About the Author

Lawrence Anthony is an acclaimed conservationist and founder of the Earth Organization. He received the UN's Earth Day award (making him the first South African to receive the award) for his work in Baghdad. He lives in Zululand, South Africa.

Reviews

"* "Terrific tale about how Iraqis, a South African conservationist and American soldiers saved the animals of the Baghdad Zoo... A wartime story with a joyful ending."... Kirkus Reviews"

Anthony, a South African conservationist and recipient of the U.N.'s Earth Day award, details how, through a series of complex maneuvers, he entered Iraq after the American invasion and led the fight to save what was left of the Baghdad Zoo. Most of the animals were killed by war and looting; the remainder were starved and in filthy cages, with no staff to care for them. Anthony describes how he, along with the zoo's former deputy director and several brave workers, risked daily danger to save the bears, lions, tigers, monkeys and birds. Anthony fended off looters with a gun obtained from a sympathetic U.S. soldier, spent his own funds for equipment and bartered the use of a satellite phone for food and other essentials. Anthony vividly recounts the rescue of other animals, including the inhabitants of the appalling Luna Park Zoo and Saddam's prize Arabian horses, saved from the hands of black marketeers. The author takes no position on the invasion. His goal is for his mission, so dramatically recounted with journalist Spence's help, to set an example of conservation and respect for animal life. 8 pages of color photos. (Mar. 12) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.