Zoo Keepers

A true story--as powerful as "Schindler's List"--in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.

A simple introduction to the clothing, tools, schooling, and work of zoo keepers.

The unbelievable true story of the Cold War’s strangest proxy war, fought between the zoos on either side of the Berlin Wall. “The liveliness of Mohnhaupt’s storytelling and the wonderful eccentricity of his subject matter make this book well worth a read.” —Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Living in West Berlin in the 1960s often felt like living in a zoo, everyone packed together behind a wall, with the world always watching. On the other side of the Iron Curtain, East Berlin and its zoo were spacious and lush, socialist utopias where everything was perfectly planned... and then rarely completed. Berlin’s two zoos in East and West quickly became symbols of the divided city’s two halves. So no one was terribly surprised when the head zookeepers on either side started an animal arms race—rather than stockpiling nuclear warheads, they competed to have the most pandas and hippos. Soon, state funds were being diverted toward giving these new animals lavish welcomes worthy of visiting dignitaries. West German presidential candidates were talking about zoo policy on the campaign trail. And eventually politicians on both side of the Wall became convinced that if their zoo proved to be inferior, that would mean their country’s whole ideology was too. A quirky piece of Cold War history unlike anything you’ve heard before, The Zookeepers’ War is an epic tale of desperate rivalries, human follies, and an animal-mad city in which zookeeping became a way of continuing politics by other means.

The movie The Zookeeper’s Wife, based on the New York Times bestselling book, opens March 2017. 1939: the Germans have invaded Poland. The keepers of the Warsaw zoo, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, survive the bombardment of the city, only to see the occupiers ruthlessly kill many of their animals. The Nazis then carry off the prized specimens to Berlin for their program to create the “purest” breeds, much as they saw themselves as the purest human race. Opposed to all the Nazis represented, the Zabinskis risked their lives by hiding Jews in the now-empty animal cages, saving as many as three hundred people from extermination. Acclaimed, best-selling author Diane Ackerman, fascinated both by the Zabinskis’ courage and by Antonina’s incredible sensitivity to all living beings, tells a moving and dramatic story of the power of empathy and the strength of love. A Focus Features release, it is directed by Niki Caro, written by Angela Workman.

Imagine feeding a hungry tiger or trimming an elephant's toenails! This dynamic title gives readers an up-close, out-of-this-world look at zookeepers. Inviting, easy-to-read text pairs with oversized, action-packed photos and Fact Alert boxes to reveal what it's like to work as a zookeeper, including daily tasks, unique challenges, and the special gear and tools used. Readers will also learn about the history of zookeepers, safety methods, and required education and experience. This book concludes with ways for readers to explore the work of a zookeeper, leaving them with a lasting look at this extreme job! A table of contents, a glossary with phonetic spellings, and an index are included. Big Buddy Books is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Zookeeper’s Wife tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Diane Ackerman’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Zookeeper’s Wife includes: Historical context Chapter-by-chapter overviews Profiles of the main characters Detailed timeline of key events Important quotes Fascinating trivia Glossary of terms Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman: The Zookeeper’s Wife is the story of two unsung heroes of World War II: Jan and Antonina Żabiński, Polish zookeepers who risked their lives to rescue Jews from death at the hands of the Nazis. The heroic couple hid more than three hundred fugitives in their home and in the empty animal cages of the Warsaw Zoo. Diane Ackerman vividly evokes the extreme brutality and heroism that defined WWII-era Poland. The Zookeeper’s Wife is a testament to the bravery of those who resisted tyranny through radical compassion. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.

A New York Times Bestseller Diane Ackerman is justly celebrated for her unique insight into the natural world and our place in it. In this landmark book, she confronts the unprecedented reality that one prodigiously intelligent and meddlesome creature, Homo sapiens, is now the dominant force shaping the future of planet Earth. Humans have “subdued 75 percent of the land surface, concocted a wizardry of industrial and medical marvels, strung lights all across the darkness.” We tinker with nature at every opportunity; we garden the planet with our preferred species of plants and animals, many of them invasive; and we have even altered the climate, threatening our own extinction. Yet we reckon with our own destructive capabilities in extraordinary acts of hope-filled creativity: we collect the DNA of vanishing species in a “frozen ark,” equip orangutans with iPads and create wearable technologies and synthetic species that might one day outsmart us. With her distinctive gift for making scientific discovery intelligible to the layperson, Ackerman takes us on an exhilarating journey through our new reality, introducing us to many of the people and ideas now creating—perhaps saving—our future and that of our fellow creatures. A beguiling, optimistic engagement with the changes affecting every part of our lives, The Human Age is a wise and beautiful book that will astound, delight and inform intelligent life for a long time to come. “The Human Age is a dazzling achievement: immensely readable, lively, polymathic, audacious.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW