Words from the Lion Whisperer

While Christmas shopping this past winter I stumbled upon a new memoir that had me fascinated, that of Kevin Richardson as he details his life working with the big cats and predators of Africa. It took me months to finally get around to reading it, but here it is:
Title: Part of the Pride-My Life Among the Big Cats of Africa
Author: Kevin Richardson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publishing Date: 2009
My start date: 7/11/10
My finish date: 7/14/10

The important thing to remember with this book is that it is a memoir and the reader must focus on the essence of what Richardson is telling. His life and his work are really quite unique and extraordinary. His writing is not. Not that it is bad, far from it. However at times it is repetitive and choppy. Yet I had to remind myself and I will also remind you that his job is to be awesome with animals, not to write stories for a living. So, with that in mind…

This is a great story and I am glad he told it in whatever writing he could manage. Kevin Richardson has a true gift with animals and while he modestly shrugs his talents off as common sense and personal connections, I have to admit, I am thoroughly jealous! One of my dreams is to travel to Africa and spend a summer working with the same animals he gets to spend every day of his life raising and visiting! Can you imagine being able to walk into a lion’s territory and just hang out as if you were old friends? Richardson does this for a living. So cool.

One thing I loved about this memoir was Richardson’s total lack of arrogance. He tells this amazing story of his work with complete and heart-felt modesty. With the exception on some time spent detailing his childhood as a way to set up how he fell into this line of work, the bulk of the story feels more about the animals than about himself. Further, he is very realistic, refusing to paint any kind of Crocodile Dundee wildlife hero picture and faithfully mentioning the times when things got messy and taking the blame when he clearly overstepped his boundaries with the animals. Nor does he create the kind of work that could easily be read as a glorified advertisement to recruit wide-eyed city kids with dreams of wilderness work (ahem, much like myself…) into purchasing the next plane ticket to South Africa. He was good at writing reality.

This book isn’t overly long, is filled with cool stories through which you are welcome to live vicariously and even comes with a bunch of great pictures involving Richardson in various terrifying poses with dangerous creatures. Writing aside, I whole-heartedly recommend this as a fun read.

So until next time, keep reading!
Sarah