I was not sure what to expect from this nonfiction book about a man who rescued some lions and ended up building a zoo and keeping it going through a massive war. But it turned out to be a pretty touching novel, going way back to when Abu Laith was a child, a teenage, a young man, all the way to a middle-aged man with a plethora of children and a huge heart. There are some heartbreaking moments that involve some of the zoo animals but that doesn't deter from the fact that this big-hearted man saved some wild animals and ended up being able to give them new free lives. Yes, he lost some animals and that was tragic. This zoo in Mosul was in the middle of a war and bombs were being dropped and the town was occupied. Abu Laith was just one man and yet he did so much and stood up for so much. Luckily he finally found some like-minded people to help him out but things got harrowing for awhile. I really enjoyed this book.