Father of Lions, Louise Callaghan
Father of Lions, Louise Callaghan
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Father of Lions
One Man's Remarkable Quest to Save Mosul's Zoo

Author: Louise Callaghan

Narrator: Saul Reichlin

Unabridged: 11 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/14/2020

Synopsis

"Narrator Saul Reichlin delivers this true story of Abu Laith, the zookeeper of Mosul, Iraq...This is a triumph of humanity in the midst of adversity." -- AudioFile Magazine

Father of Lions is the powerful true story of the evacuation of the Mosul Zoo, featuring Abu Laith the zookeeper, Simba the lion cub, Lula the bear, and countless others, faithfully depicted by acclaimed, award-winning journalist Louise Callaghan in her trade publishing debut.

Combining a true-to-life narrative of humanity in the wake of war with the heartstring-tugging account of rescued animals, Father of Lions will appeal to audiences of bestsellers like The Zookeeper’s Wife and The Bookseller of Kabul as well as fans of true animal stories such as A Streetcat Named Bob, Marley and Me, and Finding Atticus.

“An unexpectedly funny and moving book. ... Through the story of a man who loves both lions and life, Louise Callaghan shows how humour and defiance can counter cruelty, and why both humans and animals crave freedom.” -- Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News and author of In Extremis: the life of war correspondent Marie Colvin.

About Louise Callaghan

Louise Callaghan is the Middle East Correspondent for the Sunday Times (UK), one of the youngest ever hired by the paper. She has had long-form pieces published in The Sunday Times Magazine, Vogue, and the Times Literary Supplement. She won the Marie Colvin Award for British Journalism, New Journalist of the Year at the 2016 British Press Awards, Young Journalist of the Year at the 2017 British Journalism Awards, and made Forbes' 30 under 30 in media 2018 list. Father of Lions is her first book.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on January 15, 2020

When something tragic happens, are you one of those people who worries about the animals? I definitely am. Like when ISIS occupied Mosul, a zoo needed to be evacuated. That’s the true story at the heart of Father of Lions. ISIS arrives in beautiful, once thriving, Mosul. All at once, most everything......more

Goodreads review by Patricia on January 03, 2020

FATHER OF LIONS takes place in Mosul, Iraq after 2 and a half years of ISIS occupation and fighting. At the Mosul zoo, the animals are starving and dying, as are the people. Abu Laith is an animal lover and tries his best to protect and care for the animals. Word gets to Austria to an animal charity......more

Goodreads review by Wendy on February 08, 2020

A great book makes me feel like I am living in the story. This book did just that! News Journalist and Author Louise Callaghan gives us a retelling of actual events from the perspective of several inhabitants of Mosul during the city's occupation by ISIS. To read about their daily nightmares to stay......more

Goodreads review by Athena on December 19, 2019

Thank you so much to Bookish First and Forge books for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! Well shit, that put me into a book coma. I put the post script down and looked some of the people up on Facebook, and seeing that three year gap in their posts just made this book so, so incredibl......more

Goodreads review by Cindy on July 31, 2020

Father of Lions tells the tale of the ISIS occupation of Mosul, Iraq, in the mid-2010s through the lens of Abu Laith (known as the “Father of Lions”) and his attachment to certain animals from the Mosul Zoo. While the story related to the lions and other animals is interesting, I found the descripti......more

Awards

  • NPR Best Book of the Year
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