A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion
Book DescriptionIn 2008 an extraordinary two-minute film clip appeared on YouTube and immediately became an   international phenomenon. It captures the moving reunion of two young men and their pet lion Christian,   after they had left him in Africa with Born Free’s George Adamson to introduce him into his rightful   home in the wild.A Lion Called Christiantells the remarkable story of how Anthony “Ace” Bourke and John   Rendall, visitors to London from Australia in 1969, bought the boisterous lion cub in the pet   department of Harrods. For several months, the three of them shared a flat above a furniture shop on   London’s King’s Road, where the charismatic and intelligent Christian quickly became a local celebrity,   cruising the streets in the back of a Bentley, popping in for lunch at a local restaurant, even posing   for a fashion advertisement. But the lion cub was growing up--fast--and soon even the walled church   garden where he went for exercise wasn’t large enough for him. How could Ace and John avoid having to   send Christian to a zoo for the rest of his life? A coincidental meeting with English actors Virginia   McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of the hit filmBorn Free, led to Christian being flown to Kenya   and placed under the expert care of “the father of lions” George Adamson. Incredibly, when Ace and John   returned to Kenya to see Christian a year later, they received a loving welcome from their lion, who   was by then fully integrated into Africa and a life with other lions.Originally published in 1971, and now fully revised and updated with more than 50 photographs of   Christian from cuddly cub in London to magnificent lion in Africa,A Lion Called Christianis a   touching and uplifting true story of an indelible human-animal bond. It is destined to become one of   the great classics of animal literature.A Look InsideA Lion Called ChristianClick on thumbnails for larger imagesChristian with Mark at Todd's Hairdressers in the World's EndFootball in the Moravian CloseJohn, Christian, and Ace relaxing at Leith HillEaster, 1970Ace (left) and John (right) with Christian on The King's Road, Chelsea