This story (this audio book) had such promise -- the setting, the war, the animals. But it was so disappointing. I couldn't keep my mind on it. Sometimes it seemed like a textbook on how to feed certain types of zoo animals. And I wondered -- Where's the tension? Where's the drama? I must have finished the book, because it's on my "have read" list. But can't recall. Sigh. ( )

I learned a tremendous amount of facts concerning the effects of the war on Poland. I had never given any consideration to the fact that the Nazi's looked down on the Polish people or to the war's influence on animal life. ( )

I picked this up at a library book sale. I'd heard a lot about it, but (as I do) had resisted reading it when it was a bestseller and the topic of universal raves. I was also familiar with the author, but as a poet, not a historian.

The topic is interesting: On the eve of World War II, Antonina and Jan own and run the Warsaw Zoo. The zoo is bombed by the Nazis, many of the animals die, and the couple create a haven for Jews to hide in the empty buildings and maintenance tunnels beneath the zoo. As Jan works for the Polish underground, Antonina struggles to run the safe house, raise her children, feed all the people, and keep it all hidden from the patrolling Germans.

The story is dramatic and heroic, ordinary people doing extraordinary things in a time of immense danger and privation. Rings all my bells. But what disappointed me was the prose. It's very straightforward and matter of fact. Even stilted in some places. I expected more from a poet, honestly. I get that this is non-fiction, but that doesn't mean you can't have compelling prose.

Despite this issue, I still enjoyed the story and marveled anew at humanity's capacity for extremes of both brutality and grace. I also learned some things about zookeeping and exotic animal breeding. ( )

I have nothing untoward to say about this book, it was certainly well-written and incredibly well-researched, but it missed the mark for me. I believe it was a difficult subject, to write a book about an unpublished journal that isn’t yours, but I expected more. I wanted less detail - which is an odd thing to want in a book. If there is such a thing, I was inundated with too much minutia about everything. Praises for Ms. Ackerman, just not my style of book; the real and only reason for a lesser star review. ( )

I always enjoy Ackerman's book, and this one even more than many of her others. There was less of the author herself permeating the pages the characters and story were allowed to take center stage ( )

Antonina Zabinski loved living and working at the Warsaw Zoo. Described as a housewife, a mother, and a zookeeper, Antonina's magical life in the Warsaw Zoo was everything she dreamed of until the Germans invaded Poland in 1939.

As fear descended upon Poland, Antonina’s husband, Jan, couldn’t let people or animals suffer and wanted to help as many Jews as possible. Together, the couple devised a plan using the zoo as camouflage to hide people.

Overseeing daily life at the zoo was Antonina’s job. A woman of opposites: empathy and bravery, innocence and fierce protector, Antonina kept their Guests hidden and safe. She never revealed her fears or made anyone feel unworthy. Remarkably courageous and dedicated, Antonina wove a web of lies and managed to keep everyone fed.

As they confronted many challenges along the way, the Zabinskis were a bright light in the darkness of war.

The Bottom Line: What makes this book different from some other books about the Holocaust is the focus on compassion and self-sacrifice. The Zabinski family were in a special position to help others despite the personal risks involved.

For the complete review including Book Club Notes, please visit the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.
As a naturalist, author Diane Ackerman brings an unique perspective to her writing, which helps her convey relationships between organisms and their environment. Besides telling the story of the Zabinski family and their heroic actions, this book also includes the stories about other historical figures during that time.

Highly recommended as significant reading for those interested in understanding history, war, human behavior, and animal behavior. ( )

This is one of those gems that I would never had known about were it not for a wonderful online book club. I love stories like this: about the smaller-scale heroes of WWII. Regular people who did what they could in the face of extraordinary evil. It's a story that serves to be known and I enjoyed it immensely. ( )

I thought the story was very moving and that the Zabinskis where very interseting people. I realize it is a true story but I wish it were written a little bit more like a novel and less like a History book. I would have liked to have heard more about this incredible family and the inhabitants of the villa rather than the events of the war, but at the end of the day I'm glad I read it. ( )

After watching the movie, which I thought was excellent, I read the book, which I also thought was excellent, but not exactly what I thought it was going to be....just another historical novel.

