My Wild Kingdom

by Marlon Perkins

The eminent animal expert and television host describes his adventures with varied wildlife on expeditions throughout the world and undersea

Genres: Autobiography

264 pages, Hardcover

First published November 23, 1982

Reviews

[Lora]

Enjoyable on many levels, especially for readers who remember the beloved tv show.
Perkins can write in incredible detail...when he wants to. Camera equipment, flights around the world, shark descriptions. But when he mentions some baby animal bought off villagers... gee, that strangely orphaned chimp or elephant suddenly just became available.
Anyway, great descriptions in loosely organized chapters reflecting the conservation efforts of the time. Descriptions of how to read and date snow prints, laplander events, islands around the world, and beautiful Africa. Mentions of Edmund Hillary, Jane Goodall, and even one of Jacques Cousteau.
I love the expansion from teen boy catching grass snakes to man diving with sharks and studying komodo dragons.

[Dennis O'Daniel]

Enjoyable read since I grew up watching the program

[Joyce Morris]

The writing is adequate but for someone who grew up on Wild Kingdom, it was a wonderful read.

[Joe Maruca]

If you grew up watching Marlon Perkins and Wild Kingdom, you'll enjoy this book.

[James]

My Wild Kingdom is the autobiography of former Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom host (and Lincoln Park Zoo director) Marlin Perkins. The narrative is linear, starting with his Missouri boyhood and moving on to far-flung expeditions scuba diving with sharks and snowmobiling alongside reindeer migrations.

The early parts are compelling, as Perkins remembers a pre-Depression childhood, conjuring an era and setting that still carry a whiff of the frontier. He works his way across the country, starting his career with animals by dropping out of college to take a job at the St. Louis Zoo.

As a narrator, Perkins is confident and straightforward, offering recollection without much reflection. His lifelong love of animals--particularly snakes--is tempered with a blunt collector's approach that can seem exploitative today. While the book bogs down a bit at the close with details of filming Wild Kingdom, he remains intriguing and approachable throughout, particularly for fans of animals.

[TM]

I enjoyed parts and trudged through parts. The history and stories about animals are fascinating. Stories are told in chronological order but often there isn't a link to the previous story, so the book feels disjointed somehow. Nature and animal lovers will like this book. But I wouldn't recommend it as a good read otherwise.

[Cws]

590.92

[Michael Garreffa`]

Great Autobiography....