The never-before-toldstory of the horned rabbitāthe myths, the hoaxes, and the entirely real scientific breakthroughs ithas inspiredāand how it became a cultural touchstone of the American West. Just what is a jackalope? Purported to be part jackrabbit and part antelope, thejackalopebegan as a local joke concocted by two young brothers in a small Wyoming town during theGreat Depression. Their creation quickly spread around the U.S., where it now regularly appears as innumerableforms of kitschāwall mounts, postcards, keychains, coffee mugs, shot glasses, and so on. A vast body of folknarratives has carried thejackalope's fame around the world to inspire art, music, film, even erotica! Although thejackalopeis an invention of the imagination, it is nevertheless connected to actual hornedrabbits, which exist in nature and have for centuries been collected and studied by naturalists. Around thetime the two young boys were creating the firstjackalopein Wyoming, Dr. Richard Shope was making hisfirst breakthrough about the cause of the horns: a virus. When the virus that causes rabbits to grow"horns" (a keratinous carcinoma) was first genetically sequenced in 1984, oncologists were able to use thatgenetic information to make remarkable, field-changing advances in the development of anti-viral cancertherapies. The most important of these is the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects againstcervical and other cancers. Today, jackalopes are literally helping us cure cancer. For fans of David Quammen's The Song of the Dodo, Jon Mooallem's Wild Ones, or Jeff Meldrum'sSasquatch, Michael P. Branch's remarkable On the Trail of the Jackalope is an entertaining and enlightening road trip through theheart of America.
eBook - ePub
On the Trail of the Jackalope
How a Legend Captured the World's Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer
- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
On the Trail of the Jackalope
How a Legend Captured the World's Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Authorās Note: Down the Rabbit Hole
- Prologue: Natureās Jackalopes
- Chapter 1: As Real as You Want Them to Be
- Chapter 2: Believing Is Seeing
- Chapter 3: The Classic Hoax
- Chapter 4: Mounting Enthusiasm
- Chapter 5: A Mighty River of Jackalopiana
- Chapter 6: Necessary Monsters
- Chapter 7: The Global Jackalope
- Chapter 8: Dr. Shopeās Warty Rabbits
- Chapter 9: Saved by Jackalopes
- Chapter 10: The Jackalope Maker
- Photographs
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Endnotes
- Index
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access On the Trail of the Jackalope by Michael P. Branch in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Zoology. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.