Jorl ben Tral is a Fant, one of the two species of anthropomorphic elephants that inhabit the island rainforests of the planet Barsk. He's also a Speaker, gifted with the ability to converse with the dead, a talent he uses in his daily life as an historian at the university. Jorl is a tenured professor of some repute. His response to the academic adage "publish or perish" has been nothing short of prolific, far too vast to include in any collection. Now, for the first time, brief excerpts from a selection of this unparalleled scholar's work have been compiled to reveal thought provoking glimpses not only into the life and culture of the Fant, but also the larger galaxy of furred sapients and their seemingly hardwired discrimination that colors both their interactions with their elephantine fellows and their everyday choices. Set in a distant future of a galaxy that no longer recalls the humanity that spawned it, the writings of Jorl ben Tral nonetheless reveal much about the human condition, as can only be told through the words of this descendant of our own Loxodonta africana.