My Pride and Joy: An Autobiography [Hardcover]

George Adamson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The millions who enjoyed Joy Adamson's books (Born Free, Living Free, Elsa have a treat awaiting them in her husband's account of their stormy life together, his devotion to lions and of his work in the years since her brutal murder. For George Adamson, it has been a 60-year love affair with the big cats, reaching a pinnacle when Born Free was filmed. The human stars, Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, became staunch friends; the author trained dozens of lions for the film and sought to return them to the wild, with limited success (such projects were controversial, and retrained lions were not welcome in Kenya's wildlife parks). He has scores of marvelous stories about individual lionsElsa, of course, and her cubs; Boy, who killed a man and had to be destroyed; Christian, a fourth-generation zoo animal raised in an antique shop in London, who successfully made the transition. The book is a charmer, for readers who like wild animals, Africa or action. Photos.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671624970
• ISBN-13: 978-0671624972
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasure for Africa-philes & wildlife enthusiasts, June 11, 2002

By 

Claus Hetting (Gentofte, Copenhagen Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Pride and Joy: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

George Adamson was mostly famed as the former husband of Joy Adamson, the author of the popular Born Free, thus the clever pun in the title My Pride (of Lions) and Joy (Adamson). This book is a vivid account of his life in Kora (Northern Kenya) and his lifelong dedication to nature conservation in Africa. The book is full of fascinating stories about lions, including the shooting of the movie Born Free, while he also paints an interesting but somewhat unflattering picture of Joy. This book is well worth the read for anybody interested African widlife. Sadly George Adamson was killed by marauding bandits close to his camp in Kora only shortly after publishing this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring tale for animal lovers, April 11, 2010

By 

Kona (Emerald City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: My Pride and Joy: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

George Adamson was a game warden in Kenya when he and his wife Joy raised an orphaned lioness whom they named Elsa. The story of Elsa's return to the wild was immortalized in the movie, "Born Free." In his memoir, Adamson recounts his sixty years in Kenya, his life with Joy, and most importantly, his devotion to wild lions. He talks about the filming of the movie and his lifelong friendship and collaboration with the stars.

Adamson, who was called "Baba ya simba" (Father of lions), writes lovingly of Christian, the lion who was made famous years later with a YouTube video and he talks about Joy's murder. (He was himself murdered only a few years after the publication of this book.)

This fascinating story of a man who loved animals above all else contains many wonderful photos.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars autobiography, March 8, 2007

By 

Earl Dickens (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Pride and Joy: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

This is a warm heartfelt book telling the other, less advertised side of the classic story, Born Free. It follows George Adamson's life after that instance in his life all the way to it's tragic end.