy's founding personages as well as the members of her professional circle in a critical period of European history.In the new introduction, Gary Genosko reflects on Sigmund Freud's own affection for, and use of, dogs in his analyses. He goes on to describe the relationship between Freud and Bonaparte and how dogs played a significant part in that companionship. Topsy will be of interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, and those who love, and have been loved by dogs.

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 taking care of the earth and creating a better, cleaner, healthier world. Based on a real Topsy-Turvy Bus created by Hazon, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America.

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

In 1585, Luis Frois, a 53 year old Jesuit who spent all of his adult life in Japan listed 611(!) ways Europeans and Japanese were contrary (completely opposite) to one another. Robin D. Gill, a 53 year old writer who spent most of his adulthood in Japan, translates these topsy-turvy claims - we sniff the top of our melons to see if they are ripe / they sniff the bottom of theirs (10% of the book), examines their validity (20% of the book), and plays with them (70% of the book). Readers with the intellectual horsepower to enjoy ideas will be grateful for pages discussing things like the significance of black and white clothing or large eyes vs. small ones, while others with a ken to collect quirky facts will be delighted to find, say, that the women in Kyoto were known to urinate standing up, or Japanese horses had their stale gathered by long-handled ladles, etc., and serious students of history and comparative culture will gain a better understanding of the nature of radical difference (exotic, by definition) and its relationship with the farsighted policy of accommodation pioneered by Valignano in the Far East.

Follow these three mischievous but adorable rabbits, Topsy, Carrot and Bo as they make their escape from their garden and go on a massive wild and wondrous adventure. They encounter all sorts of things they have never experienced before. Their journey consists of excitement, fear, loneliness, nervousness, tiredness, and hopefulness too. All three rabbits are very different in personality and this heart-warming story shows how the three of them get on together to overcome the trials and tribulations of their journey and it shows what true friends they really are, and how they all stick together when needed. Topsy is the confident ring leader with a lot to say, Carrot is the hesitant, nervous one, frightened of her own shadow and Bo is so laid-back, carefree, and just wants to fit in. They learn that it's great to have an adventure but so good to get home to familiar things too!