Rating: 
Summary: A fantastic project half accomplished!
Review: "Zarafa" has been an enlightening piece of work for me. Mr. Allin weaves a very colorful background for the gift, the giraffe, from Egypt to France. Or he tries to, at least. I've learned a lot of historical and geographical details from the book, in addition to the giraffe's long journey. However, in trying to incorporate too much history into this little lovely story, Mr. Allin's sometimes disregards the revelance of such facts. As a result, the story of the leading lady is left half told while the structure of the book seems loose. In other words, the writing isn't good enough for the story. In reflecting on this book, another book came to mind. Mark Kurlansky's "Cod-A biography of the fish that changed the world" is one of the most charming books I've read in many years. Also created out of an interesting animal story, Mr. Kurlansky writes beautifully, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful True Tale of Giraffe's Journey Up The Nile...
Review: ...across the Mediteranean, and through the countryside of France, and into Paris! This great little book will be enjoyed for many years to come by people of all ages. Just transporting this bulky beast was enough of a headache, but fortunately its demeanor was (usually) cool, calm, and collected. In 1826, how could this animal set upon such a long, difficult journey? You'll learn in this book! And the French were enthalled by this animal, so unique from all other animals in creation. The "Zarafa" became the center of a huge tourist industry attracting throngs of well-wishers and curiousity seekers for over a thousand miles! Like today's Super Bowl or Academy Awards, all kinds of momenta were made to celebrate (and earn a few francs) this singular giraffe, including clothes, and pottery. A great value and a fine book!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful True Tale of Giraffe's Journey Up The Nile...
Review: ...across the Mediteranean, and through the countryside of France, and into Paris! This great little book will be enjoyed for many years to come by people of all ages. Just transporting this bulky beast was enough of a headache, but fortunately its demeanor was (usually) cool, calm, and collected. In 1826, how could this animal set upon such a long, difficult journey? You'll learn in this book! And the French were enthalled by this animal, so unique from all other animals in creation. The "Zarafa" became the center of a huge tourist industry attracting throngs of well-wishers and curiousity seekers for over a thousand miles! Like today's Super Bowl or Academy Awards, all kinds of momenta were made to celebrate (and earn a few francs) this singular giraffe, including clothes, and pottery. A great value and a fine book!
Rating: 
Summary: Whimsical cabinet of curiosities
Review: Allin describes a custom of the Victorian age in which the landed gentry would collect and display a broad spectrum of natural curiosities. You would find skins of various creatures, bones, unusual stones, and so on brought together not because of any intrinsic affinity amongst the items, but rather as a display of erudition and education. Seen in the same way, one could regard both Allin's subject, Zarafa -- the first giraffe on the European continent since Roman times -- and the book itself as examples of the same kind of intellectual curiosity. Much of what Allin describes is connected by the thinnest of threads. His history of the French occupation of Egypt, of the Mamelukes and Napoleonic sea battles have all but the slimmest contextual connection with the life of the giraffe first corralled in Ethiopia and transferred to Paris. This would be a greater complaint if the stories were less compelling, but on some level the book doesn't quite rise to the sum of its parts. Ultimately, this is the story of a sensation -- of the exotic species that briefly bewitched the French in the mid-nineteenth century -- but one in which the object of this sensation is never quite more than an ethereal object of gossip and speculation. At the center of the story the giraffe is strangely (though perhaps not surprisingly) absent. As if its magic is exhausted by its docility. This disappointment is met by the interest I found in other aspects of the many storylines, but none of this is terribly compelling, even if it is well told.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating history lesson
Review: Heard the taped version of ZARAFA by Michael Allin, the true story of how a giraffe in 1826 got from Africa to become the first such animal ever seen in France . . . she was a royal offering from Muhammad Ali, Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, to King
Charles X of France, presented in the hopes of keeping the French out of Ali's war against the Greeks . . . although her arrival did not accomplish its intended task, Zarafa did become an instant celebrity and fascinated all of Europe for the next 18 years.Although the tale skipped around a bit too much, I did find it a fascinating history lesson . . . what's more, it gave me a good look at what publicity was all about--back in the nineteenth century . . . and it made me appreciate the herculean effort that took place in moving this magnificent creature such a distance.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating history lesson
Review: Heard the taped version of ZARAFA by Michael Allin, the true story of how a giraffe in 1826 got from Africa to become the first such animal ever seen in France . . . she was a royal offering from Muhammad Ali, Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, to King
Charles X of France, presented in the hopes of keeping the French out of Ali's war against the Greeks . . . although her arrival did not accomplish its intended task, Zarafa did become an instant celebrity and fascinated all of Europe for the next 18 years. Although the tale skipped around a bit too much, I did find it a fascinating history lesson . . . what's more, it gave me a good look at what publicity was all about--back in the nineteenth century . . . and it made me appreciate the herculean effort that took place in moving this magnificent creature such a distance.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating journey through history, geography and zoology
Review: I nearly set this book aside, unread, when the author started talking about his personal fascination with snakes. What was this all about? I am so glad I skipped through is personal information and entered the world of Zarafa! I was enthralled by the descriptions of Africa and the 1800s... I followed each step of the giraffe's journey on the map provided, never wanting it to end. The book makes an avid reader want more about the history and culture of the time. I agree, though, that the description of Zarafa herself and her life in Paris is lacking. I was quite disappointed at the way the story ended without more details about her life, her health, her diet, her happiness. Maybe more excerpts from the newspapers of the time, more personal accounts from people who saw her would have been nice. But all in all -- imagine being there at the time and seeing that beautiful animal proudly march by! And thanks to the author for all the research that went into this book! Incredible!
