Scan barcode
bookhound's review against another edition
4.0
I love Gerald Durrell's writing- he is hilarious. This is an account of his experience as a student keeper at the Whipsnade Zoo in 1945 and includes priceless recollections of singing bears, tigers, sulky lions, camels, giraffes, and many others. The other zookeepers are too good to be true, especially Captain Beale.
The audio was delightful: narrator Rupert Degas.
The audio was delightful: narrator Rupert Degas.
sarahs_book_nook's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book really entertaining. Durrell has a humerous way of writing that I really liked. The dialogue he used when people where speaking was quite funny. The Captain with whom he stayed with during his time at Whipsnade zoo was horrible to his wife though. The language and way he yelled at her really give a clear indication of how times have changed. Her "yes dear" made me cringe. I wish she could have told him where to go.
Some of the zoo practices and the way the animals were captured, quarantined or seperated from one another during cleaning or medical checks was a bit old fashioned and not the greatest. I'm glad things have changed somewhat for todays zoo animals. Obviously for Durrell the safety and well being of the animals was his first priority even if it was a little archaic.
All in all I really enjoyed this book.
Some of the zoo practices and the way the animals were captured, quarantined or seperated from one another during cleaning or medical checks was a bit old fashioned and not the greatest. I'm glad things have changed somewhat for todays zoo animals. Obviously for Durrell the safety and well being of the animals was his first priority even if it was a little archaic.
All in all I really enjoyed this book.
thebobsphere's review against another edition
5.0
One of my faves - After the second world war, Durrell was bumming around London and was hired as a zookeeper at Whipsnade. Each chapter focuses on a different section of the zoo that he worked on, including the strange characters who helped him. There are a couple of laughs like the kid who thinks a tiger is a zebra or the colonel who bellows and guzzles curries.
This book is quite important as it was Durrell's first steps in realising that he could set up his own zo and take it to different levels, namely as a conservation unit, which we all know, he did.
This book is quite important as it was Durrell's first steps in realising that he could set up his own zo and take it to different levels, namely as a conservation unit, which we all know, he did.