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New Noah
Boa-Constrictors, paradoxical frogs, hoatzins, bush babies and tucotucos - they're all part of what Gerald Durrell casually calls his 'big family'. Each animal in his menagerie exhibits such curious habits and eccentricities. There was Cholmondely the chimpanzee, for example, who was 'king' of the collection, liked a good cigarette and his tea not too hot, but had a horror of snakes! Cuthbert the curassow loved to collapse across people's feet when they weren't looking.
Gerald Durrell describes not only the capture of these rare and exotic animals in Africa and South America, but also the problems of caging and feeding them. Footle, the moustached monkey, insisted on nose-diving into his milk, while the Kusimanses - nicknamed the Bandits - found Durrell's toes the most delectable thing in camp!
Gerald Durrell describes not only the capture of these rare and exotic animals in Africa and South America, but also the problems of caging and feeding them. Footle, the moustached monkey, insisted on nose-diving into his milk, while the Kusimanses - nicknamed the Bandits - found Durrell's toes the most delectable thing in camp!
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
4 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Durrell
227 books1,711 followersGerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell was born in India in 1925. His elder siblings are Lawrence Durrell, Leslie Durrell, and Margaret Durrell. His family settled on Corfu when Gerald was a boy and he spent his time studying its wildlife. He relates these experiences in the trilogy beginning with My Family And Other Animals, and continuing with Birds, Beasts, And Relatives and The Garden Of The Gods. In his books he writes with wry humour and great perception about both the humans and the animals he meets.
On leaving Corfu he returned to England to work on the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. His adventures there are told with characteristic energy in Beasts In My Belfry. A few years later, Gerald began organising his own animal-collecting expeditions. The first, to the Cameroons, was followed by expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. He recounts these experiences in a number of books, including The Drunken Forest. Gerald also visited many countries while shooting various television series, including An Amateur Naturalist. In 1958 Gerald Durrell realised a lifelong dream when he set up the Jersey Zoological Park, followed a few years later by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.
Gerald was married twice; Jacquie Durrell (1951-1979), Lee Durrell (1979-1995).
Gerald Durrell's style is exuberant, passionate and acutely observed. He died in 1995.
On leaving Corfu he returned to England to work on the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. His adventures there are told with characteristic energy in Beasts In My Belfry. A few years later, Gerald began organising his own animal-collecting expeditions. The first, to the Cameroons, was followed by expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. He recounts these experiences in a number of books, including The Drunken Forest. Gerald also visited many countries while shooting various television series, including An Amateur Naturalist. In 1958 Gerald Durrell realised a lifelong dream when he set up the Jersey Zoological Park, followed a few years later by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.
Gerald was married twice; Jacquie Durrell (1951-1979), Lee Durrell (1979-1995).
Gerald Durrell's style is exuberant, passionate and acutely observed. He died in 1995.
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June 12, 2017
Gerald Durrell's books are usually a treat to read; being both informative and full of wit and humour. This is no exception. So why the low star rating for The New Noah? Frankly, I felt cheated.
Had I not been reading his books in order I probably would have thoroughly enjoyed this account from 1955. The first part is called "Collecting in the Cameroons" and consists of eight chapters. The second, "Hunts and Captures in Guiana" comprises a further six. And the final part, part three, is just three chapters. As I started the book I was enjoying being entertained in Durrell's inimitable style, when I began to have a sense of déjà vu. The introduction was familiar, but then it was bound to be. Durrell briefly explains his history, his aims and his attitudes in many of his books. This book, I deduced, was going to have the emphasis more on the actual collecting of animals. (A bit of a euphemism this, especially from a modern perspective, but this was 1955. If - and it's a big "if" - wild creatures had to be taken from their environment, to be bred in captivity in order that people worldwide would have the chance to see such creatures, then I am relieved it was Durrell, with his knowhow, expertise and compassion, who did this.)
