Recent Publications
THE ROSE-TINTED MENAGERIE
A History of Animals in Entertainment, from Ancient Rome to the 20th Century
by William M Johnson
with introductions by Desmond Morris (author of the Human Zoo and The Naked Ape) and the late Sadruddin Aga Khan
~ with 47 colour and b/w illustrations ~
Hailed as ‘a ground-breaking work’ upon its original release in 1990, the unabridged, fully illustrated, 325-page edition of The Rose-Tinted Menagerie has now been republished by Iridescent in Amazon Kindle ebook form. From the circus amphitheatres of ancient Rome, to the first travelling dolphin shows in America, Europe and the Far East… From the global trade in wild animals, to the captive chimps and dolphins exploited as tools of war… Through two thousand years of history, The Rose-Tinted Menagerie explores the human attitudes that have shaped our species’ conquest-driven relationship with nature as a whole, a psychology as evident in the taming of the wild beast for the circus arena, argues the author, as in the razing of forests or the mass extinction of species.
‘…Nothing in nature can quite match the wilful viciousness, manipulation and self-aggrandisement displayed by the human mammals who run The Rose-Tinted Menagerie. The setting for William Johnson’s angry book is a small and specialised one: the world of circuses, menageries, safari parks and dolphinaria; of animals as entertainment. But because the animal show is, literally, a dramatisation of our superiority over the animal kingdom, an enactment of little parables of mastery and servitude, it is also a microcosm of our whole relationship with nature…’ — Richard Mabey, The Independent on Sunday
‘An outstanding investigation…’ — Naomi Lewis, Books of the Year, The Observer
‘A ground-breaking work… of great importance…’ — Tom Regan
Publishing info
Title: The Rose-Tinted Menagerie
Author: William M Johnson
Format: Amazon Kindle mobi
ISBN: 978-3-9524015-1-4
Available on: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.es, Amazon.it
Publication date: July 2012
Publisher: Iridescent Publishing
Contact: contact@iridescent-publishing.com
Further info: Press Release [PDF]