A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion

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A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion

by Anthony Bourke, John Rendall, George Adamson (Foreword)

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 2,524 ratings · 361 reviews

In 2008 an extraordinary two-minute film clip appeared on YouTube and immediately became an international phenomenon. It captures the moving reunion of two young men and their pet lion Christian, after they had left him in Africa with Born Free’s George Adamson to introduce him into his rightful home in the wild.

A Lion Called Christian tells the remarkable story of how Ant...more

Hardcover, 226 pages

Published March 10th 2009 by Broadway (first published January 1st 1971)

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Apr 05, 2009 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks

Not quite what I was expecting. This book was originally published in 1971, which I didn't discover until after I started listening to it. This tells the tale leading up to the infamous YouTube video of a lion embracing the men who raised him when they are reunited in Africa. I had thought this reunion came after quite some time, since the video just surfaced. I was quite disappointed to discover that Ace and John had gone to see Christian only a year after leaving him in Africa. For a true stor...more

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Mar 20, 2009 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, read-in-2009

Many months ago I found myself inextricably bawling over the video of Christian the lion. I had heard about it, and just figured it was another viral email until I saw a clip of it on TV. I had no idea why I was crying...it was just one of those moments that seemed so huge- so far beyond what we're able to experience in society, that it HAD to move you to tears.

It didn't help that I was already deeply interested in unique human-animal interactions. The story of Timothy Treadwell ("Grizzly Man")...more

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Feb 19, 2008 Lenje rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is to become another treasured book, as I got the used, first printing copy. And I was fortunate to obtain it for a cheap price from a not-so-popular website, only US$ 26 plus shipping from the UK. Had I ordered it from Amazone, the precisely similar copy would've cost me not less than US$ 78, not included shipment.

I knew about Christian the lion firstly from YouTube. Later on I learned about the fascinating life his previous owners had with him, before he became too large for them to keep...more

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Mar 22, 2009 Barbara Kramer rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you love animals, you will love this book. If you have watched the reunion story on YouTube, you will love this book. Christian was a remarkable lion. For being born in captivity from generations of zoo lions the delightful cub was raised with love until he was able to be sent to Kenya to spend his life as a "wild" lion. The fact that he was able to act and react to other lions appropriately shows how much instinct there is and the fact that he was able to act and react to humans appropriatel...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Ryan Holiday rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'll write this from a slightly different perspective. Everyone who has seen and enjoyed the video (but didn't cry or weep or have some other strange reaction) is probably wondering: ok, but is the book any good?

The answer is yes. It is well organized, fun, interesting and wonderfully written. Rendall and Rourke are also surprisingly self-aware. They admit numerous times that owning a lion was a dangerous, one-in-a-lifetime decision that they were lucky to escape positively.

Their story is one th...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Den rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, true

I read the original book many years ago but thought my daughter might like the account of Christian's life in London and Africa, but she didn't even get past the first page. Nevertheless I enjoyed the story again. I had totally missed the YouTube sensation as we weren't in the country at the time and life that year for me was pretty hectic.
Basically it is a story - true account of how two Australians buy a lion cub from Harrods in 1969. They spent a few enjoyable months in London together befor...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. A story of two friends in 1970's London who bought a lion cub from Herrods department store. It tells of how they raised him for about a year until he was too large to and they had to figure out a different life for him. A chance encounter with the stars of the then popular movie "Born Free" led them to meet the man who helped rehabilitate the lioness Elsa that the movie was about.

The friends, Ace and John, traveled to Africa with Christian to meet the man that would...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-picture-books, nature-animals

This is a picture book version of the "Christian the Lion" story that most people are probably familiar with thanks to the famous YouTube video that sent Kleenex sales skyrocketing.

I think the book succeeds at what it does. It presents a very abbreviated version of Christian's story, from his early days at the zoo to his time spent in a cage at Harrods (oh, for shame, Harrods! And here I had always thought of you rather fondly) to being "adopted" by Ace and John and going to live with them and...more

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Jul 20, 2009 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some of you may be familiar with this story since it was all the rage on YouTube a few months ago.

