The Zoo Keeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman

Ian and Antonina Zabinski were Christian zookeepers horrified by Nazi racism, who capitalized on the Nazis' obsession with rare animals in order to save over three hundred doomed people. Their story has fallen between the seams of history, as radically compassionate acts sometimes do. But in wartime Poland, when even handing a thirsty Jew a cup of water was punishable by death, their heroism stands out as all the more startling.

A truly remarkable and moving story is recounted in this non-fiction book. Extensive research is in evidence of not only the lives of the people involved and the Nazi invasion of Poland, but also into natural history. The Nazi's interest in animals and zoos revealed new insights into their sickness.

The story is worth reading and takes a different approach to viewing lives under Nazi control. I am glad I read the book, but wasn't enthusiastic about the author's style and structure. I love natural history, but often found Ackerman's passages into zoology and botany distracting from the compelling story of the chilling historical times. Just when I wanted to be taken along on a daring escape, the book might diverge into pages about the history of an extinct species of animals. Perhaps this should have been two books- a more classic tale of daring heroism and a separate account of Nazi breeding applied to animals and plants. Still, the book is worth reading.