Having taken this on board, I started chapter one. Durrell described his immediate impression of the Cameroons, where he went to collect "small beef" (small mammals) and the vivid flora surrounding the port of Victoria. The red earth, the sunbirds, the plantain-eaters, the hornbills, the agama lizards… and with the lizards I remembered. No wonder this was so familiar, Durrell was reprising an earlier book, "The Overloaded Ark" from 1953. Well, maybe this would be new episodes - there must be a wealth of possible material from such an expedition. So I continued.
Durrell described his preparations, making sure he was near a store so that he had access to tinned food, nails, wire netting etcetera, building his cages, pens and ponds and organising enough food for two or three hundred animals and birds, and negotiating with the local people and chiefs about which animals he was interested in obtaining. His first description was of chasing a black-footed mongoose, aided by a group of local hunting dogs.
But as is often the case in a Durrell expedition, the animal sought was not the animal caught. The animal trapped was a Nile Monitor lizard. Up until then this was new material, but when Durrell described the way he had to take charge himself, capturing the monitor lizard with just a piece of rope, and the way his friend had to come to the rescue when Durrell got himself into a bit of a predicament, I was sure. I had read this before. I was freshly diverted by the tale of smoking out a mongoose, and then searching for a giant booming squirrel, which apparently is twice the size of a grey squirrel and has a black and white tail rather like a ring-tailed lemur (not that many Europeans would have seen lemurs in the 1950s) except that it is bushy and not prehensile. Durrell described the squirrels' tails as "bobbing up and down [over the grassfields] like a long black and white balloon".
So at the end of the first chapter, some material was familiar, some new. The second was about baby crocodiles, bushtailed porcupines and various snakes. As Durrell stated in his introduction, the emphasis was on the capture, and the author also tried to educate his audience.
"Most people think that in the great forests the animals wander far and wide all the time but this is not so….in a lot of instances an animal inhabits a patch of ground which is very little bigger than a large cage in a zoo. Provided that an animal can find a good supply of food and water, and a safe place to sleep, within a limited area, he will not venture out of it."
And as to the dangers,
"the depths of the forest are not dangerous, and they are no more dangerous by night than they are by day. You will find that all wild animals are only too eager to get out of your way when they hear you coming. Only if you have them cornered will they attack you, and you can hardly blame them for that…if you don't harm them they most certainly are not going to go out of their way to try to hurt you…it is only as dangerous as your own stupidity allows it to be…if you take silly risks you must expect unpleasant consequences."
Wise though these word are, there is a sense of inevitability about them, and sure enough the author goes on to recount a very silly episode indeed where he has trapped himself in a small but deep pit, with lots of baby gaboon vipers, one of the most deadly snakes in West Africa, wearing a pair of borrowed trousers (because his own proved too lightweight) which are falling down, armed with nothing but a forked stick and cloth bag.
By now you will have a flavour of the book, laugh-out-loud funny at times, wryly observant at others. The section about Cholmondely, a chimpanzee who used to be someone's pet, is uproarious, although very much of its time. The humour lies in the fact that Cholmondely was taught to behave exactly like a human, with his handshakes, drinking cups of tea and smoking cigarettes. His previous owner had asked Durrell to accompany Cholmondely on his way to London Zoo. And apparently the chimpanzee became quite famous for his antics, even appearing on TV.
There are descriptions of hairy tortoises, various types of monkeys, baby red river hogs which had to be fed from a bottle until they could eat mashed banana, "galagos" or as we would call them, bush babies,
"the size of a newly born kitten…like a cross between an owl and a squirrel with a bit of monkey thrown in."
These perhaps not so endearingly screeched for their daily supply of live grasshoppers. Most of these species which were unfamiliar then are reasonably familiar to any visitor to a wildlife park now. Occasionally in the narrative though the reader learns about an unfamiliar creature, such as the kusimanses, animals who as babies were a bit smaller than a guinea pig, and looked like a mongoose, Durrell called these the "bandits" as they were particularly vicious, and was heartily glad to hand them over at the end of his voyage.