The story started when Ace Bourke and John Rendell came to London from their native Australia in 1969. While there, they were Harrods Department Store doing some shopping when they saw that a pair of lions were on sale. They decided to buy one before bringing him home to an apartment they had above a furniture store in which they were staying. They called the lion Christian, and thus started their t...more

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May 17, 2009 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Lion Called Christian is the true story of a lion whom two young Australian men purchahsed from Harrods Department Store in 1969, kept as a roommate for a while in London, and then rehabilitated and returned to the wild in Kenya in 1971.

Young and footloose travelers in 1969, Anthony Bourke and John Rendall bought the lion almost on a lark. The truth is, they gave it some though and spent time visiting the creature in the zoo section of the department store (back in the day when nobody thought...more A Lion Called Christian is the true story of a lion whom two young Australian men purchahsed from Harrods Department Store in 1969, kept as a roommate for a while in London, and then rehabilitated and returned to the wild in Kenya in 1971.

Young and footloose travelers in 1969, Anthony Bourke and John Rendall bought the lion almost on a lark. The truth is, they gave it some though and spent time visiting the creature in the zoo section of the department store (back in the day when nobody thought twice about trading in exotic animals). They also thought they could give it a better life than it might otherwise have if it were purchased and confined to a cage in a zoo.

For as long as they could, they kept Christian in their home and in Sophisticat, the antiques store where they worked. For quite some time, Christian was good for business. He brought in business as well as gawkers. He was a cheerful, loving, fun animal--almost more dog than cat though he was most supremely a king cat.

As Christian grew and his need for more space and more food and more exercise grew, his friends quite by chance hooked up with George Adamson, who was at the time trying to establish a pride of rehabilitated lions in Kenya. Adamson agreed to take on Christian. Many months would roll by before Christian would touch Kenyan soil, but he would return to the land of his forebears and successfully integrate himself there. He would make friends among his own kind and lose them in the unforgiving wilderness.

In 1971, when Bourke and Rendall returned to Kenya to see their former flatmate, they would be greeted by a thriving lion who learned to live in the wild without forgetting that he had once been a housepet fed a steady diet of teddy bears.

When the men would return a year later, their friend would remember them, though another year in the wild would put him at another remove from his teddy bear days.

Eventually, the men would lose track of Christian. So it goes.

Christians early life and his rehabilitation to the wild made him a much filmed and photographed celebrity. He was the subject of a movie, documentary, news stories, and photographic essays. A Lion Called Christian first appeared in print in 1971; the 2009 version is not a reprint but a revision following the meteoric popularity of an archival film clip recounting the 1971 reunion of man and feline friend. YouTube created the platform for the book.

Christian finds his place in the wildnerness, but so do Bourke and Rendall. This book is a profound statement about the nature of love: it is not exclusively a human feeling or experience. It is also a profound statement about our place in nature: we have a place there if we have a heart for it.

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Mar 26, 2010 Fiona rated it 2 of 5 stars

I apologize for generalizations in this review; I read the book a while ago and I have no interest in picking it up again to get quotes.

This is one of the very few books I've read that I both could not put down and wanted frequently to throw against the wall.

I couldn't stop reading because it's exactly the kind of story I enjoy: a unique non-fiction animal story. I saw the YouTube video of Christian and wanted to know more, and the book works very well when it's about Christian and his story....more I apologize for generalizations in this review; I read the book a while ago and I have no interest in picking it up again to get quotes.

This is one of the very few books I've read that I both could not put down and wanted frequently to throw against the wall.

I couldn't stop reading because it's exactly the kind of story I enjoy: a unique non-fiction animal story. I saw the YouTube video of Christian and wanted to know more, and the book works very well when it's about Christian and his story. I absolutely adored the lion throughout the book, and it was wonderful to read about him gaining his freedom. (There are also some very nice pictures of Christian as a young lion living in captivity and from after he was freed.)

