Customer Reviews

Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not much of a nonfiction reader, but after hearing about Lawrence Anthony's book on the CBS Sunday Morning News I had to have it. Ever slowed down the car to let a squirrel or goose get out of your way? Ever caught a small bird or mouse in your garage and taken it outside to set free? Although your animal-loving efforts are certainly appreciated, you will never believe the conflicts Anthony faced to save the Baghdad zoo.

Arriving on the cusp of the war, Anthony discovers most of the animals have died of starvation or been stolen by looters. With only 36 animals left, guns firing in the distance, food and supplies stolen, and only a handful of people for a staff, Anthony questions whether he should shoot the animals to end their misery or do what he came to Iraq to do. Save the zoo!

As an outsider, Anthony paints an amazing picture of a war-torn country, surrounded by American troops, but his focus stays on the animals. The story he tells of the animals that have survived, either because they have sharp claws or teeth (or both) and could defend themselves, is just haunting. His struggles to provide food, water, and safety are a never ending battle. It was also good to read how many American soldiers helped provide aide. Some soldier's bought an entire flock of sheep with their own money for Anthony to use as food for the carnivores.

Lawrence was also responsible for setting up an Iraqi SPCA which closed down a black market zoo and rescued tons of animals that were in even worse conditions. They also went in search of Saddam's million-dollar Arabian horses after they came up missing from Saddam's palace, and they rescued a pack of lions from Uday Hussein's abandoned palace. The stories and struggles are never ending, but Lawrence's determination will definitely inspire you.

So far, this is the best book I've read all year! I doubt any other book of such strength and will could ever come close! Animal lover or not, don't miss out on this story. It's a different side of the war that television and news deprives us of!

I'm currently stationed in Iraq and work at the Baghdad Zoo and wanted to know what the first guys did to get this place back up and running. I heard about this book from a friend who had seen it on Amazon.com, so I thought why not try it. I began to read it and I could actually see all the stuff Lawrence Anthony was talking about. I went back to the zoo a couple days later and sat down with the director and discussed the book with him and asked alot of questions and he told me the same stories. I now have a great outlook on working with this place and the staff, thanks to this wonderful book. If it wasn't for people like Lawrence Anthony doing these amazing things the animals would have died and the zoo would no longer be a part of this city's future. I wrote to Lawrence Anthony after reading this book and told him thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the animals and now we comunicate often and he is planning another trip here to see what progress has been made. I would recommend this book to any animal lover who wants to read about the great lengths some people will go to save them. Thank you again Lawrence.

Sincerely,
SFC Herb Mowery
Baghdad, Iraq

Lawrence Anthony took it upon himself to help the captive wildlife in Baghdad shortly after the war in Iraq began. Often, in war, zoo animals suffer horrible fates. They are starved or eaten, and in some cases slaughtered and tortured by soldiers.

This account shows the courage of Anthony and the brave staff of the Iraq zoo who, during a period of lawlessness, did everything they could to help the animals. They dodged bullets every day to get to the zoo where they hauled buckets water in scorching heat, found food in a city that had little, dealt with constant looting, and managed to save what was left of the zoo's inhabitants. Help arrived from sources both expected (animal aid foundations) and unexpected (South African mercenaries, wartime photographers, rank and file army soldiers who fed starving lions their MREs.) The story offers details on what life is like for soldiers and civilians in the red zone, a peek at the former palaces of Saddam and his family, the horrible Middle Eastern black market for exotic animals, and the spirit of the Iraqis who wanted to save their animals.

It's really an amazing book

One thing that can set humans apart from their relatives is that they are quite capable of showing remarkable compassion to other life forms. They unfortunately also can be crueler than other species in ways that are unbelievably ugly. Lawrence Anthony is one of those compassionate people who can make one proud to be human, as much as the crimes against both humans and animals of such pathological personalities as Uday Hussein make one ashamed. In "Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo" Anthony tells a riveting story about how he and a team of international zoo and conservation workers, including the incredibly brave Iraqi zoo staff, managed to rescue many of the animals held at the Baghdad Zoo at the start of the Iraq War, as well as Uday Hussein's private zoo and the unspeakable Luna Park "zoo."

To animals at all of these facilities Anthony and his helpers (including some fine young men of the U.S. military and their officers) were angels of mercy. From a blind bear to starving tigers and lions, they bring numerous wild animals back from the brink and gain support for the zoo to be properly maintained for the future. The story of the two dogs still living in a cage of starving lions at Luna Park also lends some credence to the idea that attachment to other species is not totally limited to humans.

Wars tend to dehumanize people and any humane action in the midst of violence can soften the horror to some degree. Anthony and the other workers at the Baghdad Zoo produced something more precious than just saving a few animals- they brought an island of sanity to the insanity of war!

All did not end well- one of the tigers so lovingly saved was shot by a drunken U. S. soldier - but the effort was totally worth it because it highlighted the plight of zoo animals in war time and may lead to quicker help for such institutions in future wars. At least one can hope so. An excellent book to read when human activities tend to make us think that our species is capable only of depravity.

Anthony, a South African elephant conservationist, was appalled when he heard that the animals at the Kabul zoo were killed in the war in Afghanistan. When the war in Iraq started, he decided to go to Baghdad and help save the animals at the Baghdad zoo from the same fate. Anthony got a real education walking into a war zone and finding the zoo completely looted and all but 30 of the creatures dead or missing. Slowly, and with the help of brave Iraqi vets and zookeepers, concerned American soldiers, and one crazy taxi driver, Anthony helped lead the zoo's recovery into a safe place for the animals and a haven of normalcy for Baghdad families.

If a story like this is competently told, it really can't miss, and this one hits the mark. Anthony has many interesting things to say, good stories, and the right combination of indignation and MASH-style humor.
The last chapter bogs down in hopeless idealism about international cooperation (IMHO), but this book will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the topic or the experiences of an ordinary civilian trying to get something done in a war zone.

Reviewer: Liz Clare, co-author of the historical novel To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark.

The enthusiasm that Anthony, a South African conservationist, invests to care for an abandoned zoo thankfully makes up for the writing. He pairs with Iragi zookeepers and U.S. soldiers--who defy orders to deliver necessary supplies--to treat neglected animals helpless against war and looting. In the process, he exposes shady characters and conditions of an emerging black market for exotic pets. Details about Uday's vast exotic "pet" collection will both fascinate and repulse.

Babylon's Ark reminds that ordinary people do extraordinary things. And that war can unite divided camps, despite who is shooting and stealing. A surprisingly positive detour from the horrors of war.

The author's passion for animal welfare at the expense of his own safety is extraordinary. His regard for Iraqi counterparts reflects personal sacrifice and humility in the face of real danger. Unlike Matthew Bogdanos (author of "Thieves of Baghdad"), Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence hold the reader's attention throughout "Babylon's Ark" due to a coherent writing style. Major players are identified and fully integrated into the context of the rescue mission. Also, the authors suspend political judgments. However, an astute reader can discern the foolhardiness of the Bush administration's ill equipped shock and awe campaign. This is one of those rare books that you don't put down until the last page is read!

After reading the graphic novel "Pride of Baghdad," I was very interested in what happened to the zoo in Baghdad, so I tracked down this book by Lawrence Anthony.

From this book I learned a lot about what it was/is like in Iraq from an outsider's perspective at the heart of Baghdad just after the invasion - the hardships, violence, lack of sanitation, futility, and destruction. This one man's battle to save the remaining animals that were not stolen or killed in the zoo is an amazing documentation of courage, compassion, and determination. Lawrence Anthony has a big heart and an impressive amount of "liver," so to speak. ;)

I was struck by many things in this book - first the quick degradation of humanity in a situation where law and order has gone out the window. So many people rely on the innate good nature of mankind to somehow overcome and make our own peace, yet as soon as the police and established enforcement were gone in Baghdad, theft and vandalism took over. Left to our own devices, we are a sick sad species, bent on taking for ourselves at the expense of others. If you think your country would do anything less once the law was dispelled, you are mistaken. It makes me think of all the riots that have taken place in U.S. history. The inclination of the majority is to pillage and loot rather than organize and construct. It's no wonder the world is being increasingly destroyed. We are innately screwed up.

This book also showed me the hopeful side of humanity though - those willing to take a stand and brave the odds to bring order and safety back. Those courageous Iraqis who worked so hard alongside Anthony were an inspiration and an honorable representation of the human race. The risks all of them took to help the helpless should be lauded by everyone as an act of the utmost heroism.

There is so much frustration in this book - difficult to read at times as you experience yourself the sinking hope and exhaustion those few stubborn men (and women). But through it all they endure and ultimately succeed in their efforts.

I liked this book because of the insight into both the lightness and the darkness of humanity, as well as tangibly real descriptions of situations that make it easy to imagine you're there. Anthony also keeps things interesting by interjecting little snippets of his own history and other people's experiences into the flow of things.

The ending turns into a big lecture on global warming and the destruction of the planet, but I guess that's to be expected. And really, even if you are reluctant to run after the green bandwagon, you cannot deny that our planet does need our help. If not the weather (which it may very well be too difficult to change) the life we are continuing to mow down and extinguish (often permanently). We may like to think that this world is too big for measly old us to make a dent in, but that same logic is what made the bison and passenger pigeons go from populations of millions to extinction (or the verge of it for the bison).
It is important also, however, not to forget that people should not be ignored as we try to improve things. Just like Lawrence has to make sure the Iraqi workers were fed first, we should not put such a priority on ecological improvements that the poor and desperately starving are trampled or further impoverished by those efforts. There has to be a balance of compassion.

Thanks, Anthony Lawrence, for passing on your experience to the rest of us. I hope everyone who reads your writings learns as much if not more than I did, and takes inspiration from your kind and peace-making attitude.

I truly enjoyed reading "Babylon's Ark." The news is often full of disheartening examples of man's inhumanity to man and to animals. It's wonderful to see examples of courage and love that show us man's great humanity. Such is the case of Lawrence Anthony, a conservationist from South Africa, who felt compelled to rescue the animals in the Baghdad zoo.

Anthony pulled many strings to be able to enter a war zone in his eagerness to save these animals, but he was unprepared for the terrible condition of the animals and the places they lived. I loved his philosophy " whatever happens finish the task you start." It was his ability to concentrate on one task at a time that kept him from being overwhelmed.

The stories of individual animals are sometimes tragic and sometimes heartwarming and always interesting. And when Anthony set out to do the impossible, others joined in. A great story!

This book was impossible to put down. It was more gripping than most fiction I read and even more fascinating given that it's a true story.

I felt many emotions while reading this book -- it was very moving, frustrating, funny, and sad -- but above all, learning about one man's gritty determination to save the animals, against all odds, was truly inspiring.