One interesting section is about feeding the animals he had captured. As he pointed out, it was easy enough to provide them with their normal diet whilst he was keeping them in Africa, but he had to train them on to a substitute food which would be easily obtainable by the zoo for which the animal was destined.
"It is no use landing in England an ant-eater that will only eat ants, as there is no zoo that would be able to supply them. My scaly ant-eater had to be taught to eat a mixture of unsweetened condensed milk, finely shredded raw meat, and raw egg, mixed up together in a sloppy paste."
He then goes on to describe the various methods he used to persuade animals to adapt, which usually involved some sort of trickery. Sometimes, because often the locals insisted many animals only ate "palm nuts", he would flatly refuse to believe what they said. So it was with four forest tortoises he had acquired. He was told that they only fed on a particular variety of small white mushroom, but as this is very unusual fare for a tortoise, Durrell took a lot of convincing. Eventually, he managed to get them on a standard tortoise diet. This part of the book ends with detailed instructions for transporting animals safely and comfortably, as each species has special requirements. And as you would expect in a Durrell book, the journey back to England is not without incident.
This first part about the Cameroons has taken nearly half the book. The second part is also a reprise, this time of his trip to British Guiana in 1950, which he had written about in his earlier book "Three Singles to Adventure" (and which I have reviewed separately.) All the highlights from that book are here - the toads with pockets hatching in view of the sailors, Cuthbert, the overfriendly curassow, the capybara, like a giant guinea pig, vibrating the bars of his cage at dead of night, the "moonshine unwarie" (opossum), which nearly caused Durrell to miss his ferry home whilst he searched for something in which to contain him, and the electric eel which escaped overboard. Much as it was fun to reread this material, I felt that a new book should not contain so much that was "repackaged". But the time this section concluded the reader is 80% through the book and there are only three chapters left. These are about an expedition to Paraguay, which, interestingly is the destination of the author's next expedition, and which he chronicles in his next book "The Drunken Forest", which he published in 1956. As such, it acts like a taster for this book.
It is impossible to know at this juncture the reason for such an odd hotch-potch. Was Durrell meeting a deadline before his next expedition? Had his publishers demanded "more of the same and quickly!" for a thirsty readership? Was he desperate for funds to finance his next trip? Whatever the reason, it is disappointing if the reader is expecting new material. If, however, you have never read a book by this author, you may well be delighted by it and find yourself laughing out loud on more than one occasion.
Had I not been reading his books in order I probably would have thoroughly enjoyed this account from 1955. The first part is called "Collecting in the Cameroons" and consists of eight chapters. The second, "Hunts and Captures in Guiana" comprises a further six. And the final part, part three, is just three chapters. As I started the book I was enjoying being entertained in Durrell's inimitable style, when I began to have a sense of déjà vu. The introduction was familiar, but then it was bound to be. Durrell briefly explains his history, his aims and his attitudes in many of his books. This book, I deduced, was going to have the emphasis more on the actual collecting of animals. (A bit of a euphemism this, especially from a modern perspective, but this was 1955. If - and it's a big "if" - wild creatures had to be taken from their environment, to be bred in captivity in order that people worldwide would have the chance to see such creatures, then I am relieved it was Durrell, with his knowhow, expertise and compassion, who did this.)
Having taken this on board, I started chapter one. Durrell described his immediate impression of the Cameroons, where he went to collect "small beef" (small mammals) and the vivid flora surrounding the port of Victoria. The red earth, the sunbirds, the plantain-eaters, the hornbills, the agama lizards… and with the lizards I remembered. No wonder this was so familiar, Durrell was reprising an earlier book, "The Overloaded Ark" from 1953. Well, maybe this would be new episodes - there must be a wealth of possible material from such an expedition. So I continued.
