The Best of Gerald Durrell - Hardcover

Durrell, Lee

4.31

112 ratings by Goodreads

9780002556972: The Best of Gerald Durrell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002556979 ISBN 13: 9780002556972

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1996

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An irresistible collection of the very best of Gerald Durrell’s writings, selected by his wife Lee Durrell.

Many people’s introduction to Gerald Durrell was My Family and Other Animals, the glorious description of his childhood in Corfu, full of sunshine, humour and sheer delight in discovering the natural world and the animals inhabiting it.
Durrell saw, earlier than most, the threats to the animal kingdom of human ignorance and greed, and spent the rest of his life contributing in every way he could to the conservation struggle. By the time he died in 1995 he had written nearly forty books, amusing countless readers and
inspiring them to join the fight to prevent the despoiling of the natural environment and its creatures.
Lee Durrell, his wife, became as engrossed as he in the preservation of wildlife, and for The Best of Gerald Durrell she has chosen the most evocative, quirky, engaging and humorous of his writings to give a wonderful picture of how his extraordinary life unfolded. Starting with his early naturalist days and the rapid development of his passion for animals, this irresistible anthology guides us through his
collecting trips to such places as Cameroon, Argentina and Madagascar, his growing concern about the nature of zoos, the emergence of his conservation plans, and the realization of his lifelong dream – a zoo of his own – and how it became a model for the future.
Durrell’s enviable ability to tell a good story and his unrivalled, acutely perceptive and utterly delightful observations of both animals and the human species made him one of our most consistently popular and entertaining authors. This lavishly illustrated collection brings together the best of his writings, and serves as a glowing testimony to one of the animal world’s most famous champions.

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Review:

‘Lee Durrell has distilled an intoxicating miniature of a man who, when the history of our times slots into final place, will be judged among the greats.’ Mail on Sunday

‘Hilarious, serious, provocative, informative and moving.’ New Scientist

From the Back Cover:

Many people’s introduction to Gerald Durrell was 'My Family and Other Animals', the glorious description of his childhood in Corfu, full of sunshine, humour and sheer delight in discovering the natural world and the animals inhabiting it.

Durrell spent the rest of his life contributing in every way he could to the conservation struggle. Lee Durrell, his widow, has chosen the most evocative, quirky, engaging and humorous of his writings to give a wonderful picture of how his life unfolded.

Starting with his early naturalist days and the rapid development of his passion for animals, this irresistible anthology guides us through his collecting trips round the world, the emergence of his conservation plans, and the realization of his lifelong dream – a zoo of his own. We share the eating habits of a dormouse called Esmerelda, engage in the mating procedures of the trapdoor spider, and watch him tame a vicious wild cat using a domestic kitten.

Durrell’s enviable ability to tell a good story and his acutely perceptive observations of both animals and the human species are unrivalled. This lavishly illustrated collection shows us Durrell at his best, and serves as a glowing testimony to one of the animal world’s most famous champions.

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