Animals in the Blood

Animals in the Blood - The Ken Smith Story - A Biography of Gerald Durrell's Right-Hand Man
By Russell Tofts, published April 2012

Hardback
284 pages
More than 80 photos
244mm by 172

Gerald Durrell and Sir Peter Scott continue to harvest all the accolades, but there are other, largely forgotten, animal-people who in their lifetime never got the recognition they deserved. One such person was Kenneth Smith.

Ken Smith was at one time partner to Gerald Durrell. A good all-round animal man, he led a very full and varied life – as a zoo-keeper, animal dealer, zoo superintendent, family man and zoo owner. During his lifetime he was quite well known within the zoo community but, being a very private individual, his reputation never extended beyond that tightly-knit circle, and now he is in danger of becoming completely forgotten.

Animals in the Blood, published for the first time in 2012, tells his life story for the first time.

Ken Smith worked at the following collections -
Oxford Zoological Garden, Whipsnade Zoo, Calderpark (Glasgow) Zoo, Belle Vue Zoo (Manchester),
Margate (Lido) Mini Zoo & Aquarium, Paignton Zoo and Jersey Zoo
and was the owner / director of the following -
Exmouth Zoo, Poole Zoo, Shaldon Zoo and Newquay Children's Zoo.

After being in the wings for so long, it’s time for Kenneth Smith to assume centre stage.

"... long overdue ... a must for any zoo enthusiast and follower of zoo history, whilst also providing an interesting read for all." RATEL, June 2012

"... fun reading ... puts the development of zoos in Britain into a historical context along the time axis of the 20th century." WAZA NEWS, August 2012

"...a wonderful collection of more than 80 old black-and-white photographs."

The Avicultural Magazine, Vol. 118 No.3 2012

"Bartlett himself would have enjoyed this book." The Salisbury Review, Autumn 2012

"One of the charms of Animals in the Blood is the detailed picture it paints of a previous age." International Zoo News vol. 59/6 Number 397 (Nov / Dec 2012)

"... fun reading ... puts the development of zoos in Britain into a historical context along the time axis of the 20th century." WAZA NEWS, August 2012

"... an extensive and wonderfully detailed biography of the life of Ken Smith. It is a substantial volume in hardback, nicely illustrated with many black and white photographs from Ken Smith's life connected with zoos. ... a very worthy addition to ... bookshelves." Keeper Contact, June 2012

"This biography is ... long overdue and a must for any zoo enthusiast and follower of zoo history, whilst also providing an interesting read for all." RATEL, June 2012

"Animals in the Blood is a gem of a book." Dawn Forsythe

"If you've never heard of Kenneth Smith, welcome to the club. His name is a complete blank to me. Or, it was, until I received my copy of Animals in the Blood: The Ken Smith Story, by Russell Tofts. What a gem of a book!"
Read Dawn's full May 27th 2012 blog entry - Chimp Trainer's Daughter

U.K. - £20.98
£16.99 plus £3.99 postage and packaging per copy
Europe - £25.48
£16.99 plus £8.49 postage and packaging per copy
Rest of World - £31.48
£16.99 plus £14.49 postage and packaging per copy

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