Savages and Beasts: The Birth of the Modern Zoo

In this revised edition of Savages and Beasts, Nigel Rothfels traces the origins of the modern zoo to the efforts of the German entrepreneur Carl Hagenbeck, the most successful dealer in exotic animals in the nineteenth century. Building from his core business in animals, Hagenbeck eventually became even more famous for his large ethnographic exhibitions and circus ventures.

When Hagenbeck opened his Animal Park near Hamburg, Germany, in 1...