Thank You to Greenleaf Book Group for providing me with a copy of Ed Warner's Running with Rhinos, in exchange for an honest review.
PLOT- When retired geologist Ed Warner, looked to fill his life with adventure, he became a volunteer for The Rhino Conservancy Project in Africa. His memoir, Running with Rhinos, details his highly dangerous and important work to help conserve this endangered species.
LIKE- Prior to reading Running with Rhinos, I had never heard of Ed Warner or The International Rhino Conservancy. After reading Warner's book, I'm inspired by the valuable conservation work that they are doing. This is a physically dangerous job that is carried out primarily by volunteers. They are constantly struggling to find funding, fight poachers, and work within a government that has endless red tape. To say that it's an uphill battle, is an understatement.
I've spent many years as a zoo research volunteer, including a study involving a baby Indian Rhino...however, all of my work was observational only, done from the safety of a thick barrier. Warner and his colleagues are hands on, using darts with a sedative that's lethal to humans, and risking being trampled or gored. Warner has plenty of close calls and his stories are exciting.
I've never visited Africa, but it's easy to get swept up in Warner's love and enthusiasm for the country. He paints beautiful images of the landscape, animals, and people, that he has come to love. He makes the reader care about their conservation efforts.
DISLIKE- Warner is an okay writer, but his memoir lacks polish. Maybe this is a positive though, as it makes his stories genuine and down-to-earth, like the stories are being told by a friend. Less could have been more, as some of the stories are repetitive in content. The collection would have been stronger, if he had been more selective over which stories to include, rather than including so many.
RECOMMEND- Yes. Warner is doing good work and his story is important to share. Running with Rhinos is a great pick for anyone interested in animal conservation or those who like reading about dangerous, scary, dare-devil situations.