Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 2
Title: We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Animals That Change Their Lives Forever
Author: Benjamin Mee
ISBN: 9781602860483/ Weinstein Books, 2008
Non-Fiction, Memoirs
Rating: C
First Line: Mum and I arrived as the new owners of Dartmoor Wildlife Park in Devon for the first time at around six o'clock on the evening of 20 October 2006, and stepped out of the car to the sound of wolves howling in the misty darkness.
Benjamin Mee, his sisters, brothers and widowed mother set out to do something few other people would attempt: to buy and to run a zoo. Dartmoor Wildlife Park was run-down and had had some legal problems due to the care of some of the animals, and it would take a Herculean effort for anyone to get it back up to standard. Knowing all this, the Mees were undaunted and went ahead with the sale, working on the necessary improvements with a shoestring budget while waiting for months for the bank to cough up the promised money. In the midst of all this, Mee had to move his family from the south of France to Devon in England, get two small children settled, and deal with a terminally ill wife. Nothing came easily.
This is a book I should have loved, but I didn't. Mee is a very wordy writer, and my mind kept losing focus in the middle of one long paragraph after another. Even his stories about the animals in the zoo began to look alike after a while; there seemed to be no real variety in them. I came away from the book with admiration for what he and his family have done. I just wish I'd enjoyed the journey more.
Author: Benjamin Mee
ISBN: 9781602860483/ Weinstein Books, 2008
Non-Fiction, Memoirs
Rating: C
First Line: Mum and I arrived as the new owners of Dartmoor Wildlife Park in Devon for the first time at around six o'clock on the evening of 20 October 2006, and stepped out of the car to the sound of wolves howling in the misty darkness.
Benjamin Mee, his sisters, brothers and widowed mother set out to do something few other people would attempt: to buy and to run a zoo. Dartmoor Wildlife Park was run-down and had had some legal problems due to the care of some of the animals, and it would take a Herculean effort for anyone to get it back up to standard. Knowing all this, the Mees were undaunted and went ahead with the sale, working on the necessary improvements with a shoestring budget while waiting for months for the bank to cough up the promised money. In the midst of all this, Mee had to move his family from the south of France to Devon in England, get two small children settled, and deal with a terminally ill wife. Nothing came easily.
This is a book I should have loved, but I didn't. Mee is a very wordy writer, and my mind kept losing focus in the middle of one long paragraph after another. Even his stories about the animals in the zoo began to look alike after a while; there seemed to be no real variety in them. I came away from the book with admiration for what he and his family have done. I just wish I'd enjoyed the journey more.
Kris L. (miss-info) reviewed We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals that Changed Their Lives Forever on + 386 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Being a book about a zoo, I was hoping for a lot of animal stories. There were some, and they were interesting and funny, but most of the book dealt with logistics. Bankers, finances, employees, do we build an ice cream kiosk, pavement. Another large section of the book involved Mee's wife dying of cancer. I liked the writing style, I liked that he did NOT write about animals dying (got enough of that in The Zookeeper's Wife), but I really missed simply having more about the animals. That is, after all, why we read books about zoos. I will say this: next time I go to a zoo, I'm dropping extra in the donation box! You get a whole new appreciation for behind the scenes and what it actually takes to keep zoos open.
Judy B. (jdyinva) -
Helpful Score: 1
I do disagree with the previous reviewer. I found this book to be well written, albiet with a distinct British "accent." Fascinating story as you follow Benjamin Mee as he pursues an impossible dream - to buy and redo a broken down zoo. You watch his struggles to find the financial backing, the expert help in many areas, and revitalize a worn-out staff in a worn-out zoo. At the same time he must deal with a personal tragedy. You will suffer the failures, the disappointments as well as enjoy the final triumph. And the animals - wonderful! Very involving story about a remarkable family and a remarkable success.
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
Helpful Score: 1
A good story told with humor and hope. There are heartbreaking parts and overwhelming obstacles at times, but overall living a dream. Alot of the insight into the requirements of business development on such a large scale and protection and caring for wild, and dangerous animals. A section of photographs, as well. A fairly quick and entertaining read.
