WILD LIVES – Lori Robinson and Janie Chodosh

This book is essentially a collection of mini-biographies of people actively working in wildlife conservation.

Wildlife conservation is important to me … it’s a voting point for me … and so this book really had some appeal. The subtitle, “Leading Conservationists on the Animals and Planet They Love” sounded as though I would get some really important information on the conservation efforts.

The delivery of this book, however, is less than exciting.

Each ‘chapter’ is a mini biography on a different person and each chapter reads very much the same. We get background on the individual, what it was that got them started on their career path, the dangers they face, the dangers to the animals they ‘protect’ and the challenges that they face. Now add a few comments from the individual to make it unique, and we’re off to the next mini biography.

I don’t really mean to make light of the people who are doing really important work, but the presentation here lacks inspiration. This works best as a coffee-table gift book – something that someone can pick up, read a chapter, put down, and pick it up again a few months later to read another chapter.

All of the twenty different people profiled are doing remarkable and important work. This alone makes the book well worth reading. And each chapter also provides information to the reader on how to learn more about the individual or their work efforts.

While all the chapters here are interesting, one stood out for me. The work of Dominique Bikaba, “Gorilla Warrior,” was especially interesting and his efforts noteworthy.

It is truly amazing that there are people in the world putting their very lives on the line to protect animals and it’s great to get this opportunity to ‘meet’ some of them. I do wish the books were a bit more exciting so that it was easier to recommend.

Looking for a good book? Wild Lives, by Lori Robinson and Janie Chodosh is an interesting book about some of the people working in wildlife conservation today.