Durrell described his preparations, making sure he was near a store so that he had access to tinned food, nails, wire netting etcetera, building his cages, pens and ponds and organising enough food for two or three hundred animals and birds, and negotiating with the local people and chiefs about which animals he was interested in obtaining. His first description was of chasing a black-footed mongoose, aided by a group of local hunting dogs.
But as is often the case in a Durrell expedition, the animal sought was not the animal caught. The animal trapped was a Nile Monitor lizard. Up until then this was new material, but when Durrell described the way he had to take charge himself, capturing the monitor lizard with just a piece of rope, and the way his friend had to come to the rescue when Durrell got himself into a bit of a predicament, I was sure. I had read this before. I was freshly diverted by the tale of smoking out a mongoose, and then searching for a giant booming squirrel, which apparently is twice the size of a grey squirrel and has a black and white tail rather like a ring-tailed lemur (not that many Europeans would have seen lemurs in the 1950s) except that it is bushy and not prehensile. Durrell described the squirrels' tails as "bobbing up and down [over the grassfields] like a long black and white balloon".
So at the end of the first chapter, some material was familiar, some new. The second was about baby crocodiles, bushtailed porcupines and various snakes. As Durrell stated in his introduction, the emphasis was on the capture, and the author also tried to educate his audience.
"Most people think that in the great forests the animals wander far and wide all the time but this is not so….in a lot of instances an animal inhabits a patch of ground which is very little bigger than a large cage in a zoo. Provided that an animal can find a good supply of food and water, and a safe place to sleep, within a limited area, he will not venture out of it."
And as to the dangers,
"the depths of the forest are not dangerous, and they are no more dangerous by night than they are by day. You will find that all wild animals are only too eager to get out of your way when they hear you coming. Only if you have them cornered will they attack you, and you can hardly blame them for that…if you don't harm them they most certainly are not going to go out of their way to try to hurt you…it is only as dangerous as your own stupidity allows it to be…if you take silly risks you must expect unpleasant consequences."
Wise though these word are, there is a sense of inevitability about them, and sure enough the author goes on to recount a very silly episode indeed where he has trapped himself in a small but deep pit, with lots of baby gaboon vipers, one of the most deadly snakes in West Africa, wearing a pair of borrowed trousers (because his own proved too lightweight) which are falling down, armed with nothing but a forked stick and cloth bag.
By now you will have a flavour of the book, laugh-out-loud funny at times, wryly observant at others. The section about Cholmondely, a chimpanzee who used to be someone's pet, is uproarious, although very much of its time. The humour lies in the fact that Cholmondely was taught to behave exactly like a human, with his handshakes, drinking cups of tea and smoking cigarettes. His previous owner had asked Durrell to accompany Cholmondely on his way to London Zoo. And apparently the chimpanzee became quite famous for his antics, even appearing on TV.
There are descriptions of hairy tortoises, various types of monkeys, baby red river hogs which had to be fed from a bottle until they could eat mashed banana, "galagos" or as we would call them, bush babies,
"the size of a newly born kitten…like a cross between an owl and a squirrel with a bit of monkey thrown in."
These perhaps not so endearingly screeched for their daily supply of live grasshoppers. Most of these species which were unfamiliar then are reasonably familiar to any visitor to a wildlife park now. Occasionally in the narrative though the reader learns about an unfamiliar creature, such as the kusimanses, animals who as babies were a bit smaller than a guinea pig, and looked like a mongoose, Durrell called these the "bandits" as they were particularly vicious, and was heartily glad to hand them over at the end of his voyage.
One interesting section is about feeding the animals he had captured. As he pointed out, it was easy enough to provide them with their normal diet whilst he was keeping them in Africa, but he had to train them on to a substitute food which would be easily obtainable by the zoo for which the animal was destined.
"It is no use landing in England an ant-eater that will only eat ants, as there is no zoo that would be able to supply them. My scaly ant-eater had to be taught to eat a mixture of unsweetened condensed milk, finely shredded raw meat, and raw egg, mixed up together in a sloppy paste."
