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| The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story | 
| Author: Diane Ackerman
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy Used: $9.01
You Save: $14.94 (62%)
New (43) Collectible (9) from $13.19
Avg. Customer Rating:  87 reviews
Sales Rank: 12844
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 0393061728
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5318350943841
EAN: 9780393061727
ASIN: 0393061728
Publication Date: September 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Courageous Knowing Woman in War Torn Poland September 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In a superbly told epic story of survival under terrifying circumstances, The Zookeeper's Wife depicts war and nature together, juxtaposing empathic descriptions of nature and animals and the brutal Nazi occupation of Warsaw, Poland. The narrative draws the reader into the daily activities of a family during years of deprivation, from 1939 pre-war Poland to occupation by the Russian army in 1945.
Combining history and the intimacy of family life, naturalist Diane Ackerman relates how Antonina Zabinski and her husband, Jan, sheltered and saved more than three hundred Jews in their villa and adjacent buildings on the grounds of the Warsaw Zoo. Antonina, a quiet, introspective, knowing woman of the early to mid twentieth century, sensed the underside of things and from that deep knowledge, tempered the violence in which she lived. Her calm courage in the face of great difficulty is never overstated, nor is she made out to be a heroine. Rather, she is a woman doing what she does best and doing it amazingly well in the horrifying circumstance of occupied Poland seventy years ago.
A Read for Everyone September 8, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
An amazing personal insight into the realities of the atrocities committed during WWII by the Nazis'. Everyone should read to get a glimpse of what man should learn from history.
 A Heartbreaking Account September 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Diane Ackerman tells the story of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo prior to World War II. When the Germans bombed Warsaw, much of their zoo was destroyed, and many of their animals killed. Yet, Jan and his wife Antonina struggled against Nazi occupation, using their house and the Zoo grounds as temporary shelter for over three hundred Jews smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto, while trying to keep their family (human and animal) and their sanity together throughout the ravages and hardships of war. Even while watching their beloved animals taken away, killed by soldiers for rifle practice, the Zabinskis never stopped helping those in need.
This sad book was a fascinating well researched account of WWII Warsaw. I loved how the author showed us the connection how humans, like animals, must adapt to survive. The book in parts was just far too detailed, and I would have preferred if it read more like a novel.
Poles against Hitler August 29, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book reads like a novel but is the story of the struggle of the Polish people against the German war machine. Centered around a family that runs a zoo and shelters Jews fleeing from the Aryan mania it can be at times very distressing but also very uplifting. I bought this book for my daughter-in-law whose mother is Polish and because she was a Catholic she was swept up by the Nazi machine and incarcerated in one of their 'work' camps. I thought the book would shed light on her mother's suffering and struggles.
fantastic book August 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Diane Ackerman writes a fantastic book about the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo during ww2. Yes, there are many holocaust books out there, but this one is pretty amazing. These are people who didn't have to do anything at all during the war if they didn't want to. They chose to put their lives at stake to help over 300 people escape the nazi's during the war. There are parts that are very hard to read, and parts that are very uplifting.
Great book. Plus now I want a badger for a pet.
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