Where the book fails when it talks about things not directly relating to the story of Christian. I recall quite a few mistakes, the biggest being the following:
The author cites as proof for the wrongness of using big cats, bears and other wild animals in circuses and stage shows the incident during a Sigfried&Roy show when Roy Horn was near-fatally bitten by one of his tigers. Bourke calls it an "attack" when we know now the reality was more complicated and while it certainly brought home the danger of working with large wild animals, it seems far more likely the tiger did not injure Horn out of aggression. (To quote the page linked above: "Most experts on big cats agree that had Montecore intended to harm Roy, he would have grabbed him by the neck and shaken him, snapping his neck instantly.")
I do not disagree with the idea of keeping wild animals out of such shows--in fact, I strongly agree. But far from a well thought out argument on the issue, or even a brief expression of the author's opinion, this was just a cheap shot that perpetuated a simplified and downright wrong understanding of a single incident.
One wonders why an author and editor would release (or in this case, release an updated version) of a book without checking their facts.

I would have enjoyed the book far more if it had stuck firmly to Christian's story. IMHO, if you really want to learn about the lion from that YouTube clip ~~that made you cry~~, get this at the library. Or, if you live near me, I know you can find at least one copy a certain used book store.... ;)
If you want to read a far better book about big cats in captivity from someone with much wider experience, I very much enjoyed Part of the Pride: My Life Among the Big Cats of Africa. It is far and away a better book on all fronts. (less)

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May 16, 2013 Teresa Gabriel rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Book was about a two men that lived in London and bought a Lion. They lived with the Lion in their apartment and built kind of a relationship with him. Then when he became older and bigger they had to give him up for Africa. A year later they went to Africa to visit him and he actually recognized them and he knew who they were. The point of the story is the relationship between two men and a lion what seems pretty incredible.
The book wasn’t made into a movie but a short documentary. I have n...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Maxine rated it 5 of 5 stars

the book A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lionis a true story about an unlikely friendship between two men and lion. This book its about these friends who decide to raise a lion in the middle of England. They named the lion Christian and he was surprisingly very gentle. Throughout the first few months of his life Christian enjoyed the environment he was in until he grew to about 200 pounds. Ace and John (the men that adopted him) contacted...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Kirsti rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was my second time reading 'A Lion called Christian' and it was just as good the second time around. I love animal stories of all kinds, and Christian's story is unique in the animal kingdom. George Adamson was unique amongst his generation, unique with his beliefs and actions. Anthony Bourke and John Rendall experienced something few humans ever can with Christian, to see an animal so driven by instincts caring for the two men is something so beautiful, so perfect, it's hard to describe.

I...more

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Feb 10, 2011 Raghu rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an endearing book on the improbable story of a couple of long-haired, bell-bottom-wearing Australians in the late 1960s, buying a three-month old lion cub from the departmental store 'Harrods' in London and the subsequent life of the three of them till they successfully rehabilitate the grown up cub in the northern plains of Kenya. I saw the superb one-hour Documentary under the same title about a year ago and was so captivated by it that I watched it again and again many times. Then, a...more This is an endearing book on the improbable story of a couple of long-haired, bell-bottom-wearing Australians in the late 1960s, buying a three-month old lion cub from the departmental store 'Harrods' in London and the subsequent life of the three of them till they successfully rehabilitate the grown up cub in the northern plains of Kenya. I saw the superb one-hour Documentary under the same title about a year ago and was so captivated by it that I watched it again and again many times. Then, a friend of mine suggested that I buy the book as well because it is even better. I guess he might have read the book first and seen the movie later. For me, the movie experience was as wonderful, if not better, than the book.
'Ace' Bourke and John Rendall wander into the 'Harrods' store sometime in 1969 and on a whim, decide to buy a lion cub they see. They bring it 'home' to their small apartment in Chelsea in suburban London and name it Christian. The cub was barely three months old when they buy it but being a lion cub, starts growing quickly. Within six to eight months, the loving owners start feverishly looking for a 'good life' for Christian away from the cramped apartment. They feel that giving him to a zoo would be gross betrayal of Christian's faith in them after the relatively 'free' existence he led with the boys. Giving him to a circus was unthinkable obviously. Ace and John agonise over Christian's future when suddenly, they get an offer from George Adamson of the 'Born Free' fame, to try and rehabilitate Christian in northern Kenya with his own pride of lions. The rest of the book is about how Christian goes to Kenya and how eventually he is rehabilitated and enjoys freedom in Kenya. One of the wonderful moments in the story occurs when Ace and John go back to Kenya a year after leaving Christian. They go looking for Christian in the northern plains with George Adamson and call out to Christian. Even after a whole year's absence, the lion comes bounding up to them and greets them lovingly. It is wonderful to see such affection between the three of them.
Ace and John are conscious of the importance of departmental stores not selling exotic 'pets' like Christian because it will only encourage paochers in trapping animals and selling them to stores.
I hope this book and the film make people realize how much the animals are like us in love and affection. It is easy to appreciate such feelings in splendid, exotic animals like the lion and the elephant or the dolphin or even the cat and dog. In Western culture, similar benefit is not given to 'dumb' animals like the cow or the goat or the chicken. But families which rear cattle like cows and buffaloes, know very well that they too show great love and affection towards the family members of their household. I hope this book will let people develop compassion towards all animals, birds and reptiles in the same way one feels for exotic animals like Christian.
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Oct 25, 2012 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, biography-memoirs, bookcrossing-com, nonfiction

