Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo
Anthony, a South African conservationist and recipient of the U.N.'s  Earth Day award, details how, through a series of complex maneuvers, he entered  Iraq after the American invasion and led the fight to save what was left of the  Baghdad Zoo. Most of the animals were killed by war and looting; the remainder  were starved and in filthy cages, with no staff to care for them. Anthony  describes how he, along with the zoo's former deputy director and several brave  workers, risked daily danger to save the bears, lions, tigers, monkeys and  birds. Anthony fended off looters with a gun obtained from a sympathetic U.S.  soldier, spent his own funds for equipment and bartered the use of a satellite  phone for food and other essentials. Anthony vividly recounts the rescue of  other animals, including the inhabitants of the appalling Luna Park Zoo and  Saddam's prize Arabian horses, saved from the hands of black marketeers. The  author takes no position on the invasion. His goal is for his mission, so  dramatically recounted with journalist Spence's help, to set an example of  conservation and respect for animal life. 8 pages of color photos.(Mar. 12)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.