A life spent finding new ways to
entertain people has made Jimmy Chipperfield's name a household
word.
This enthralling autobiography is
rich in the lore of the twin worlds where he is at home: the animal
kingdom, and the circus ring. Foremost comes his vast experience of
animal life both wild and tame - lions, tigers, giraffes, baboons,
hippos, chimpanzees, horses (not many other people have led a
helplessly drunk elephant down Piccadilly on New Year's Day!) He has
captured animals in savannah and desert, bought them, sold them,
trained them - and let them loose again. And although he knows the
pleasure they can give, he would never treat them with anything less
than total respect, for he also knows the tragedy that casual
handling can cause.
But he knows about people too. Born
into his father's travelling show, Jimmy went through the hard
school of one-day tenting, where the handful of family members
doubled as ringmasters, clowns, acrobats, animal trainers, musicians
and tent-hands. And when he eventually built the circus up into the
biggest ever seen in Europe (and probably in the world), he found he
needed all his skills and more when it came to sorting out the
problems and rivalries of miserable clowns and timid human
cannonballs.
Then, one day when the Big Show was
at its height, he cut loose again: and his search for new worlds to
conquer gave him a starling and epoch-making idea. The safari parks
which he invented, and set up - against heavy opposition - in
partnership with the owners of stately homes, have spread all over
the globe. Now he heads a close-knit family and an international
organisation; and not once has he watered down his father's
unshakeable principles of hard work, honesty and generosity.
My Wild Life is simple, yet
fascinatingly written, and stuffed with memorable stories. Anyone
who loves animals, or humans, or both, will read it for sheer
enjoyment.
Condition: Fine, in fine dustjacket (click image to see
close-up of the condition of the book).
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