Dry, but interesting.

I love it when I run across a book that informs me about an event I didn't know about. I actually started this thinking that it was historical fiction but then of course it turned out not to be. It is really well done, and manages to artfully combine the horrific situation of WWII Warsaw with the everyday life of managing a zoo -- and then what happens when the zoo is no longer a zoo. Loved it!

I liked this book, it was a different perspective of the war. I don't think I want to see the movie though...

WOW. Diane Ackerman chronicles the true story of Jan and Antonina Zabinski, keepers of the Warsaw Zoo during WWII. Ackerman has really done her research and dug deep into interviews and records to flesh out the story of how the Zabinskis and their zoo worked to save the lives of as many Jewish people as possible. Ackerman writes with the detail of a novel, but doesn't invent a false story arc - rather, she presents a series of events and people that took place over the course of decades of the Zabinskis' lives, particularly during German occupation. I can't get over the resilience and determination of the Zabinskis and their friends. Ackerman, often through paraphrasing Antonina's journals, also beautifully and tragically connects human behavior to animal relations. A great read, I look forward to watching the film.

An intriguing and factual account of the Polish underground in World War II as experienced by the caretakers of the Warsaw Zoo.

4.5. Amazing book, beautifully written. This is more than the story of an amazing woman, this is also the story of many Warsaw citizens who risked their lives to save Jewish people and fight against the Nazis. I was impressed that, perhaps, 12 percent of the Warsaw population was involved with trying to save as many Jewish lives as possible.

Ackerman did a beautiful job describing their home at the zoo. It is amazing how they lived before the war, at the zoo nursing young and hurt animals in their villa. How they lived during the war, he very heavily involved with the Polish underground, she housing, feeding and together rescuing about 300 Jewish people during the war years. But, to me, just as astonishing, was how they did it, under the noses of the Germans and with grace and style. At one point, Antonina wrote, "they were almost happy" during this terrifying time.

I loved reading translations of Antonina's writing - also very beautiful.

My only complaint is that I was a bit frustrated with how Ackerman wrapped up the story of Jan and Antonina Zabinski. They just faded away among descriptions of what happened to other people.

The Warsaw zoo in WW2 and the Zookeeper's wife's role in supporting hundreds of people fleeing to safety via the zoo. I haven't seen the movie but assume it's better than the book. It should have been written more like a novel and less like paper. I got sick of hearing things like "maybe she wore her spotted dress with the lace collar". Just tell me she wore it. "She would have seen fixtures popular during the 1930s". Just tell me she saw them. 😆 Some readers had issue with the author going off on great tangents. I found them mostly interesting but they didn't really fit well with the story.

More than a story about the Zookeeper's Wife (although her journal obviously informed a large part of Ackerman's basic narrative) this book was a detailed snapshot of the landscape, philosophy, science, and daily life in Warsaw during WWII. It is not emotional and narrates the happenings from the distance and safety of a 21st century researcher's chair. I would say, however, that this helped me get a more balanced perspective of what life might have felt like to many people involved. Even the "side quests" on animal breeding and beetle collections (which I have seen berated in other reviews) were helpful for understanding the obsession with genetic purity and the "shimmering veil" that separates animals from humans according to convenience throughout history.

For a more personal account of people saving Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, I think that "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom is an inspirational read.

Well, I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks, because I'm starting to think maybe I like nonfiction after all! Maybe not all nonfiction. But I did really enjoy The Zookeeper's Wife.

It is the story of a husband and wife zookeeping team in Warsaw -- before, during, and after WWII. This is exposing my ignorance, but I really didn't know much of anything about what it was like in Warsaw during the war and the German occupation. Horrible, as you can imagine. I didn't even know that the term "ghetto" comes from the Ghetto that was built to contain the city's Jews (in wretched living conditions, of course).

Jan and Antonina hid over 300 Jews at the zoo and worked with the resistance, both to help Jews to escape and to sabotage the German soldiers. I keep thinking that I'm done reading about WWII. It's too painful. But then I read a book like this that makes me really think. Maybe there's no such thing as too many...

What makes some people in a war situation risk everything to help those in need, while others just hunker down and try to be invisible? It's fascinating to me. I really hope I would be one that would try to help, but I wonder.

I'll bet, this will remain one of my favorite books ever for a long while. The author is brilliant and clearly a researching manic(examine those notes in the back). I was fascinated to learn about the Nazi's insane plans to revitalize extinct animals and flora. And, even while the horrible details of cruelty in the Warsaw ghetto and streets of Poland took me way down, the heroic lifesaving efforts by the insurgents and others restored my faith in humanity. Yes, there is such goodness in the world even in a time of pure evil. The main characters were human, likable and raw. This is a powerful and moving book.