We Bought a Zoo

The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever

By: Benjamin Mee

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

Already a BBC documentary miniseries and excerpted in the Guardian, We Bought a Zoo is a profoundly moving portrait of an unforgettable family living in the most extraordinary circumstances. This touching memoir is set to be a major motion picture starring Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon, in theaters December 23, 2011.

When Benjamin Mee decided to uproot his family and move them to an unlikely new home—a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside where over two hundred exotic animals would be their new neighbors—his friends and colleagues thought he was crazy. But Mee’s dream was to refurbish the zoo and run it as a family business. So in 2006, Mee, his wife and two children, his brother, and his 76-year-old mother moved into the Dartmoor Wildlife Park. Their extended family now included: Solomon, an African lion and scourge of the local golf course; Zak, the rickety alpha wolf, a broadly benevolent dictator clinging to power; Ronnie, a Brazilian tapir, easily capable of killing a man but hopelessly soppy; and Sovereign, a jaguar and would-be ninja, who devised a long-term escape plan and implemented it.

The grand reopening was scheduled for spring, but there was much work to be done and none of it easy for these novice zookeepers. Tigers broke loose, money was tight, the staff grew skeptical, and family tensions reached a boiling point.

Then tragedy struck. Katherine Mee, Benjamin’s wife, had a recurrence of a brain tumor, forcing Benjamin and his two young children to face the heartbreak of illness and the devastating loss of a wife and mother. Inspired by the memory of Katherine and the healing power of the incredible family of animals they had grown to love, Benjamin and his kids resolved to move forward. Today the zoo is a thriving success.

©2008 Benjamin Mee (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Charming throughout, and touching as well.” ( New York Daily News)

Very Interesting and Worth Listening to

It is worth listening to this book. The narrator is easy to listen to. The Mee Family's story is heartfelt and honest. It is interesting how the Mee Family handled the major changes in their lives, whether those changes were made by them or not. Their new life to rebuild a zoo is truly remarkable. It is wonderful they were able to make such a wonderful contribution to the community and to take such good care of the zoo animals and to support animal conservation overall.

Ben's Zoo

A heart break of the loss of his wife and the healing power of animals. Not as PG a story as the movie. Much more grit, drama and pain. Was disappointed with the narrator. I felt he just read the book instead of told the story. I was wishing Matt Damon read it. But it is a British story. So get Jim Dale!

Would Have Made An Interesting Magazine Article

The story seemed interesting enough, and I did not necessarily except the book to resemble the movie (which it doesn't), but after about three hours I was ready to put it down. I did listen to the end, but it was a grind. I listen to most of my audiobook books while doing my daily gym workouts, so I stayed with it with the same determination I use in doing 40 minutes of hard cardio. This would have made an interesting magazine article, but in the end, it was just too much detail, too much of the author's internal monologue, and too much about his wife's illness and death.

I understand that his wife's untimely death from cancer was unfortunately intertwined with the purchase of the zoo, but I felt they just seemed to be two different stories. Some people might enjoy his frank and open discussion of her illness, the effect of it on their family, and his emotions during her illness and after her death. For me, to listen to all of that in connection with his family's decision to buy a zoo seemed terribly self-indulgent -- just not my thing perhaps.

I was also caught off guard by his salty language, and I would rate the overall narration was adequate. I also found his condescending comments about several of his staff members to be quite off-putting. A couple of staffers decided to leave when the business hit a rough patch during the first year, fearing they might end up jobless. He considered this a lack of loyalty. I have to wonder how long he would have continued to pay their salaries if the rough patch had continued. I realize this was a labor of love and a chosen way of life for him, but it was a job to them. By then I had been listening to this book for too long anyway. For me, it was worth neither the time nor the money.

I read this for a book project

Incredible book! Sometimes filled with small filler, but that's how it is in a non-fiction book.

Story was intriguing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The ending.

Would you be willing to try another book from Benjamin Mee? Why or why not?

It would depend on the story involved.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Gildart Jackson?

Maybe.

Could you see We Bought a Zoo being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Well since it was, yes.

Any additional comments?

Because I had seen the movie first, I had an expectation that was probably unrealistic. While I appreciated the truthfulness that was told, it was not as entertaining as the movie made it seem. The end of the book became hard to deal with for me as the language became objectionable. I would still not mind visiting this little zoo, however, if I was ever in that country.