America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families [Paperback]

This really cool book can enhance any trip you make. If you are travelling on business and are tired of sitting in your motel room watching idiot TV shows, this book can point you to a nearby zoo that will provide fun, education, and new experiences. Unlike a chain restaurant, each zoo is different and emphasizes different things. If you are on vacation, a zoo can be a surprisingly affordable family outing. A trip to the zoo doesn't have to be an all day event. You can go for just a couple of hours and focus on the specific exhibits that interest you. This guidebook can help you do that.

As Newt Gingrich points out in the introduction, America's zoos have played a much bigger role in protecting wildlife and conserving species than most people realize. The authors, Allen Nyhuis and Jon Wassner, have visited hundreds of zoos and provide you with valuable information on what to look for at each zoo and what each zoo's specialty is.

This book is organized very well and provides its information in helpful ways. After Newt Gingrich's foreword, the introduction provides information on trends at modern zoos, what to expect when going to the zoo, and how to take in the experience when you have children along (shorter visits, mix up viewing exhibits with rides and shows, for example). There is also a section on unusual and favorite animals and which zoos specialize in them. The next section explains how to use the book and how the zoo reviews are laid out.

The 97 zoos reviewed in this book are grouped into seven areas by geography. Each section intro also includes a map of the region and dots mark where the zoos are. Another 37 zoos are given a paragraph as the "best of the rest" at the end of each section. The primary reviews open practical information such as the address, phone, website, hours of operation, admission prices and associated fees, and directions. The authors also provide a brief list of things you shouldn't miss, what's there especially for kids, some tips from the author (such as which exhibits to see first, where to eat, how to manage your trip to manage the weather, and so forth). They also provide information about special shows or educational offerings the zoo has available.

The reviews discuss the featured exhibits, other exhibits that are popular, more detail on what is available for kids, and what the zoo is busy developing. There are many small black and white pictures spread throughout the book, as well. The appendices are also quite helpful. The first takes 20 categories such as African Animals or Bird Exhibits and lists the top ten zoos in each category with special information about the top 2.

Appendix 2 provides each author's list of their top 25 zoos. There is also a glossary of zoo terms and an index.

This book has the virtue of being excellently organized, wonderfully informative, and fun to read. I know it has achieved its objectives because it makes me want to go and visit these wonderful zoos. Maybe you will enjoy it, too.

Recommended.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

America's Best Zoos really makes a case for including a zoo in your next family vacation, or check out the zoos in your own state. My local zoos The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and The Phoenix Zoo were really described well with the "can't miss" displays highlighted. I remember going to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and thought it was excellent at the time and it has a great write-up as well. My original hometown zoo the Minnesota Zoo is also featured. If you have little ones, the children's activities are pointed out to make this zoo trip fun for everyone. Makes me want to visit zoos across the country! America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families I also like how the book points out how zoo breeding programs are saving species and keeping them genetically diverse. I never miss the bears and big cats on my trip to the zoo. My favorite animal is the elephant, what's yours?

A foreword by Newt Gingrich? Who knew his political career started by lobbying his city council for a zoo? Anybody who has a kid knows that zoos are not just great fun, but instill a love for animals and honoring the earth. If your kid has obsessed on a particular animal, you can use this guide to find the best places to see sifakas, for example.

Some of the best creative exhibit design in America is found in zoos. And it is all in this book.

It is fun to browse through a book that was an obvious labor of love. Let's face it, some of your best childhood memories took place in zoos.

Each zoo has its own character. So use this guide whenever you are going someplace. That old zoo you remember has probably changed a lot--for the better.

The book profiles zoos, highlights kids features, and has regional maps to plot out that day trip or keep track of your goal to visit them all.

We have a year's membership at our local zoo here in Salt Lake City. It also gives us admission and/or discounts at other zoos as well. So pack this book and bring your yearly membership.

Remember, there might be penguins!

(I love penguins. Nothing is as good as penguins.)

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