Customer Reviews
Too Dry 
2008-05-26
This is an amazing story, but it will put you to sleep. In the hands of a better writer, this would be award winning.
A Holocaust Story with Unusual Information. 
2008-05-25
I read every book that I can about the Holocaust and the survival of the human spirit. People helping people. I have read 100++ books and this is the first that told of what happened to anamils during the war.
This is the first positive thing I have ever read that the Nazis contributed to. The final outcome of some species has a positive for us today.
The thoughts of the zookeeper's wife and her unique ability to work with animals with captivate you right away. This was a very brave Christian Polish family who suffered and risked thier lives for Jewish families all the while caring for anumals too.
One of the most interesting Holocaust stories I have read. It for me was not a fast read has it is written on a high level of language. I learned a lot of new words as I used the dictonary.
Highly recommed this book. You will come away with new information even if you like me are well read about the holocaust.
A haunting look at Poland's enormous losses during WWII 
2008-04-28
As an amateur scholar of Yiddishkeit, my readings have included several novels and biographies set in the Warsaw Ghetto, so I was familiar with the horrific overcrowding and dehumanizing conditions that Warsaw's Jews were subjected to before the Ghetto was razed in 1943 and the remaining survivors were sent to concentration camps. Many of my maternal relatives immigrated from Poland in the early 1900s, and were fortunate to have escaped living through the wars. For the millions trapped in Poland, life turned into a living hell for Jews and Gentiles alike under the Nazi occupation of Warsaw.
In Diane Ackerman's The Zookeeper's Wife, she chronicles the real-life heroism of Antonina and Jan Zabinsk, the zookeepers in charge of the once-prestigious Warsaw Zoo that was heavily damaged in the initial bombing in 1939, who turned to rescuing hundreds of Jews and Polish Underground families attempting to flee for safety.
Antonina has a rare gift, a deep empathy with humans and animals alike that allows her to sense deeply what they are thinking and instinctively understand how to calm them (which saves her life more than once when facing Nazis). Jan was also an active member in the Underground, using his official documents as a pass to smuggle Jews out of the Ghetto, as well as perform acts of sabotage against the Nazis. They face the unknown in their different ways, Antonina attempting to fill the villa with activity, music, and the few animals that she brings indoors (many of the larger zoo animals were killed in bombings, slaughtered by Nazis for sport, or transported to German zoos).
Ackerman's prose hauntingly captures the destruction inflicted by the Nazi bombings, the daily humiliations and indignities that war inflicts on civilian populations, particularly on those trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto. At times, the novel is nearly bogged down by the overenthusiastic descriptions, such as a segment on beetles that goes on for several pages, but these scenic detours serve to illuminate the thinking behind several pivotal characters.
There are certainly important concepts glossed over, such as the Hasidic viewpoint of the Shoah, and at times the quotes taken from Antonina's diary and other documents blur between fiction and recounting based on the sparse endnotes, but the Zookeeper's Wife is a glowing testament to the courage of two unconventional Poles whose bravery saved over 300 lives during one of the darkest periods in modern history.
Beautiful Book and Beautiful Story 2008-04-21
The story itself is amazing but the way it was written is so exceptional. You can see, you can feel, you can smell when you read descriptions of even the simplest things. The author did lots of research before writing this book and therefore you can learn lot's of interesting facts and details.
a compassion for animals and the downtrodden 2008-04-09
I haven't finished the book yet but it's hard to put down. sometimes it gets a bit long in detail. It's the only book on the holocaust that includes animals - making it so special
Lest we forget... 2008-07-01
I really enjoyed this book and the photos; I learned a lot. (It should be required reading.) It's well-researched, with notes, a bibliography, and an index. Not only did it flesh out the history, the characters were interesting--the people and the animals. (I loved the badger and the carnivorous rabbit.) Then there were the Nazis; we have to remember them as well...
Btw, not long after reading it, I came across Rick Steves' Europe: Poland on PBS. He covers the WWII history with photos and film footage and visits to the Holocaust museums, along with current events and people. He visited Warsaw, Krakow, and Auschwitz. Warsaw is full of Soviet-built blocky apartment buildings--a memorial to their occupation.
recommended by an actual zookeeper's wife 2008-06-30
This book was recommended to me by Suzi Hannah, Jack's wife. It is excellent. It makes history come alive, even the horrible history surrounding the holocaust. The story is obviously told with as much authenticity as possible. Any detail not known precisely is worded so you know which parts are true and which parts are only probably true. I recommend it strongly.
VERY slow book 2008-06-25
I am very interested in World War Two and the Holocaust so when I heard about this book I thought it would make an interesting read for a book club I belong too. I started it and only got to chapter four before I had to stop completely. I found the story to be plodding, and slow. The author also was very descriptive, which also took away from the story.
If you are looking for a good book about the Holocaust this book is not for you.
Warming tale 2008-06-25
My husband and I had the opportunity to meet Diane Ackerman when she did a reading in our city. We both came out with the desire to read her book "The Zookeeper's Wife," and were rewarded greatly. The story of this people who hid Jews in their zoo to protect their lives during WWII is heartwarming and true. It shows us the need to have the courage to stand for what is right no matter what. It was well worth our time and much more.
Anna del C.
Author of "The Elf and the Princess"
The Elf and The Princess: The Silent Warrior Trilogy - Book One (The Silent Warrior Trilogy)
fascinating view of ordinary people in warsaw 2008-06-20
Readers will learn a lot about conditions in warsaw during World War II and the heroic actions of ordinary Cchristians in helping the Jews escape the ghetto and hide out in various safe houses. i learned a lot about the Polish underground and the Resistance.
Ackerman is a naturalist and she includes a subplot about the nazis' interest in breeding prototype horses . She also describes the seasons beautifully and animals play a nice role in the story. She excels in description.
