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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: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Very Disappointing
Review: In "Zarafa," author Michael Allin has the gift of engaging the reader in a tale he or she would not have necessarily selected off a bookshelf. Zarafa is the main character - not a king, conqueror or superhero, but a giraffe. As we follow this giraffe from the depths of Africa to cosmopolitan Paris, we get to know her as intimately as any human travel companion. Along the way, we learn about French and Egyptian history, Arabic customs and Parisian ways, geography, exploration and many other interesting tidbits. The book's only shortcoming is its sentimentality, but this is not of the heavy-handed Disney variety and does not detract from a most engaging, interesting, and enjoyable journey.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly magical, this novel hobnobs with disaster
Review: This is a surprising little book that tells you so much more than the adventures of a giraffe in her way to post-revolutionary France. Anyone interested in Egyptology or the Ottoman Empire will also be surprised by the little bits of interesting information that permeate the tale. It is only a small book, but it is a big story. At times the writing itself appears a little stilted, but the author does a good job with the topic nonetheless. It is well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: The best little read...
Review: This is the best history story... keeps your interest all the way through and you'll be sorry when the read is over.... a must read!
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