From the Bookshelf of Topeka & Shawnee Co. Public Library…

The Zookeeper's Wife

Diane Ackerman

Start date: August 29, 2011

Finish date: September 25, 2011

Discussion: So Many Books, So Little Time

Discussion leader: Deb

Why we're reading this: This is the September book for the So Many Books discussion group. Our meeting is Sept. 25 @ 3pm at the L…more
[close] This is the September book for the So Many Books discussion group. Our meeting is Sept. 25 @ 3pm at the Library.
he true story of how the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw--and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Żabiński began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Żabińskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants--otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes--and keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her.--From publisher description.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 10 topics — 37 comments total

So Many Books, So Little Time

My review of Wild
By Deb · 3 posts · 10 views

last updated Mar 07, 2016 08:02AM

These Things Hidden - A quick review
By Deb · 2 posts · 13 views

last updated Sep 02, 2015 07:48AM

What Members Thought

Jun 10, 2014 Jenee Rager rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, historical

A few years ago I won a book called "Issac's Army" from goodreads. It was the first time I'd really learned anything about the Polish resistance during WWII, and since that time I have tried to get my hands on anything about that topic, which is how I came across this book. I have loved every one of the other books I've read up until this one. Despite the amazing description on the back cover, and what to me is a totally intriguing tale, this book is pretty boring. I feel that it leaves more que ...more

Like · see review

Mar 04, 2015 Shirley rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

I thought this book was going to be a novel so I wasn't expecting the non-fiction essay form. It was a lot of information on a lot of people in addition to the zookeepers. That made it hard to follow as tangents were frequently explored with additional information on the Warsaw ghetto, Warsaw uprising, etc. It was still readable though. ...more

Like · see review

Dec 14, 2011 Tricia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, 2011

I listened to the audio version.

I really liked this book. While it was depressing because it was about the war, it also had a theme of hope and survival, and that life is bigger than we are individually.

Like · see review

Jan 09, 2012 Melanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

This was a selection for my book club. I might have enjoyed this more if I had not read two previous books on WWII including "A Good War" by Studs Terkel which contain first hand accounts. The Zookeeper's Wife does tell a story that I don't think many people had heard before about Poland, and shows that ordinary people did try to hinder Germans and save as many Jewish people that they could. However, Ackerman does jump into modern day to prove her points. I didn't really feel this was a biograph ...more

Like · see review

Jan 07, 2017 May rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had never before considered what happened to the zoos of war-torn Europe. The authors brings together historical facts of WWII along with zoological facts for an interesting look at how the zoo animals likely helped save the lives of their keepers during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw.

Like · see review