Adrian House

Very enlightening look at the couple behind the Born Free phenomenon. If you've only ever read Born Free or seen the movie, you have not idea of the suffering these two people endured in their lives to bring conservation and other animal issues to the forefront from the 1940's to the 1980's.

This joint biography traces the long and turbulent travels of George and Joy from their childhoods to their fateful meeting on Christmas in 1942 to their bizarre murders years later. Using actual letters show more and entries from each of their diaries, Adrian House creates a picture of two complex people caught up in a difficult marriage.

Before reading this I had no idea Joy Adamson was such a disturbed woman throughout her life (it was quite before my time actually.) She was decietful, petulant, and just downright mean at times. It is amazing to me that George never divorced her!

All things considered however, both Joy and George loved animals and realized the need to conserve them in their natural habitats. Each of them were of clear and unwavering vision, as well as tremendous energy, tenacity and courage. This book is an extremely well-rounded account of both George and Joy and their turbulent lives together.

This is an exceptional read for anyone who is interested in Africa, animals, art, history, or human relationships. I highly recommend it! show less

House writes sympathetically of his subject, but could have done with good editor. Too often he makes sudden and rather tenuous connections between Francis' life and the lives of other historical figures, and sometimes lapses into awkward repetition of ground already covered - material on p. 274 comparing Francis' self-discipline and mortification to Zen and martial arts disciplines has been aired eleven pages earlier.

All in all though it is a useful visitation of one of history's holiest show more humans, balanced and pleasantly measured in its assessment of the sociological and theological ingredients of a short but profoundly significant life. show less

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