He then goes on to describe the various methods he used to persuade animals to adapt, which usually involved some sort of trickery. Sometimes, because often the locals insisted many animals only ate "palm nuts", he would flatly refuse to believe what they said. So it was with four forest tortoises he had acquired. He was told that they only fed on a particular variety of small white mushroom, but as this is very unusual fare for a tortoise, Durrell took a lot of convincing. Eventually, he managed to get them on a standard tortoise diet. This part of the book ends with detailed instructions for transporting animals safely and comfortably, as each species has special requirements. And as you would expect in a Durrell book, the journey back to England is not without incident.
This first part about the Cameroons has taken nearly half the book. The second part is also a reprise, this time of his trip to British Guiana in 1950, which he had written about in his earlier book "Three Singles to Adventure" (and which I have reviewed separately.) All the highlights from that book are here - the toads with pockets hatching in view of the sailors, Cuthbert, the overfriendly curassow, the capybara, like a giant guinea pig, vibrating the bars of his cage at dead of night, the "moonshine unwarie" (opossum), which nearly caused Durrell to miss his ferry home whilst he searched for something in which to contain him, and the electric eel which escaped overboard. Much as it was fun to reread this material, I felt that a new book should not contain so much that was "repackaged". But the time this section concluded the reader is 80% through the book and there are only three chapters left. These are about an expedition to Paraguay, which, interestingly is the destination of the author's next expedition, and which he chronicles in his next book "The Drunken Forest", which he published in 1956. As such, it acts like a taster for this book.
It is impossible to know at this juncture the reason for such an odd hotch-potch. Was Durrell meeting a deadline before his next expedition? Had his publishers demanded "more of the same and quickly!" for a thirsty readership? Was he desperate for funds to finance his next trip? Whatever the reason, it is disappointing if the reader is expecting new material. If, however, you have never read a book by this author, you may well be delighted by it and find yourself laughing out loud on more than one occasion.
October 1, 2012
I was disappointed with this because I thought it was a Durrell I'd never before seen- but it's actually bits and bobs from other books which I've already read. So, yay, Durrell! Boo, warmed-over Durrell! Still, warmed-over Durrell trumps many another nature writer. And it's always worth revisiting the anteaters.
January 14, 2019
"Boa-Constrictors, paradoxical frogs, hoatzins, bush babies and tucotucos - they're all part of what Gerald Durrell casually calls his 'big family'. Each animal in his menagerie exhibits such curious habits and eccentricities. There was Cholmondely the chimpanzee, for example, who was 'king' of the collection, liked a good cigarette and his tea not too hot, but had a horror of snakes! Cuthbert the curassow loved to collapse across people's feet when they weren't looking.
Gerald Durrell describes not only the capture of these rare and exotic animals in Africa and South America, but also the problems of caging and feeding them. Footle, the moustached monkey, insisted on nose-diving into his milk, while the Kusimanses - nicknamed the Bandits - found Durrell's toes the most delectable thing in camp!"
The author is beginning to find his style: humorous but descriptive of the land and the animals. A charming glimpse into lands that most of us aren't familiar with.
Gerald Durrell describes not only the capture of these rare and exotic animals in Africa and South America, but also the problems of caging and feeding them. Footle, the moustached monkey, insisted on nose-diving into his milk, while the Kusimanses - nicknamed the Bandits - found Durrell's toes the most delectable thing in camp!"
The author is beginning to find his style: humorous but descriptive of the land and the animals. A charming glimpse into lands that most of us aren't familiar with.
January 14, 2020
Delightful! Durrel is always a wonderful read.
September 28, 2017
Just wanted to explain why I gave this book one star. I am a massive Gerald Durrell fan and have read nearly all his books. If you've done the same, you don't need to read this because it's simply a retelling of stories from his other books. That's why I was disappointed and therefore didn't finish reading it.
