TIGER, TIGER

Living exclusively in Asia, from Siberia to India to Southeast Asia, tigers are held to be both living gods—protagonists in extraordinary legends and beliefs—and bloodthirsty creatures, feared by local villagers. Hunted by Europeans in colonial times, captured by zoos, trained for circus performances, and even kept as pets, tigers are today under serious threat of extinction in their natural habitat.

Jean-Jacques Annaud's latest movie is the story of two tiger cubs captured during a hunt in Cambodia in the 1920s. One of the cubs is adopted by a little boy, the son of a colonial family, while the other is taken away and trained to perform in a circus. We follow the fate of these two tigers, separated at birth, as they come together again at an organized fight, recognize each other, and then take flight together.

This book recounts and explains the ambivalent relationship that unites tiger and man. It is stunningly illustrated with photos from the movie, shots of locations (the marvelous scenery of Angkor and the Cambodian villages where the film is set), and numerous historical illustrations of the magnificent tiger, including paintings, drawings, frescoes, circus posters, hunting scenes, and photographs from old albums.