The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman Paperback Book

Details

Rent The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

Author: Diane Ackerman

Format: Quality Paperback, Unabridged-CD

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: Sep 2008

Genre: History - Holocaust

Retail Price: $15.95

Pages: 384

Synopsis

The movie The Zookeeper's Wife, based on the New York Times bestselling book, opens March 2017.


1939: the Germans have invaded Poland. The keepers of the Warsaw zoo, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, survive the bombardment of the city, only to see the occupiers ruthlessly kill many of their animals. The Nazis then carry off the prized specimens to Berlin for their program to create the "purest" breeds, much as they saw themselves as the purest human race. Opposed to all the Nazis represented, the Zabinskis risked their lives by hiding Jews in the now-empty animal cages, saving as many as three hundred people from extermination. Acclaimed, best-selling author Diane Ackerman, fascinated both by the Zabinskis' courage and by Antonina's incredible sensitivity to all living beings, tells a moving and dramatic story of the power of empathy and the strength of love.


A Focus Features release, it is directed by Niki Caro, written by Angela Workman.

View descriptions at Amazon.com

Reviews

BookLender review by Susan on 2009-08-15 16:33:38

Too many words about nothing relevant with what the heart of the story should have been about - Antonina's diary! I loved the parts that kept to the actual story, but found myself skipping pages and paragraphs until we got back to it! It was a great true story, but poorly told.

BookLender review by Courtney on 2010-03-07 17:22:56

I read several reviews before ordering this book. Many reviewers do***ented Ackerman's numerous pointless side stories. I honestly didn't think the book could be that bad...I WAS WRONG! It was unreadable. I tried on several occasions to put my head down and get through it. I thought perhaps only the beginning of the book was plagued with long-winded and meaningless asides. After 75 or so pages, I thought to myself this can't continue but it did. The entire book is plagued with pages and pages of random side stories that don't add to the story, they detract from it. I couldn't finish it. I was very disappointed because I loved the premise of the book. But, it was much too difficult to sift through the meaningless commentary and get to the goods of the story. I got so annoyed and frustrated, I didn't care about the story anymore.