New Zoo Books

[snowleopard]

I see Mr Tuson has followed up his book on the zoos of Britain and Ireland with The Zoos of Germany. It should be a good read.

I ordered my copy this morning and I'm expecting it to be a brilliant companion piece to the British & Irish book.

Here's the website to order the German book:

German Zoo Book

 

[snowleopard]

Red-haired Librarian and Other Notes of a Zoo Director (2023) and Vultures in the Hotel Continental and Other Notes of a Zoo Director (2021) are a pair of hardcover books written by Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague Zoo. I know that @Tim Brown recently purchased the books and said they are "quite entertaining, miscellaneous short stories".

Both books are in English and it's possible to request signed copes at the checkout via the Prague Zoo website. I haven't bought these publications myself, but I did email the zoo because on the link below it says "orders from abroad are processed individually". I'm curious to see how much postage is to Canada. Here's the link and thanks to @PossumRoach for finding it:

Book pack of the zoo director Miroslav Bobek

 

[PossumRoach]

Red-haired Librarian and Other Notes of a Zoo Director (2024) and Vultures in the Hotel Continental and Other Notes of a Zoo Director (2024) are a pair of newly published hardcover books written by Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague Zoo. I know that @Tim Brown recently purchased the books and said they are "quite entertaining, miscellaneous short stories".

Both books are in English and it's possible to request signed copes at the checkout via the Prague Zoo website. I haven't bought these publications myself, but I did email the zoo because on the link below it says "orders from abroad are processed individually". I'm curious to see how much postage is to Canada. Here's the link and thanks to @PossumRoach for finding it:

Book pack of the zoo director Miroslav Bobek

I am happy to help you find these books. I hope that they will hype you up to a visit to Prague.

I would like to give a slight correction, however: the books actually came out in 2023 and 2021 respectively.

 

[Grimnir]

These books are one big propaganda of a conceited and arrogant director

 

[snowleopard]

These books are one big propaganda of a conceited and arrogant director

That's an interesting statement! I won't be buying them anyway, as the zoo replied to my email and they only ship to addresses in the Czech Republic.

 

[Jurek7]

Zoo Basel has 3 recent books, perhaps related to its 150-th anniversary. All in German, but this is no longer such a problem in the age of translator apps. Unfortunately I don't know whether and how they are available outside Switzerland.

Zoo Basel: a large format book with lots of photos and text:
Zoo Basel - Degen, Jennifer; Meili, Lukas; Herausgegeben:Zoo Basel; Fotos:Stefan, Leimer - Bider & Tanner

Der Zoologische Garten Basel 1944-1966: looks like a reprint of an older zoo book.
Der Zoologische Garten Basel 1944-1966 - Burkhardt, Louanne - Bider & Tanner

Das Okapi hat Husten: stories of a zoo veterinarian. Not as entertainingly described as James Herriot classic books, rather mundane.
Amazon.com

 

[snowleopard]

World Zoo and Aquarium Architecture Vol. 01 (2024) is due to be published on September 1st and it is edited by Natascha Meuser. I already own two fantastic books by her and both are honestly quite brilliant. There's Zoo Buildings: Construction and Design Manual (2019) and Public Aquariums: Construction and Design Manual (2022) and both should be must-own books for anyone in the zoo design industry. I'm very intrigued by her upcoming 3rd zoo-related book.

Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/World-Zoo-Aq...ha+Meuser&s=books&sr=1-8&text=Natascha+Meuser

Link to publisher's site:

World Zoo and  Aquarium Architecture Vol. 01

 

[Tim Brown]

Initially,the book seems to be rather disappointing in that parts at least are a re-hash of the volumes mentioned above by SL (which are by no means the only books on the subject by the author/publisher - they are all shown as a double spread in this book). On the positive side,for me anyway,although the book is largely in German,there are significant chunks of English language versions of the text.And I must also say that I havent read the book in detail yet, so perhaps I shouldnt reach any major conclusions for the moment.

