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The Aye-Aye and I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction
 
 

The Aye-Aye and I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction [Paperback]

Gerald Durrell
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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From Publishers Weekly

Age cannot wither nor custom stale the boundless enthusiasm of Durrell ( The Ark's Anniversary ) in his efforts to rescue endangered species. Here he is in Madagascar--with his wife, Lee, and a BBC crew--to film and to capture for breeding the rare aye-aye, a nocturnal lemur of Africa's east coast rain forests. As his party travels through the countryside over impossible roads and rickety bridges, Durrell gives marvelous descriptions of inns and markets. Once settled in camp, he is able to find an aye-aye captive at the Biosphere Reserve, but the wild ones remain elusive. After the film crew departs, Durrell and his scouts come upon six aye-ayes for his Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, plus a mate for the captive aye-aye. Adventure, humor and a serious scientific mission add up to first-rate entertainment. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

What do you do when you are an avid naturalist, founder and head of the noted Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, and you have a spiritual experience with a little-known, extremely rare primate called an aye-aye? If you are the author, you muster an expedition to film and capture the creature to preserve it for future generation. Like its predecessors (e.g., The Ark's Anniversary , LJ 8/91), Durrell's 24th book is an often humorous romp to a faraway place--this time, the island of Madagascar off the southeast coast of Africa. Readers will be entertained by Durrell's descriptions of events that occurred during the expedition to capture a breeding population of aye-aye. Durrell also gives readers a feel for the difficulties encountered in dealing with the politics and inconveniences of Third World countries, but never in a derogatory or sarcastic manner. The Aye-Aye and I is rich in description yet never bogs down in scientific detail. For popular natural history collections.
- Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., Wis.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
I once described Madagascar as looking like a badly presented omelettes, lying in the Indian Ocean off Africa's eastern flank, from which it was wrenched millions of years ago. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Aye-aye!, Dec 7 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Aye-Aye and I (Hardcover)
With a career spanning decades and continents, and with a gift for writing witty and articulate accounts of his animal-catching adventures in so many different times & places, it seems predictable that the originality and enthusiasm which Gerald Durrell offers should vary from story to story or from book to book. And they do; some volumes are ecstatically joyous and quite fast-paced, while a few stories drag a bit or feature rather sarcastic caricatures of certain persons. Overall, however, I find Durrell's writing some of the most amusing and informative stuff that I've encountered in the last year. Therefore I have bought a copy of every Gerald Durrell title that I've located. It's quality stuff that I intend to keep long-term and reccomend to friends. "The AyeAye and I" is no exception, and I am pleased to have a hardcover edition. Thanks, Amazon!
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2.0 out of 5 stars Durrell has gotten old and it shows, Nov 19 2003
By 
Targo Tennisberg (Redmond, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Aye-Aye and I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction (Paperback)
I have always admired Gerald Durrell as a writer; his zoological/ecological achievements, while very noteworthy, have not been so important to me when reading his books.
From this standpoint, 'Aye-aye and I' was a great disappointment; the sparkling humor of 'Three Tickets to Adventure' and especially 'My Family and Other Animals' has all but disappeared. The author has gotten old and bitter and it really shows throughout the book. He keeps complaining about the degrading ecological state of Madagascar, his own health and other issues, and while his environmental concerns are undoubtedly valid, it makes the book a somewhat depressing read.
Now if you have actual interest in lemurs, Madagascar or Durrell's scientific work, by all means go ahead and by this book. However, if you are looking for something entertaining, skip it and get some of his older works instead.
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4.0 out of 5 stars loquacious lemurs make good, Aug 24 2002
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This review is from: The Aye-Aye and I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction (Paperback)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, being already more than sold on the value proposition presented by lemurs of all shapes and sizes. I'm convinced that the lemur is destined to become the most popular primate of the millenium, and this book should be at the top of the charts for those wishing to catch the rising tide of lemur fanatics. The San Francisco Zoo's new Lipman Family Lemur Forest exhibit presents two of only twelve Aye-ayes in the United States, and having visited it recently I now plan to return next weekend to apply the newfound in-depth Aye-aye background I've gleaned from my reading of this book. Moreover, lemurs are but the tip of the iceberg here! Rife with hilarious descriptions of Giant Jumping rats, tortoises, and grubs of all shapes and sizes, Durrell's personal tone, dry wit, and entertaining presentation kept me amused and reading until the wee hours of the morn. I'll be seeking out more of his works, and would happily recommend this to anyone with an interest in lemurs, obscure regions of the world, travel, conservation, the Aye-aye, and furry or reptilian critters, period.
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