This is actually a true story of the life of Jan Zabinski and his wife, Antonina, written from the author's point of view, using Jan and Antonina's journals during World War II. It is evident that God must have placed them in just the right place to be able to hide and save hundreds of Jews from death. They also had the right temperament to pull it off.

A lot of research went into their story as the author seamlessly intertwined quotes from their journals and at the same time adding other stories in Warsaw as they unfolded. She also captured the family's love of animals so well. She personalized and gave life to this writing. You will even find a few family photos of Jan & Antonina. She did describe quite a few photos in the story that she had seen but weren't included in the book. I wonder where we can find those photos? If only all history could be told in this manner.

At the end of the book, the author lets you know what happens to Jan and Antonina, and her family, as well as a few other people, after the war. She was also able to travel back to Warsaw and see some of the damage that still remains today, and writes of how they have progressed in building back the city and capital of Poland. ( )

The full title of this book is The Zoo Keeper's Wife ( A War Story). The first part of the title is well in keeping with the kind of subject matter that has made me a long time favorite of Diane Ackerman. This is a true account of Jan & Antonia Zabinsky keepers of the Warsaw Zoo before Hitler and the Nazis invaded Poland. Once the invasion takes place the zoo is destroyed and most of the animals are either killed outright or shipped to German Zoos. The few remaining animals become household pets of the Zabinsky's villa which turns into a safe house for members of the Warsaw resistance. Ironically,with the horrific depravity of the War waging outside the zoo gates, taking care of the remaining animals is one of the few ways in which the characters are able to maintain their humanity.
The book went back & forth from the relative calmness of life at the zoo, to the horrors facing the people of the Warsaw ghetto.
And this is where I had a problem with the book. It's like Ackerman couldn't decide on whether she wanted to write a serious account of the Warsaw ghetto or a light and airy treatise on the antics of the animals inhabiting the Zabinsky villa. I often felt that the harrowing depictions of The Warsaw Ghetto immediately followed by some amusing anecdote about a tipsy hamster or a bunch crumb eating parakeets, trivialized what happened in the ghetto. ( )

2.5 stars. I listened to the audiobook. It took me some time to figure out that when the reader slipped into accented English, she was narrating a direct quote from Antonina Zabinski's journals. This was a bit distracting. Overall, I'm sure the Zabinski's role in harboring Jews at their Zoo property was heroic and fascinating, but this book did not make their story vivid or bring it to life in any way. ( )

True story of Jan and Antonina Żabiński, the zookeeper and his wife, and how they saved hundreds of Jews during WWII in Warsaw. Themes include compassionate heroism, the human-animal connection, and the many ways to resist oppression. The author uses descriptive and poetic language to depict the scenes. I believe she was trying to relate the entirety of life in Warsaw at the time, not solely focusing on the specific story of Antonina her family. The narrative was interspersed with facts about the times in a mix of journalistic and novelistic prose. I learned a lot about the Polish Underground, entomology, animal behaviors, coping mechanisms for constant peril, and much more. I knew, of course, about the Nazi obsession with “pure Aryan” people but was previously unaware that the same fanaticism extended to animals and plants. I have read many true and fictional stories about WWII, and this book is a welcome addition to the canon, telling of a previously little-known resistance effort. It is a heroic story of people who had the courage to practice human decency and kindness at great personal risk. Recommended to those interested in the history of WWII. Contains graphic violence against people and animals. ( )

Somehow I thought this was going to be narrative non-fiction, or historical fiction, or something from Antonina's point of view. Instead, it's an almost newspaper-journalistic treatment of their lives in Warsaw during WWII. Very moving, very horrifying, very well documented. The only thing that threw me is that Ackerman leaves them at the end of the war -- there's a brief wrap-up, but she doesn't talk about their deaths, or go much into detail about their lives after the war -- it's a brief sketch when we've been immersed in the painting. It kind of works, really, to leave them in memory, perpetually ready to start again. ( )

I had to stop. The little boy had a pig who was his best friend and they took the pig away to be eaten. And that's when I quit. I just can't. It's too sad.

