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On the Trail of the Jackalope: How a Legend Captured the World's Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer

Name: On the Trail of the Jackalope: How a Legend Captured the World's Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer
Brand: Pegasus Books
SKU: 9781639363834
Price: 13.99 USD
Availability: InStock

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Contributors:

Michael P. Branch

Publisher:

Pegasus Books

Binding:

Paperback

Book Category:

Nature, Travel, Science

Book Subcategory:

Animals, United States, Life Sciences

Book Topic:

West, Zoology

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The product is eligible for a complimentary return within 30 days from the date of purchase. Furthermore, individual items are shipped within 24 hours of receiving the order.

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Specifications +

Release Date:

2023-04-11

ISBN 13:

9781639363834

Weight:

0.39 lbs

Size:

8.20 x 5.40 x 0.90 inches

Pages:

304

Mint Condition +

product description

Description

The never-before-told story of the horned rabbit--the myths, the hoaxes, the very real scientific breakthrough it inspired--and how it became a cultural touchstone of the American West.

Just what is a jackalope? Purported to be part jackrabbit and part antelope, the jackalope began as a local joke concocted by two young brothers in a small Wyoming town during the Great Depression. Their creation quickly spread around the U.S., where it now regularly appears as innumerable forms of kitsch--wall mounts, postcards, keychains, coffee mugs, shot glasses, and so on. A vast body of folk narratives has carried the jackalope's fame around the world to inspire art, music, film, even erotica!

Although the jackalope is an invention of the imagination, it is nevertheless connected to actual horned rabbits, which exist in nature and have for centuries been collected and studied by naturalists. Around the time the two young boys were creating the first jackalope in Wyoming, Dr. Richard Shope was making his first 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 that genetic information to make remarkable, field-changing advances in the development of anti-viral cancer therapies. The most important of these is the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects against cervical 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's Sasquatch, Michael P. Branch's remarkable On the Trail of the Jackalope is an entertaining and enlightening road trip through the heart of America.

On the Trail of the Jackalope: How a Legend Captured the World's Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer

Description

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