Dramatic, insightful and lively–It’s James Herriot in wild Africa, December 23, 2008
By Thomas Hayden (San Francisco, CA, United States)

Have you ever had the experience of meeting someone who makes a distant part of the world, or a different way or life, make sense to you for the first time? Reading Jerry Haigh’s “The Trouble With Lions“ is like that. There are many good story tellers out there, and Haigh is one of them. But here’s the big difference–he has decades of unique, fascinating experience to back it up. He’s a wildlife veterinarian, and his tales of treating lions, and rhinos, and all sorts of other animals in Africa are fascinating–they’re like James Herriot’s “All Creatures Great and Small”, except it’s All Creatures Great and Greater.

But as fun, and often funny, as Haigh’s tales are, the real value of “The Trouble With Lions“ lies in the way he sees the world, and the ways in which humans relate to each other and to the wildlife and nature around them. This isn’t just a book about one man’s experiences. It’s a story about Africa, and its people, and its wildlife, and the dramatic, often heartbreaking changes all three have experienced over the last 4 decades.

“The Trouble With Lions“ is an excellent book for lovers of Africa, and adventure, and a good tale well told. But it will also provide valuable context and open readers’ eyes to the deep connections between animals and nature and current events–like the ongoing conflict in the Congo, and last year’s post-election violence in Kenya. Highly recommended.