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readingwithgemma's review
4.0
Having recently rewatched the film, I decided I had to read the book. This story was so lovely! Being a lover of animals and currently going to college for Animal Management I also got to use it as a type of revision tool, mentioning lots of things I’ve learned over the last year and a half. The story is so amazing and it’s always fun to see how the movie adapts the story of the book. I struggled with the timeline as it was a bit jumpy categorising the story by theme rather than the time scale. I think the book would have been even better having the chapters titled by the date or months so we could see as a reader how long each part of the process took. But I did really love this story
myworldtoread's review
3.0
Benjamin Mee and his family decide to buy a run down zoo in Dartmoor, England. In the midst learning about the zoo and preparing for opening day, Ben's wife Katherine suffers a recurrence of a brain tumor and passes away. It was fun reading about the different animals and experiences around the zoo, but it seemed to be disjointed at times. I still enjoyed the book though and reading about their future plans for the zoo and animal conservation.
kbr2021's review
4.0
I got this as a Advanced Readers Copy and was very pleased with it. Benjamin Mee and Weinstein Books has a sure fire hit on their hands with this book!
Some parts of the book were emotionally tough to get through, however by the time you get to that part you already feel that you are part of the family. You also begin to feel as you are part of the team at the zoo.
Benjamin (not to be confused with his father Ben) goes looking for a better place to live with his family and ends up buying a delapitated zoo. In this memoir, you follow his entire family through the trials and triumph of owning this zoo and trying to get it up and running while knowing nothing about running a zoo. He is used to being a journalist but takes this task to hand as if he is a old soul in the zoo business.
I felt that I was there with them because of the great flowing writing style of Mee. I wish we would have learned more about the animals as well as the rest of the family in the book but overall it was a great book
Some parts of the book were emotionally tough to get through, however by the time you get to that part you already feel that you are part of the family. You also begin to feel as you are part of the team at the zoo.
Benjamin (not to be confused with his father Ben) goes looking for a better place to live with his family and ends up buying a delapitated zoo. In this memoir, you follow his entire family through the trials and triumph of owning this zoo and trying to get it up and running while knowing nothing about running a zoo. He is used to being a journalist but takes this task to hand as if he is a old soul in the zoo business.
I felt that I was there with them because of the great flowing writing style of Mee. I wish we would have learned more about the animals as well as the rest of the family in the book but overall it was a great book
indoorg1rl's review
4.0
To be honest, I only came to know about this book (and Dartmoor Zoo) because of the movie. Which meant that the movie did its job well.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Sure, it wasn't all beautiful and polished, but this was real life for you. I loved the animal stories and adventures, and I also loved the (uglier) business aspects of things. This was an industry that I never came near in my daily lives, and it was very fascinating to me.
I thought it was very advantageous that Benjamin Mee was already a professional writer and was no stranger to media world before embarking on this journey. While people might think the commercial side of things killed the romance of the experience, I actually thought it was wise to have all hands on deck to save, renovate, and reopen a zoo.
At the end of the book, it looked to me that long term strategy was still a bit volatile. The initial excitement of zoo reopening would only last so long, and the zoo was still far from self-sustaining. So I was glad to see that there was more media coverage lined up, and more business strategy to come. The BBC TV Series helped immensely, and the movie featuring Matt Damon wasn't bad either.
12 years later, I'm pleased to see that Dartmoor Zoo was still open and active. It isn't a small job rescuing a zoo from closing, and it isn't a small job running one for a long period of time. Hopefully it will last the test of time, with management team whose hearts are in the right place, and prosper.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Sure, it wasn't all beautiful and polished, but this was real life for you. I loved the animal stories and adventures, and I also loved the (uglier) business aspects of things. This was an industry that I never came near in my daily lives, and it was very fascinating to me.
I thought it was very advantageous that Benjamin Mee was already a professional writer and was no stranger to media world before embarking on this journey. While people might think the commercial side of things killed the romance of the experience, I actually thought it was wise to have all hands on deck to save, renovate, and reopen a zoo.
At the end of the book, it looked to me that long term strategy was still a bit volatile. The initial excitement of zoo reopening would only last so long, and the zoo was still far from self-sustaining. So I was glad to see that there was more media coverage lined up, and more business strategy to come. The BBC TV Series helped immensely, and the movie featuring Matt Damon wasn't bad either.
12 years later, I'm pleased to see that Dartmoor Zoo was still open and active. It isn't a small job rescuing a zoo from closing, and it isn't a small job running one for a long period of time. Hopefully it will last the test of time, with management team whose hearts are in the right place, and prosper.
scoutanderin's review
3.0
Rating: about 3.5
The beginning of this book was difficult for me to trudge through. The author wrote himself in an arrogant manner that I found really off-putting (not sure if this was intentional or not), but once he and his family purchased Dartmoor Zoological Park, he seemed to write as someone humbled by the experience. The draw for me was reading about all the different animals the Mee family worked with and saved. I loved Zak and Parker, the timber wolves, and Sovereign, the leopard. It was also fascinating to learn a bit more about how a zoo works, and what goes on behind the scenes. Overall, a fairly enjoyable memoir.
The beginning of this book was difficult for me to trudge through. The author wrote himself in an arrogant manner that I found really off-putting (not sure if this was intentional or not), but once he and his family purchased Dartmoor Zoological Park, he seemed to write as someone humbled by the experience. The draw for me was reading about all the different animals the Mee family worked with and saved. I loved Zak and Parker, the timber wolves, and Sovereign, the leopard. It was also fascinating to learn a bit more about how a zoo works, and what goes on behind the scenes. Overall, a fairly enjoyable memoir.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
One thing that you should know about me is I am an animal lover. If I had all of the money in the world, I'd buy a big farm with a farmhouse built no later than 1900 and fill the farm with all sorts of creatures. So when I got the chance to read a book about a family who buys a country house that just happens to have a zoo attached, I knew that I would probably end up really enjoying the book. And I did.
We Bought a Zoo is about the Mee family who buys a zoo in the English zoo. There are many challenges as no one in the family really has any experience running a zoo but they learn. The Dartmoor Zoo, which the book takes place at, is now a relatively successful zoo.
My favorite parts of the book had to do with the various stories of the individual animals that call Dartmoor their home. There were tons of different personalities and it was very cool to see the connection between the humans and the animals.
Bottom line: Animal lovers will love this one.
We Bought a Zoo is about the Mee family who buys a zoo in the English zoo. There are many challenges as no one in the family really has any experience running a zoo but they learn. The Dartmoor Zoo, which the book takes place at, is now a relatively successful zoo.
My favorite parts of the book had to do with the various stories of the individual animals that call Dartmoor their home. There were tons of different personalities and it was very cool to see the connection between the humans and the animals.
Bottom line: Animal lovers will love this one.
lindsay564's review
4.0
The story of a family who buys a run-down zoo and revitalizes it. More business talk and less animal talk than I would have liked it, but still a fun read.
ravencc0c9's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this story. The reason for only three stars is that I found the storytelling to be very meandering.
mikolee's review
2.0
Fun read that is quite different from the book. Based on a true story of British journalist who buys a dilapidated zoo and fixes it up right as he learns his beloved wife is dying of cancer.
ellefran's review
4.0
Honestly for the majority of time reading this I thought it would be a more three star book and I still wouldn't recommend it to all, but by the end, the emotional connection I felt towards the family and the story made it a new favourite of mine. Maybe because it was the English-ness of it or just Benjamin's tenacity but whatever, I loved it so much.