Cuando Gerald Durrell tenía seis años comunicó a su madre que se proponía llegar a tener su propio zoo. Esta es la historia de cómo esta ambición infantil llegó a convertirse en realidad, de cómo su sueño se materializó con el tiempo en The Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, una de las instituciones más importantes del mundo en la conservación y defensa de la vida animal.

This one is more about conservation, and the adventures of actually running a zoo. Unfortunately, it reads more liek a neverending sales pitch than any of Durrell's other memoirs, but it's still a lot of interesting information, with his trademark storyteller's voice -- and it's still an extraordinary story, when you think about what the Jersey Trust has accomplished. ( )

Cuando Gerald Durrell tenía seis años comunicó a su madre que se proponía llegar a tener su propio zoo. Esta es la historia de cómo esta ambición infantil llegó a convertirse en realidad, de cómo su sueño se materializó con el tiempo en The Jersey Wildlife
Preservation Trust, una de las instituciones más importantes del mundo en la conservación y defensa de la vida animal. El autor, ya sea persiguiendo a un director de banco o a un cerdo enano, buscando mecenas o tras la pista de una salmanquesa Gunther, no pierde nada de su entusiasmo, y, como un nuevo Noé, reúne una prodigiosa colección de animales raros y exóticos para salvarlos de la extinción. A un tiempo extraordinariamente divertido y profundamente serio en lo que se refiere a la función de un zoo a fines del siglo XX, este entrañable libro de aventuras, con animales dentro y fuera de su zoo, apasionará a los innumerables lectores de Durrell y le hará tener muchos más.

Not one of his best.

This is a bit too obviously a cash cow. Written in honour of the Jeasy Wildlife preservation Trust's 25 th birthday it is a snapshot of the achievements in their distinguished history. Starting out with Gerald's desire to own a zoo since he was aged six it details the beginning of the trust (some 4 years after opening the zoo), fundraising trips, and various incidents. The Trust is the scientific body somewhat seperate from the zoo with its own board of directors and patron princess Anne. The book does have a glowing forward from her, which one hopes means she is more than a figurehead.

The aim of the Trust as originally concieved by Gerald lng before mainstream wisdom agreed with him was the re-patriation of endangered species. This book picks up on the few sucess stories, and some of the reasons for the failure of others.

The style if gerald's unique, tolerant and above all else humorous slant at the personification of animals and animalisation of humans, but because 25 yrs is such a long and varied time each incident gets at most a couple of paragraphs. Way to few for Gerald's style to really work. he jus about gets some feeling of sympathy when the cast changes for the next anecdote. All the same if you've not read any of his works and aren't familiar with his aims this is a good place ot start. If however you've read all his previous books, then this will be a disappointment. ( )