From Amazon.co.uk
There are those who have accused Stephen Fry of spreading his many talents too thinly.
Rescuing the Spectacled Bear reminds us that it's possible to argue that he's at his best as a writer. It's a funny and moving diary of his bid to rescue Peru's endangered Spectacled Bears and altogether a delight. Earlier in 2002, BBC 1 broadcast a programme about Fry's visit to Peru to track Paddington Bear's roots and (more seriously) to rescue a Spectacled Bear, one of the world's endangered species. Later, Fry and his team went back and helped rescue a mate for the bear they had found on their first trip. Fry is clearly keen to draw the world's attention to these bears and this engaging diary of his time in Peru is both funny and committed. Will Fry become the Diane Fossey of the bear world?
The full colour, full-page illustrations are a particular delight and perfectly complement the author's whimsical word pictures of the Spectacled Bears. And there's even a bonus in the shape of some very funny jacket notes, comparing (item by item) the Spectacled Bear and Stephen Fry in terms of size, appearance and habitat, not to mention sexual habits. Of the bears: "Mating occurs in April, May and June and couples stay together for a week or two, with copulation occurring numerous times." Of Stephen Fry: "Subject of much speculation among scholars and gossip mongers. The mating ritual, which is remarkably noisy, lasts fourteen and a half years and makes a great deal of mess." --Barry Forshaw
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
The inspirational book "Rescuing the Spectacled Bear" is read by Stephen Fry and also includes a specially recorded update by the author on the Bear Rescue project. Stephen Fry first travelled to Peru to investigate Paddington Bear's origins in the BBC documentary, "Paddington Bear: The Early Years". However, the surprise star of the show turned out to be a real live bear named Yogi. He was a Spectacled Bear so called due to the markings around the eyes but had been captured by the people of a small village high in the Andes and had lived in a tiny cage, barely large enough for him to turn around in, for two years. Thanks to some bartering, he was released and taken to a new enclosure at the bottom of Peru's greatest man-made treasure, Machu Picchu. This was the beginning of Stephen's obsession with Spectacled Bears and their destiny. A charitable foundation Bear Rescue was then established for the purpose of rescuing distressed bears, to purchase land for their exclusive use and to pursue research into their numbers, their habitat and their future. Then it was back to Peru for the second documentary. Stephen Fry and the Spectacled Bears was devoted entirely to the welfare of the Spectacled Bear and the attempts to keep the species from extinction. During this trip Stephen kept a diary. The diary became the book, "Rescuing the Spectacled Bear", which has now been exclusively read in its entirety by Stephen Fry for this recording.
