Menageries, zoos, and ethnographic exhibits (Völkerschauen) provide an excellent point of entry for exploring the cultural, social, economic, and political developments that occurred in central Europe over the past three centuries. Mitchell G. Ash's anthology and Eric Ames's study, albeit substantially different in terms of focus and approach, deliver a wealth of complementary information in this regard. The volume edited by Ash takes Vienna's zoo at Schönbrunn as a starting point to examine the history and function of menageries and zoos in (mostly) central Europe from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Once privileged spaces for the aristocracy, a historical shift occurred when zoos became public in the late eighteenth century. Regardless of their changing function as social spaces, however, zoos maintained certain characteristics over time. The anthology provides a multifaceted exploration of the history, typology, and conceptualization of European zoos. Its individual contributions are divided into four parts. The first three parts focus on the late eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, and the final part offers thoughts on some of the overarching issues.

How the study of animals relates to human self-exploration emerges as a central topic in several essays. Annelore Rieke-Müller's shows that, more than half a century before Darwin's groundbreaking theories were published, exotic animals in late eighteenth-century menageries served as vehicles to meditate upon the relationship between animals and humans, and often inspired great controversy. The next essays turn to Schönbrunn's menagerie, which was founded in 1752. Empress Maria Theresia opened it to the public in 1778, and Christian Stadelmann describes how quickly outings to Schönbrunn became part of the everyday life of the Viennese. Marianne Klemun focuses on the sensual, particularly perceptual, dimensions that visitors to Schönbrunn articulated in the late eighteenth century. She finds evidence for the emerging autonomy of subjective experience in these descriptions and discusses her observations in relation to Enlightenment debates about the role of the senses and rational thought.

Annette Grazcyk shows that the modern European zoo served an encyclopedic function as a result of its increasing scientization. Zoos (her case study is the zoological and botanical garden in the Jardin du Roi in Paris) categorized knowledge and allowed for an aesthetic experience of live animals. The broad network of social actors facilitating operations at the menagerie of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, including academics, architects, public officials, ministers, generals, hunters, zookeepers, artists, the police, and sales personal, is at the center of an essay by Richard W. Burckhardt, Jr. Christina Wessely compares the zoos of Vienna and Berlin as natural and cultural spaces that shape and are shaped by the modern metropolis. The last two essays of the second part review aspects of the organizational and conceptual development of the zoo at Schönbrunn. Gerhard Heindl's contribution discusses, among other topics, architectural developments, the role of scientific knowledge about animal care, administrative rules, the number of visitors and animals, and aspects of entertainment. In comparison to other zoos, Schönbrunn was often accused of backwardness, especially in the areas of education, entertainment, science, and the engagement of the public. Oliver Hochadel reviews various modernization attempts during the years 1879 to 1919, which coincided with the directorship of Alois Kraus.

The third part is devoted to developments of the last century. Nigel Rothfels describes the impact of the “Hagenbeck Revolution,” which changed zoo displays at the beginning of the twentieth century by removing iron bars and exhibiting animals in their “natural habitat.” Rothfels argues, however, that these architectural changes are less important than the new narrative that promised freedom, happiness, and a better life for zoo animals. The development of modern zoos in the United States, as Jeffrey Hyson shows, paralleled this shift from predominantly science-based to entertainment- and affect-oriented displays. Over time, zoos were designed to appeal to children and families, which entailed a domestication of wild animals for easier consumption. Veronika Hofer, who contributes to the assessment of Schönbrunn's history in the three decades after World War I, analyzes the zoo's self-image as an authentic living space for animals, and as a space for science, education, and the development of animal protection concepts. The next two contributions explore the role of animals and zoos in film: according to Gertrud Koch, animal representations on film mobilize affectual and somatic reactions, and mediate communicative messages on semantic and aesthetic levels; they also provide, among other things, an entry to exploring the relationship between humans and animals. Paul Ebner reviews the representation of the zoo in narrative cinema, which goes back to the early days of film at the end of the nineteenth century. The essay includes an extensive filmography.

The final section is devoted to exploring broader themes, and Harro Strehlow uses the Berlin zoos as a case study to highlight the considerable range of distinct architectural, conceptual, and didactic approaches observable in various zoological institutions. Different stages of the conceptual history of European zoo architecture are the topic of Lothar Dittrich's essay, in which he illustrates the embeddedness of zoos in larger social and cultural developments. Cornelius Holtorf concludes the anthology with an exploration of the zoo as a space for remembering. Zoos contain dimensions related to the past, present, and future, and play an important function in the memory of individuals as spaces of cultural memory and as keepers of genetic memory.

In spite of a certain repetitiveness, the anthology successfully illustrates the benefits of studying zoos as a vehicle to understand modern central European societies. Missing from the collection, however, are studies of the corporate structure of the modern zoo and more in-depth discussions of the role of science and technology in zoological displays. What I also found surprising is the lack of references to ancient and medieval models of the zoo. Noteworthy in this regard are the Circus Maximus in Rome and the Hippodrome in Constantinople, which were used for, among other things, displays of wild and exotic animals. Invoking these historical antecedents to the modern zoo would have made it possible to establish the connection between the display of animals and imperial power, and with that, the connection to colonial and transnational history, none of which Ash's anthology addresses. This omission, nevertheless, does not diminish the value of this highly informative and thought-inspiring anthology.