Rating: 
Summary: Zarafa the Giraffe Gets Lost in Allin's Tales of War & Gore
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. Reviews of the book proclaim it to be a magical retelling of the story of the charming giraffe, Zarafa, and her odyssey from Africa to Paris. Unfortunately, this is not a correct evaluation of the majority of the book. Allin's book focuses very, very heavily on the political intrigues of the politico-warriors who ruled Egypt, France, and Turkey in the early 19th century. In attempting to set the stage for the world history, climate and culture of the time, Allin goes way overboard with the tales of war, slaughter, slaving, court intrigue, deceptions, petty rulers and such other matters. As a result, the story of Zarafa the giraffe is lost amid the pages. It seems that very little of the book is actually devoted to telling the tale of Zarafa, and what there is about her and her journey is swathed in grisly details of warring and giraffe butcher. All this policical-historical clutter prevents the reader from reaching Zarafa except in only the barest sense. The gore of war and descriptions of heinous acts committed by those in power while on the route up to power overwhelmingly distracts from the tale. The somewhat graphic descriptions of animal slaughter at Roman fetes served no purpose. Gross. Allin gets very wound up in the telling of the historical facts. In fact, he is so wound up in it that much of the book reads like a tangle. I had to re-read numerous paragraphs to try to make the transition from the surrounding paragraphs. There was no linear thread to guide the reader. It seemed like he just decided that a certain fact would be good at a particular point and inserted it without regard for the context of the surrounding text. It was convoluted to put it shortly. Zarafa was apparently a beautiful, gentle creature and this could have been a magical tale. Perhaps if Allin had fictionalized the story more and added more likeable humans the story would do credit to Zarafa's legacy. I am still interested in reading the tale of Zarafa's journey -- it didn't really get told in this book. The only part of the book which is outstanding is the design and styling of the book jacket and the binding for the volume. The book jacket is luminous, the end papers a treat. The font follows the mood. But, why the printer chose margins which necessitated numerous hyphenations on each page is a mystery. The excessive occurrence of hyphenated words distracted from the flow of the story.
Rating:
Summary: "Necked Came the Stranger"----a tall, but true story
Review: If you think about history books as beer, then this one is definitely 'Bud Lite'. You're thirsty to read a good book, so you reach for ZARAFA. You chug it down. Hmm. Definitely liquid but not much of a kick. Well, OK, who could resist buying a book about a giraffe ? Not me, who always loved those weird-looking creatures. But I like well-organized books of history too, and I fear that this is not one of them. It's a kind of "cabinet de curiosités" as found in the France of the Enlightenment, but in the early 21st century, I feel we might expect something deeper, something that gave us a story to hold on to. Perhaps, to return to beer, a drink that would quench one's thirst, not only just wet the whistle. Editing is a problem. The same information is repeated in many places, and on p.140-141 even a line is repeated. This reveals a certain hastiness. Michael Allin must be congratulated on a great idea, a nice collection of illustrations, and some pleasant writing. I would certainly try his next book, because I think he has what it takes. ZARAFA, however, does have certain failings. The book jacket promises "a fairy tale for grown-ups", but fairy tales are not usually so diffuse. You can read this book in a few hours, but if you are looking for information about giraffes, about the historical period concerned in Egypt, France or the Mediterranean, don't expect much here.
Rating:
Summary: Nice book.
Review: Imagine you saw a giraffe for the first time.I would be stunned.
Here we follow the life of a giraffe,on its trip to Paris from
Ethiopia 4000 miles away.This took place in 1820s and along the way you get a little history of the areas it passes through at the time.This is not a 1000 pages of endless info,but just a little bit of everything interesting,like how how the sphinx
lost its nose(no, it was not a king with a coke problem),and yes,
what this lovely creature went through at the time,all in 200
pages.Nice one.
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