October 25, 2020
An interesting read to be sure, but originally published in the 1950s it has not aged well.
A selection of stories about the collecting (hunting and capturing) of animals to be displayed in Zoos. This appears to be a compendium (split in to three parts) of different expeditions.
The storytelling is anecdotal, and well written, the subject content however in places leaves a lot to be desired. If, like myself, you believe in the welfare of animals this quite possibly may not be the book for you. However as a child (it's published under Puffin) I can imagine these tales of far off places being thrilling and exciting.
It's clear that Durrell wants to keep the animals he captures in a good state of health, and from that standpoint it can be argued that he does care for the animals. However some of the behaviours exhibited by the animals in the book (excessive grooming, "smiling", gnawing through their cages etc) are clear signs of stress however this is whitewashed over as quirks of personality in each animal being described. Equally the methods in which animals are captured is not great, and in places now illegal.
As a child I would have loved this book, it is interesting, talks of far off places, adventure and has fun stories about animals. The edition I have is a 1960s reprint that has line drawing illustrations every few pages, as well as a map before each new part of the book to help visualise, and some b&w photo prints in the centre which really engage the reader. As an adult in 2020 I was not a massive fan. I can still see the value in reading this to a child, which may lead the child to some interesting questions...and after all isn't that what the best books do?!
A selection of stories about the collecting (hunting and capturing) of animals to be displayed in Zoos. This appears to be a compendium (split in to three parts) of different expeditions.
The storytelling is anecdotal, and well written, the subject content however in places leaves a lot to be desired. If, like myself, you believe in the welfare of animals this quite possibly may not be the book for you. However as a child (it's published under Puffin) I can imagine these tales of far off places being thrilling and exciting.
It's clear that Durrell wants to keep the animals he captures in a good state of health, and from that standpoint it can be argued that he does care for the animals. However some of the behaviours exhibited by the animals in the book (excessive grooming, "smiling", gnawing through their cages etc) are clear signs of stress however this is whitewashed over as quirks of personality in each animal being described. Equally the methods in which animals are captured is not great, and in places now illegal.
As a child I would have loved this book, it is interesting, talks of far off places, adventure and has fun stories about animals. The edition I have is a 1960s reprint that has line drawing illustrations every few pages, as well as a map before each new part of the book to help visualise, and some b&w photo prints in the centre which really engage the reader. As an adult in 2020 I was not a massive fan. I can still see the value in reading this to a child, which may lead the child to some interesting questions...and after all isn't that what the best books do?!
June 3, 2022
The New Noah is a set of anecdotes from Gerald Durrell’s years spent collecting animals for zoos. These were written in the early years, having been compiled shortly after Durrell’s trip to Argentina and Paraguay. The book consists of anecdotes from three trips: to the Cameroons (which Durrell wrote about separately in The Bafut Beagles), Guiana (Three Singles to Adventure) and Paraguay/Argentina (The Whispering Land, The Drunken Forest). There’s a good bit here about how he collected various animals, the problems and dangers inherent in collecting, the huge effort it takes to look after animals for a collection, and a few anecdotes about specific creatures that left a mark (at times literally) on Durrell: the curassow Cuthbert, the baby crab-eating raccoon Pooh, the douroucouli Cai.
I have read the three full-length books in which almost all of this appeared, so The New Noah was, in that sense, rather repetitive. Also, since these anecdotes are all about the animals themselves (and not even very much in depth about the interesting characters among the animals), you don’t get to read Durrell’s absolutely hilarious notes on his fellow human beings, something I always enjoy about his books. In places, this actually reads more like a manual for someone collecting animals for zoos: what to do, how to do it, tips and tricks. Written in a user-friendly, informal and cheery style, but still.
If you haven’t read any of the books Durrell wrote about his animal-collecting expeditions, this one may be a good place to start. For me, the absence of the nutty characters, both human and to some extent animal, was disappointing; plus, as I mentioned, it was repetitive for me.
