Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo

Lawrence Anthony · Graham Spence

Jan 2015 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Simon Vance

About this audiobook

When the Iraq war began, conservationist Lawrence Anthony could think of only one thing: the fate of the Baghdad Zoo, caught in the crossfire at the heart of the city. Once Anthony entered Iraq, he discovered that hostilities and uncontrolled looting had devastated the zoo and its animals. Working with members of the zoo staff and a few compassionate U.S. soldiers, Anthony defended the zoo, bartered for food on war-torn streets, and scoured bombed palaces for desperately needed supplies. Babylon's Ark chronicles Anthony's hair-raising efforts to save a pride of Saddam's lions, close a deplorable black-market zoo, run ostriches through shoot-to-kill checkpoints, and rescue the dictator's personal herd of Thoroughbred Arabian horses.

About the author

Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012) was an international conservationist, explorer, adventurer, and the long-standing head of conservation at the Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, South Africa.

Graham Spence is the author of The Apocalypse Chase and coauthor, with Lawrence Anthony, of The Last Rhinos and Babylon's Ark.

Simon Vance, a former BBC Radio presenter and newsreader, is a full-time actor who has appeared on both stage and television. He has recorded over eight hundred audiobooks and has earned five coveted Audie Awards, and he has won fifty-seven Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, which has named him a Golden Voice.