 

[snowleopard]

Berlin: City of Animals - The Story of Germany's oldest and most famous zoo (Maier-Wolthausen, 2024) is a hardcover publication that came out last month. This is an English language version of the book and I hear that it's well worth owning and thus I plan to order a copy.

https://www.amazon.ca/Berlin-Animal...rlin+zoo+city+of+animal,stripbooks,139&sr=1-1

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Berlin: City of Animals - The Story of Germany's oldest and most famous zoo (Maier-Wolthausen, 2024) is a hardcover publication that came out last month. This is an English language version of the book and I hear that it's well worth owning and thus I plan to order a copy.

https://www.amazon.ca/Berlin-Animals-Germanys-oldest-famous/dp/3962892214/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BX72PF0DS4SP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6SR2v3WSJKJntkbmZux5trzrBuStgYPucel_01Mvv3tYFNKH3ePQjBpF6wR39CZP.i7LpKcapt2amCd5tKKql5meqXVMOi1enFV2CvqrDIrg&dib_tag=se&keywords=berlin+zoo+city+of+animals&qid=1725983972&s=books&sprefix=berlin+zoo+city+of+animal,stripbooks,139&sr=1-1

Myself and @Tim Brown got into a bidding war for this one during the auction at the recent Zoohistorica weekend I won, and as such can confirm it's a very interesting book!

 

[twilighter]

Berlin: City of Animals - The Story of Germany's oldest and most famous zoo (Maier-Wolthausen, 2024) is a hardcover publication that came out last month. This is an English language version of the book and I hear that it's well worth owning and thus I plan to order a copy.

https://www.amazon.ca/Berlin-Animals-Germanys-oldest-famous/dp/3962892214/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BX72PF0DS4SP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6SR2v3WSJKJntkbmZux5trzrBuStgYPucel_01Mvv3tYFNKH3ePQjBpF6wR39CZP.i7LpKcapt2amCd5tKKql5meqXVMOi1enFV2CvqrDIrg&dib_tag=se&keywords=berlin+zoo+city+of+animals&qid=1725983972&s=books&sprefix=berlin+zoo+city+of+animal,stripbooks,139&sr=1-1

This was a surprise, thanks for sharing! Ordered imidiately and now have a German copy for sale

 

[Tim May]

Berlin: City of Animals - The Story of Germany's oldest and most famous zoo (Maier-Wolthausen, 2024) is a hardcover publication that came out last month. This is an English language version of the book and I hear that it's well worth owning and thus I plan to order a copy.

https://www.amazon.ca/Berlin-Animals-Germanys-oldest-famous/dp/3962892214/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BX72PF0DS4SP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6SR2v3WSJKJntkbmZux5trzrBuStgYPucel_01Mvv3tYFNKH3ePQjBpF6wR39CZP.i7LpKcapt2amCd5tKKql5meqXVMOi1enFV2CvqrDIrg&dib_tag=se&keywords=berlin+zoo+city+of+animals&qid=1725983972&s=books&sprefix=berlin+zoo+city+of+animal,stripbooks,139&sr=1-1

Thanks for bringing this volume to my attention; I've just ordered a copy.

 

[snowleopard]

Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnett Park (Davis, 2025) is a 160-page softcover book that will be published in January. This zoo has received a lot of worldwide fame since the birth of twin male Asian Elephants in October 2022.

Here's the Amazon link:

Amazon.com

 

[snowleopard]

Hot on the heels of the upcoming Rosamond Gifford Zoo history book is a publication titled Zoo Idaho: Where Every Animal Has a Story (multiple authors, 2024) that came out last month. I visited this zoo in 2012 and it was known as Pocatello Zoo back then.

Here's the Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Idaho-Wh...d=1726424352&sprefix=zoo+idaho,aps,153&sr=8-1

 

[WhistlingKite24]

When Life Gives You Lemurs (2024) is a recent memoir by New Zealand-born, Australian-based zoo consultant Tim Husband. From a dark and troubled upbringing (do note it has some heavy topics), Husband rises the ranks after being taken in by the local zoo owner, aged 14. From there he goes to Taronga, onwards towards Cairns, Bali and managing the development of Dubai Safari Park.