I have read the three full-length books in which almost all of this appeared, so The New Noah was, in that sense, rather repetitive. Also, since these anecdotes are all about the animals themselves (and not even very much in depth about the interesting characters among the animals), you don’t get to read Durrell’s absolutely hilarious notes on his fellow human beings, something I always enjoy about his books. In places, this actually reads more like a manual for someone collecting animals for zoos: what to do, how to do it, tips and tricks. Written in a user-friendly, informal and cheery style, but still.
If you haven’t read any of the books Durrell wrote about his animal-collecting expeditions, this one may be a good place to start. For me, the absence of the nutty characters, both human and to some extent animal, was disappointing; plus, as I mentioned, it was repetitive for me.
June 23, 2024
Boa-Constrictors, paradoxical frogs, hoatzins, bush babies and tucotucos - they're all part of what Gerald Durrell casually calls his 'big family'. Each animal in his menagerie exhibits such curious habits and eccentricities. There was Cholmondely the chimpanzee, for example, who was 'king' of the collection, liked a good cigarette and his tea not too hot, but had a horror of snakes! Cuthbert the curassow loved to collapse across people's feet when they weren't looking.Gerald Durrell describes not only the capture of these rare and exotic animals in Africa and South America, but also the problems of caging and feeding them. Footle, the moustached monkey, insisted on nose-diving into his milk, while the Kusimanses - nicknamed the Bandits - found Durrell's toes the most delectable thing in camp!
April 15, 2019
Re-reading The New Noah has made me want to go back and re-read all of Gerald Durrell's animal collecting books! Durrell's style of writing can make even the most seemingly mundane topic engaging; from the challenge of changing an animal's diet to the animal transportation arrangements. He writes about each animal's personality with great enthusiasm and humor. Ralph Thompson's illustrations complement the book perfectly. They capture not only naturalistic detail but the personalities of the animals and the humor of their odd habits and exploits. The photos in the center of my edition were also nice for quick reference, despite only being in black-and-white.
I am very much looking forward to revisiting the rest of these books!
I am very much looking forward to revisiting the rest of these books!
January 27, 2024
This book was shared with me by my friend Zippy for use in the 666 Challenge. It is rather dated (about 70 years old) and the methods of collecting animals for zoos were happily changed long ago. Nevertheless, it is interesting to read about Durrell's expeditions because of the variety of animals involved and the insights that are gained. As much as we would abhor such behavior today, without his efforts during his time, much less would be known about species around the world and therefore there would be less interest in preserving them in their natural habitat. I am counting this book for Guiana/Guyana, one of the 3 areas discussed in the book, as it is nice to find a book to read about that country that does not involve Jonestown.
May 19, 2020
Gerald Durrell was an interesting person. He spent many years collecting animals for European zoos before starting his own on Jersey. This book is about three of his trips, to Cameroons, to Guinea and to Paraguay.
There are lots of stories about the various animals he came in contact with, the difficulties faced by an animal collector (at that time most animals were moved on a ship) and the adventures he had with these animals.
The book is easy to read. Many of the stories are humorous. It is a fun book to read.
There are lots of stories about the various animals he came in contact with, the difficulties faced by an animal collector (at that time most animals were moved on a ship) and the adventures he had with these animals.
The book is easy to read. Many of the stories are humorous. It is a fun book to read.
March 24, 2020
Reading Gerald Durell is always a great, great pleasure. He is the only writer whose nonfiction books I can read any time and any number of time. This book, The New Noah, is an account of the various expeditions he made in order to collect animals for his zoo. He tells us all about the fun he had in his adventure and also the challenges he faced in such a way that you are bound to smile and enjoy it.
December 26, 2017
I love reading this book. I don't understand its relatively low rating (less than 4 * at the moment). Perhaps it is due to the colourful Czech translation that the stories are very vivid. Bohumil Fencl (the translator) did a good job. Particularly chapters 5 and 6 dealing with monkeys and Cholmondely are brilliant. Illustrations by Ralph Thompson are a pleasant "whipped cream on a cake".
