A View from the Zoo

by Gary Richmond

The author is a pastor who used to be a zookeeper. He recounts his experiences with animals at the Los Angeles Zoo in the late '60s. I enjoyed reading about the captive wildlife, but could have done without the little morality plugs at the end of each story. It got annoying enough that I started skipping the last few paragraphs of each chapter (which are pretty short), so I suppose I can say I only read three-quarters of A View from the Zoo. The author has written a second book on the same subject, but I'm not tempted to read it unless he can stick to the anecdotes about animals. I don't mind observations and reflections on life lessons taught by animals, but his are just too preachy.

Rating: 2/5                206 pages, 1987