This is the true story of of Christian, his owners, his life as a lion growing up in London, England (as a resident in a chic boutique) and the events leading up to his release into the wilds of Africa. You may remember Christian from the famous video when he lovingly greeted his former owners after being in the wilds for over a year. This is a wonderful, heartwarming and amazing story. As I listened to this, I often found myself thinking of a family from my own hometown who had a young pet Afri...more

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May 03, 2010 Tammie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all animal lovers!

How can you not read & love this book with the adorable lion cub on the cover!!! Very enjoyable and a nice relaxing read. The pictures really help to give you a visual along with the written word of the growing feline. I had seen the video on YouTube long before I even knew of the book and everytime I saw it love & compassion between this animal and the humans that raised him just pulled at my heart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNTdW...
You want to be pissed at the people for buying a...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Annette rated it 3 of 5 stars

The sweet, moving, incredibly memorable true story of Christian the Lion - his life with two humans, Ace and John and their quest to return him to the wild. Ace & John purchased Christian from Harrod's Department store in London and lived with him for a few months while working on how to return this loveable and affectionate lion to his natural habitat.

You can't help but fall in love with Christian. This isn't a Marley the dog story - this is more of a story where you are rooting for Christ...more

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Jun 05, 2009 Rachelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Earlier this year my mom showed me a video clip of the reunion of Christian and his prior caretakers. If you haven't seen it, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNTdW...

When I found out that there was a book about their experiences, I knew I had to read it. It is a great book and only takes about two hours to read.

I was impressed with how much they cared about Christian's well-being. Right from the very beginning they knew that they would not be able to keep him long and that they we...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Nichole rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is awesome. The authors are necessarily writers, as much as just the two men who raised Christian for almost a year, who wanted to share the story of the lion. But they did a great job, it was a smooth read, and they never went off topic into information that had nothing to do with the story. Christian the Lion is so cute. A total mini Simba, that spent its first 8 months in London and then becomes a new King of Africa in order to avoid ending up in a zoo. It's a great story and it's w...more

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Mar 31, 2009 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: animals, nonfiction

This actually gets a 2.65 in my book. : ) The story is intriguing -- Christian, the lion is born in England and sold to Harrods Department Store. Two young Australians visiting London, Ace and Jack, buy him on a whim. They raise him for several months, taking him for regular exercise at a nearby church's yard (and asking the minister to refrain from telling Christian the story about lions eating Christians as it would cause an identity crisis). Finally, Christian becomes too big for London, and...more

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Apr 20, 2009 Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2009

This was a really quick read, but one that will definitely stay with me for a long time.
The first time I watched the video of Christian, I sat in front of the computer crying watching it over and over again I knew then that I had to know more about this amazing story.
"A Lion Called Christian" not only tells the amazing story of two friends who bought a lion in a London department store, but it also addresses the important issue of animal conservation, and animals being forced into captivity.
Th...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Jakki rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Animal lovers

Shelves: true-stories

I LOVED this unbelievable true story. Two very "hip" young men from London "adopted" a 4 month old lion, named him "Christian" (after Christians killed by lions in Roman times and lived together in their apartment! Super photos and a WONDERFUL love story. Christian later released into Africa's wild.