When Life Gives You Lemurs

 

[snowleopard]

When Life Gives You Lemurs (2024) is a recent memoir by New Zealand-born, Australian-based zoo consultant Tim Husband. From a dark and troubled upbringing (do note it has some heavy topics), Husband rises the ranks after being taken in by the local zoo owner, aged 14. From there he goes to Taronga, onwards towards Cairns, Bali and managing the development of Dubai Safari Park.

When Life Gives You Lemurs

Thanks for this and I ordered a copy after reading your post. It looks like an interesting memoir.

Zoo Animals as Contemporary Witnesses: History of the Dahlholzli Zoo (Sidler, 2024) is a German-language book due to be published in a few days. The book's focus is on 7 animals and it seems like there will also be an analysis of the history of Tierpark Bern, which is a famous Swiss zoo. Too bad the book is only available in German.

https://www.amazon.com/Zootiere-als...=roger+sidler,stripbooks-intl-ship,152&sr=1-1

 

[TeaLovingDave]

A very nice addition to my personal collection arrived on Friday morning, after a minor delay in publication caused by the book ending up rather longer than originally planned - The Zoos of Germany by John Tuson, a follow-up to his previous The Zoos of Britain and Ireland.



The book covers a total of 42 zoological collections within the main body of the text, with several supplemental sections covering a variety of related subjects including potted summaries of the major "wildparks" within Germany, a biography of the late Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, and discussions of particularly noteworthy zoo exhibits past and present; as such it's definitely a book that doesn't need to be read in order from beginning to end, with a lot of scope for dipping in-and-out as mood (and interest in a particular zoological collection) strikes!

It probably won't surprise anyone to hear that thus far I have prioritised reading through the (extremely lengthy) sections on Zoo Berlin and Tierpark Berlin, along with other personal favourites such as Wilhelma, Zoo Köln and Walsrode and have thoroughly enjoyed them.

Although a lot of the people reading this thread have probably pre-ordered copies, and the book has a limited print run, I believe there are still plenty of copies for sale via the following link:

German Zoo Book - Buy the Book

Definitely to be recommended, I reckon..... especially when you consider how rarely anything is published in English on this subject.

 

[Fallax]

Didn't realise they were already being sent out Hopefully my copy arrives this week!

 

[LaughingDove]

A very nice addition to my personal collection arrived on Friday morning, after a minor delay in publication caused by the book ending up rather longer than originally planned - The Zoos of Germany by John Tuson, a follow-up to his previous The Zoos of Britain and Ireland.

View attachment 741554

The book covers a total of 42 zoological collections within the main body of the text, with several supplemental sections covering a variety of related subjects including potted summaries of the major "wildparks" within Germany, a biography of the late Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, and discussions of particularly noteworthy zoo exhibits past and present; as such it's definitely a book that doesn't need to be read in order from beginning to end, with a lot of scope for dipping in-and-out as mood (and interest in a particular zoological collection) strikes!

It probably won't surprise anyone to hear that thus far I have prioritised reading through the (extremely lengthy) sections on Zoo Berlin and Tierpark Berlin, along with other personal favourites such as Wilhelma, Zoo Köln and Walsrode and have thoroughly enjoyed them.

Although a lot of the people reading this thread have probably pre-ordered copies, and the book has a limited print run, I believe there are still plenty of copies for sale via the following link:

German Zoo Book - Buy the Book

Definitely to be recommended, I reckon..... especially when you consider how rarely anything is published in English on this subject.

I've been prevaricating about ordering this for some time since seeing posts on Facebook. But finally decided to go for it this evening after seeing your post. Looking forward to getting a copy!

 

[Strathmorezoo]

I also have have The Zoos of Britain and Ireland, good reading, ordering The Zoos of Germany, nice early Christmas present.