May 19, 2020
Es uno de los libros que más me han gustado. He intentado leerme un montón de veces mi familia y otros animal del mismo autor, pero nunca me ha enganchado. Pero este libro me ha ayudado en cuarentena, pues te hace viajar descubrir nuevos animales y el escritor es bastante divertido. Si quieres empezar a leer algo de este autor te recomiendo este libro
December 1, 2022
Aimed at younger readers (13+), reading any of Gerald Durrell’s books is simply the best way to learn about the fauna of the world. He is an expert and enthusiast and writes with wit and warmth bringing to life the character of each animal. Each book is further enhanced by a host of charming illustrations.
August 3, 2023
One of his earlier books, he's on a collecting trip to the Cameroons, Guiana and Paraguay. Reading about the process, finding the right food and cage, was almost as interesting as discovering their diverse personalities.
June 8, 2024
I was so conflicted while I read this book as the animal-lover in me hates the thought of taking animals from the wild to live in zoos - but Gerald Durrell’s storytelling and obvious love for these fascinating creatures won the day. I look forward to reading more of his books.
January 8, 2017
Написав первые свои книги, Даррелл стал обрастать обрезками историй, в меру интересными и наравне с прочими рассказами достойными внимания, но оказавшимися в стороне. Так и быть им забытыми, не напиши Джеральд ещё одну книгу малого формата, поместив туда новые подробности путешествий в Африку и Южную Америку, дополнительно слово в слово пересказывая ряд приключений, и без того хорошо читателю известных. Задача Дарреллом к моменту издания «Нового Ноя» приняла окончательный вид — ему хотелось иметь собственный зоопарк, лично заботиться о добытых для него друзьях, покончив с практикой пополнения зоологических садов по заявкам. Джеральда постоянно беспокоила дальнейшая судьба привезённых в Англию животных. До открытия зоопарка оставалось ещё четыре года, поэтому о практической реализации говорить пока не приходится.
(c) Trounin
(c) Trounin
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November 2, 2011The New Noah is a book about a man called Gerald Durrel(Author) who is a collector of animals for zoos. This book as well as many others is about his adventures in capturing them. I decided to read this book because my dad had read one of his other books to me when i was young and i really enjoyed it so when i found out that i owned this one i decided it would be a great book for my book written before i was born square. I really enjoyed this book because i love animals and this book is filled with a whole of quirky animal personalities. There was nothing i could really fault about this book i truely enjoyed it. I would advised anybody to read this book because it is a really good read.
July 23, 2011
I bought this book used for a dollar so my husband could read it on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, the first two chapters are slow, so it was ten days into the honeymoon before he would give the book a shot. Once the third chapter starts, though, you are in familiar, charming territory. As always, the illustrations add so much to the stories.
May 26, 2015
This was not as entertaining as the previous books of Durrell I read, but a 'not bad' nevertheless. Durrell has introduced me to more animals than my 21 years of schooling has. However, I do feel strongly against the capturing of the animals for zoos - it goes against the grain of my brand of environmental conservationism.
February 2, 2012
Enjoyed it once I got it into it. I was uncomfortable at first with the animal collecting aspect of it, we're so used to captive breeding programs now, but relaxed once I read that some of the animals were former house pets sold to him by the locals and that they were well looked after by Durrell.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2016
I read most of this book on an airplane. It makes for good travel reading — enjoyable, informative, entertaining while being easy to read, flowing well, and not being so detailed as to make reading cumbersome.
December 14, 2013
Another delightful read from Durrell! His love and interest in animals is magnetic and his storytelling is light hearted and full of animal antics.
January 31, 2014
Very funny, as ever. Durrel is a very good storyteller, the way he describes the antics of the animals is brilliant!
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