A true story in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.

I really loved this book! I always have a hard time revewing these kind of book though, I mean, how do you review someone's efforts during a time like WW2?
Anyway, Jan & Antonina Zabinski live at and run the Warsaw Zoo which is devastated in 1939 when the German Luftwaffe descends on Poland. Since most of the animals are either killed or stolen by the Germans they open up the zoo to hundreds of displaced Jews during the war.
This book is really easy to read despite the subject matter, I found it very hard to put it down! Right up until the end this book gives you a warm, jolly feeling while you're reading it. It's simply a delight to read despite the horrors & I loved reading about the exploits Jan's underground got up to as well. At one stage the zoo was farming pigs for the Germans so Jan started infecting some of the pigs with worms before slaughtering them & then giving the meat to the Germans!!
Anyway, this is definitely a five star read! :O) ( )

Maybe my feelings about this book ison one of those "Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus" explanations, but I just never got into it. The book jacket talks about the author's "...exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world", and how she "...engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors". For me, there was too much of that. Describing all the animal sounds as the zoo awakes is OK, but I don't really need a cutsie description of absolutely ALL the animals in the zoo. A little too much of the touchy - feely descriptions to suit me, while I was looking more for the story of the tensions and intrigue associated with a wartime saga. ( )

Probably another inspiring real story too bad I can't finish this even in audio format. Will wait for the movie. ( )

I was not interested in all of the information regarding the animals and would have preferred more details about the rescuers and those rescued. I was disappointed that the disgraceful treatment of Poland's returning Jews after the war was not mentioned. ( )

I struggled getting thru this book and was very disappointed. I know it's about true events but to me it felt like the author didn't have enough for a full book on the zookeepers so she added in random facts that weren't necessary. She was also very long winded in these random parts. I skipped some parts when she started rambling and was able to pick up where the actual sorry was again without any problems. I'm hoping I'll like the movie better. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It was a detailed look into what life was life in occupied Warsaw during the war. There were many heroic people mentioned throughout the book who risked everything to help others and fight evil. This book made me want to visit Poland and especially the Warsaw Zoo. ( )

I struggled to read this, I found it extremely slow and I felt like it could have been half it's length and still told the same story. ( )

Thoroughly engaging World War II story of survival and enduring and ultimately overcoming.

This is a true story and it's as engaging as any thriller. The Warsaw Zoo and the people who oversaw it manage to not only endure but to save many lives.

Hoghly recommended. ( )

A zookeeper, Jan, and his wife, Antonina, live peacefully in Poland, that is until the Nazi invasion. Jan and Antonina try to keep their zoo thriving, but they kept running into problems. Over time, they had to start hiding Jews in animal cages and in tunnels underneath the Zoo. There, the Jews would stay for a few days until they were sent off to another house. To send them off, Antonina would dress them up and and they would leave as "relatives" or "friends" to disguise it. They also had to worry about every time that Nazi officers would come to their zoo, they had to act normal and hope that the officers didn't find the Jews. A few of their animals were killed by Nazi officers. Eventually, after it was all over, Jan and Antonina had to work on the Zoo and get it all fixed up.

I liked this book because its based around my favourite time in history, not that I liked what happened, but because an interesting time. It was a sad book, talking about how their zoo was destroyed, animals died, and Jews had to stay hidden underground. It was definitely a fascinating book. It had a lot of emotion, so it was not a "dry" book. It was a long book, but worth it in the end. If you like books that have a story around the Nazi time, then this is a great book for you. ( )

After their zoo was bombed, Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski managed to save over three hundred people from the Nazis by hiding refugees in the empty animal cages. With animal names for these "guests," and human names for the animals, it's no wonder that the zoo's code name became "The House Under a Crazy Star."

A true story about the Warsaw Zoo. ( )