Eric Ames's study of Carl Hagenbeck's “Empire of Entertainments” provides insights into an area neglected by the anthology, namely the nexus of exhibiting animals and peoples, state power, capital, and modernity. Ames tackles issues that transcend the framework of the traditional zoological exhibit, as Hagenbeck's enterprise included shows of ethnic peoples and developed groundbreaking forms of staging exhibits. He argues that scholars have been correct in acknowledging Hagenbeck's innovations as propelling the development of the modern zoo, but he convincingly shows that much of what Hagenbeck invented is better understood in relation to twentieth-century theme parks. Essentially Ames proves that Hagenbeck's enterprise paved the way for theme parks, such as Disneyland, and thereby contributes an important chapter to the development of the modern theme park.

His study, which draws on extensive archival work and includes a large number of fascinating illustrations, follows the development of Carl Hagenbeck's enterprise from its beginnings in the 1860s to the decade following his death in 1913. Chapters one and two are devoted to understanding Hagenbeck's ethnographic displays. Ames adds to the scholarly discussion by drawing on a wealth of archival material that documents the agency of indigenous peoples in the process of participating in the displays. Hagenbeck recruited, or rather collected, groups of, for example, Laplanders, native Americans, Sudanese, and Somalis. The displacement of indigenous peoples as a result of colonization and the globalization of capital emerges as a key factor enabling and structuring their recruitment. Ames shows that indigenous peoples resisted but also actively negotiated their displacement by joining ethnographic troupes. The international animal trade, which in the latter part of the nineteenth century was dominated by Germans, facilitated the recruitment. Native performers were clearly aware of the financial opportunities resulting from signing contracts with Hagenbeck, and several individuals developed a considerable level of professionalism and entrepreneurism, which was well documented in their contracts. Missionaries often resisted the recruitment of baptized individuals, as the notion of exhibiting “natural peoples” conflicted with the civilizing dimension of Christianization. Hagenbeck also designed shows that brought together humans, animals, and objects to create a kind of ethnographic Gesamtkunstwerk. These “anthropological-zoological exhibitions” are the focus of Ames's second chapter. Hagenbeck's conceptual work was groundbreaking as he developed the idea of the living habitat display based on ethnographic and ecological ideas. Hagenbeck's modern form of mass entertainment, with its staged authenticity, was extremely successful: it brought a spectacular number of people to shows put on by some of the three hundred troupes that toured Germany between 1875 and 1914. Recruitment of performers from German colonies was opposed by the German Colonial Society, partly in light of the interaction that occurred frequently between performers and Germans. The transnational connections of Hagenbeck's empire, however, ensured that recruitment continued even after an official ban on the export of German colonial subjects.

Over time, Hagenbeck's exhibits shifted from a focus on staging authenticity to deliberately incorporating elements of fantasy. The third chapter of Ames's study traces this turn to fiction in the animal and peoples exhibits of the new zoo Hagenbeck developed at Stellingen. Ames establishes a link to the popular Wild West Shows of the time period, which also combined elements of authenticity and fiction. Hagenbeck adopted this mix, and, by employing elements of narrative, created diegetic spaces. Over time, Hagenbeck's name became a brand name, and the clever use of branding ensured a tremendous financial success for the company, which sold several lines of merchandise in addition to conducting its entertainment operations.

The next chapter discusses the aesthetic dimension of Hagenbeck's Tierpark. In particular, Ames explores the effect of exhibits that were built to immerse spectators in the image space. Hagenbeck transformed the traditional panorama into the living habitat landscapes of his expansive theme park. With his groundbreaking approach to exhibiting animals, Hagenbeck abandoned some of the basic principles that had defined zoos to this point, such as the primacy of science. The last chapter, which draws extensively on previously unpublished archival material, discusses the importance of Hagenbeck's zoo for early film. Hagenbeck loaned his animals for film productions, and films were shot on the zoo's premises. In many ways, film adopted some of Hagenbeck's innovations, such as showing humans and animals in a shared space and the idea of the living habitat. In 1919, mostly as a result of World War I, Hagenbeck's zoo was transformed into a film studio. But within a year, the park was abandoned as a location for filming and reopened as a zoo in 1924.

Ames's study shows that transnational and commercial forces played a significant role in defining and facilitating the interest in viewing exotic animals and peoples. Hagenbeck's use of branding, among other business strategies, defines him as an ingenious entrepreneur. By highlighting these material and ideological dimensions of Hagenbeck's enterprise, Ames's book supplements recent work by scholars who have linked zoological and ethnographic exhibits of the period primarily to colonial and national frameworks. Ames explains the success of Hagenbeck's enterprise through the innovative appeal to affectual and aesthetic desires. He highlights the significance of fiction and narrative in the theme space displays (here, Ames's work resonates with arguments made by Rothfels and Hyson in Ash's anthology), and in this regard I would have liked to see a deeper engagement with the content of the narratives presented to Germans around 1900. It seems to me that an extended analysis of these narratives would have linked them more closely to colonial conquests and imperial power, to various coexisting scientific narratives of nature (for example, early ecological consciousness through the idea of the habitat, and Darwinist elements), to ideas of modernity, and to narratives of historical change. Future studies may shed light on the function of various exhibits in their historical and geopolitical context. In addition, Hagenbeck's approach not only prepared the ground for theme parks, such as Disneyland, but also contained elements that can be found in contemporary reality shows, in spite of the latter's focus on the very mundane and domestic.

In sum, Ames's study enables us better to understand the corporate nature of Hagenbeck's enterprise at a moment of German imperial and colonial might. The study sheds light on an emerging culture of consumerism and spectacle, and allows us to observe the interplay of national and transnational forces against the background of colonialism and capitalism.