The Zookeepers Wife by Diane Ackerman

I picked up this book while I was in LA visiting The Last Bookstore. When I saw it I just knew I had to buy it because the story takes place in Poland, which is where my family is from; plus I’ve always wanted to read books about Polish history.
    Let me just say reading this book which revolves around some Holocaust heroes absolutely is amazing. Not only do you see that no matter what the circumstances were at that time there were still people that wanted to help; even if this meant that there would be some serious consequences. One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that Polish terms were used throughout the entire book. Ackerman would not only just words expecting the readers to know the terms but she put the meaning either in parenthesis or she will explain the meaning of that particular word in a sentence.  Another amazing thing is that are pictures that are included that showed the life of Zabinski family while at their zoo.
    On top of many, great aspects of this book; Diane Ackerman did an amazing job writing this story. She also did a ton of research about Jan and Antonina Zabinski to make sure she got every aspect of this couple's amazing story down correctly. Reading this book has inspired me to pick up more books about Poland's history, this way I can learn more about the place my family comes from.


Book reviewed by Paige