What was very disturbing was the fact this potentially very dangerous animal was living in a city apartment and in reality these young men were idiots and animal abusers! It's fortunate that Christian...more

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May 06, 2013 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

A bit of a culture shock, really. I know the 60-70's weren't that long ago, but it's still surprising to see how far animal rights have come. The pictures were fantastic, but I wish they had been printed in color (presuming they were taken with a color camera). I would have loved to see some comparison shots of when he was little vs. full grown.

All in all these people in this book are amazing people and managed to accomplish an amazing feat. I'm not sure how easy it would be today for a civilia...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Angie Stockton rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, non-fiction, memoir, cat-related, reviewed

Poorly written and boring in most places. The thing that kept me going was wanting to know what happened to Christian, and I felt very disappointed that they lost track of him. After all the things leading up to the reunion, I thought for sure there would be more information on Christian in the wild. I also thought that the reunion was years later, not one year. It's disappointing because I would have expected this reunion to be years later and show that Christian had the ability to still rememb...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Andrea rated it 2 of 5 stars

This wasn't a remarkably well written book, but I enjoyed it for the simple fact that I have always loved animal books.

As a kid I remember going through a whole string of equally as unimaginatively named true animal stories such as A Seal Called Andre, Rascal, and That Quail, Robert. There is just something amazing to me about human relationships with wild animals. As an adult, some of my recent other animal reads include Modoc (Elephant) and Zamba (Lion).

A Lion Called Christian was originally...more

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Jul 31, 2009 Louis rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read "Born Free" when I was in grade school and it made a big impact on me. Imagine my surprise to discover that around the same time these 2 friends were involved with a lion in England. The '60's setting in London increased my interest as did the reunion story. This book has been republished after the video of the reunion between Christian and his past owners was posted on YouTube. I then watched a special on Animal Planet about this story. To read more about George and Elsa Adamson, who wer...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Shana rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Animal lovers

Shelves: animal-stories

My sister is the first one who told me about this story of two Aussies traveling in London who decide to buy a Lion cub from Harrod's. I was like "WHAT??? You're making this up, right?" But of course, she was not. Two Aussie travelers had actually decided to buy a Lion cub at Harrod's. (Those crazy Aussies...what will we do with them...) This book recounts the journey of the two young Lion owners and their new pet. Owning Christian also opens the young men's eyes to some of the issues of animal...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, non-fiction

The book was written about two Australian men that moved to London after University like so many before them. They left behind their inhibitions and worries. Not being site seers by nature they visited Harrods Department store. This is where their lives change dramatically! This is the story of Christian the Lion. How he came to be called Christian and where he ends up. It is a heartwarming story that makes you understand that humans are the caretakers of all God's creatures and the earth along...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Paula rated it 5 of 5 stars

I very much enjoyed this book. Even though it was written in the 70's (which I knew) I was not disappointed. This book has been brought up to date with some information on what has happened to other people in the book.

I thought it was wonderful that Ace and John after buying Christian from Harrod's on a whim, realized that they would not be able to keep him forever and did not want to see him end up in a zoo. They did all they could to return Christian to the life for which he was intended with...more

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It has been a busy year for Ace Bourke, co-author of A Lion Called Christian, who graduated with a Masters of Arts from the University of Wollongong this week.

His MA(R), titled Family Footprints: Tracing the Past in the Present through Curatorial Autobiographical Practice, examines a new form of "autobiographical" curatorship that evolved from three major museum exhibitions he has staged over the...more

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“I felt confident that his inherited knowledge and instincts would soon assert themselves, given the chance, and in spite of his [lion] breeding. I must admit that I did not feel the same confidence about his two owners, when I heard they would accompany Christian [lion] and stay a few weeks at my camp. I was lead to believe they were very 'mod' with long hair and exotic clothing.” — 2 people liked it

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