Friday, July 3, 2009

99 - A Lion Called Christian: Bourke and Rendall


Like many people, I fell in love with the 2008 YOUTUBE sensation video about Christian the Lion; I watched it over and over again. In 2009, some 38 years after the book wasfirst published A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lion, by Anthony Bourke and John Rendell was revised and updated with more than 50 photographs. The book was a huge success and it reached the top 10 list at Amazon.com in early 2009.

An uplifting story about man and beast by the authors who bought and the cute cuddly lion cub from Harrods in London. Bourke, Rendall and Christian lived in a flat above a furniture store in London . Christian received excellent care, regular exercise and love until the cub simply became to large to continue to live in captivity. Determined not to send the lion to a zoo for the rest of his life, arrangements were made to transport him to Kenya to integrate him into the wild with his own kind. One year later when Bourke and Rendall went out to visit, Christian seemed to recognize his former masters and greeted the two with a "lion's hug", captured on video.

This book is truly a remarkable story about the bond between man and animal. The video was wonderful, and brought tears to my eyes whenever I watched it, however, the story and the photographs have so much more to tell. This gem of a book is just over 200 pages, and is sure to please animal lovers everywhere. Highly Recommended

RATING - 5/5 - COMPLETED - 7/2/2009
Where From - My Stacks
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14 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 3, 2009 at 5:31 AM

    I've seen that video too - makes me get all teary-eyed too. I'll look for the book.

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  2. serendipity_vivJuly 3, 2009 at 6:20 AM

    I am sitting here, with tears in my eyes after watching that video. How utterly beautiful and wonderful. I will definitely be adding this one to my list. Thank you for sharing such a fabulous book.

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  3. Suzanne YesterJuly 3, 2009 at 8:06 AM

    Thanks for the wonderful review! It brings tears to my eyes just to think about the love between them all and the ultimate 'sacrifice' of knowing when to let go.... I remember crying my eyes out over Born Free too!

    Thanks for the wonderful review!
    Suzanne

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  4. Beth FJuly 3, 2009 at 9:18 AM

    Wow! I admit I'm totally out of it. This is the first I've heard of the story or the video. Reminds me of Born Free.

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  5. MaeJuly 3, 2009 at 9:32 AM

    I watched the updated documentary a few weeks back and it's simply gorgeous. Christian was beautiful and what the two blokes did for him was marvellous. It makes me want a lion though. :-p

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  6. bermudaonionJuly 3, 2009 at 10:44 AM

    I'm going to see if I can find the video now. The book sounds wonderful.

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  7. bermudaonionJuly 3, 2009 at 12:14 PM

    I just watched the video and it made me cry too! Thanks for the link.

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  8. CaspetteJuly 3, 2009 at 7:31 PM

    Im glad you liked this book. I have had my eye on it for awhile. Video aside it is an amazing story the snippets i have heard.

    I will definitely check it out.

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  9. JennyJuly 3, 2009 at 9:02 PM

    Oh my God - I forgot all about that video! When I remembered it, I immediately started crying, before I even rewatched the video! So lovely - I'll have to get the book next time I'm at the library.

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  10. Terri B.July 4, 2009 at 2:02 AM

    I saw this on the shelf at the bookstore last night. I was very tempted but I had gone specifically to get "Wesley the Owl." Probably going to be heartwarming as well as informative. I need to get over to the nature section of the store more often. There were some good books over there!

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  11. TashaJuly 4, 2009 at 7:55 PM

    I watched the YouTube video a while back and became interested in the book then. I didn't realize it had been previously published. I'm curious as to how Christian ended up at Harrods.

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  12. TaraJuly 5, 2009 at 10:34 AM

    I knew I had seen this video, but didn't realize there was a book. I am also wondering how the lion wound up at Harrods.

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  13. Dawn - She is Too Fond of BooksJuly 5, 2009 at 9:32 PM

    I didn't realize there was a book about Christian! I've seen the video (astounding!), and wondered about the back story.

    I'll be getting this for my mother; she loves cats, big and small, and knows the video clip.

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  14. JulieJuly 27, 2009 at 6:46 PM

    I love that "lion hug" part so much and I think that is what drew me to the book. This book had such great people in it as well as how terrific Christian the Lion is too! I thought it was worth my time - very enjoyable. I want to know more about lions now too!
    Thanks for coming to 5-squared and reading my review on this book! I'm very appreciative of that.
    Nice review!

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