Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds | 
| Author: Joy Adamson
Publisher: Pantheon
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $0.64
You Save: $14.31 (96%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 155856
Media: Paperback
Edition: Anv
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0375714383
Dewey Decimal Number: 599.757
EAN: 9780375714382
ASIN: 0375714383
Publication Date: May 16, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
First published in 1960 and closely followed by a hit movie of the same name, Joy Adamson's now classic memoir Born Free continues to introduce countless young people to the wildlife of Africa. Adamson recounts her adventures as the surrogate mother of an orphaned lion cub named Elsa (with parenting duties shared by her husband George and by a delightfully imperturbable rock hyrax named Pati), whom she raised as a welcome member of her human and animal family while painstakingly teaching Elsa the skills she would need to survive in the wild. Her teaching, against all odds, was effective: three years later, the Adamsons took Elsa to a place near that of her birth and set her loose, hoping that she would find her "real pride" among other lions of the Kenya grasslands--as she soon did. Long targeted to preteen readers, Born Free is in fact a sophisticated work of environmental consciousness-raising, for Joy Adamson believed that any relationship between humans and wild animals had to be conditioned by an attitude "of absolute equality quite different from that between a dog and his master." Although Elsa's story had an ultimately tragic ending--the young lioness died of disease and, in separate incidents, Joy and George Adamson were both murdered--Joy Adamson's book continues to instruct and entertain readers of all ages. --Gregory McNamee
Product Description
There have been many accounts of the return to the wild of tame animals, but since its original publication in 1960, when the New York Times hailed it as a "fascinating and remarkable book," Born Free has stood alone in its power to move us.
Joy Adamson's story of a lion cub in transition between the captivity in which she is raised and the fearsome wild to which she is returned captures the abilities of both humans and animals to cross the seemingly unbridgeable gap between their radically different worlds. Especially now, at a time when the sanctity of the wild and its inhabitants is increasingly threatened by human development and natural disaster, Adamson's remarkable tale is an idyll, and a model, to return to again and again.
Illustrated with the same beautiful, evocative photographs that first enchanted the world forty years ago and updated with a new introduction by George Page, former host and executive editor of the PBS series Nature and author of Inside the Animal Mind, this anniversary edition introduces to a new generation one of the most heartwarming associations between man and animal.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
What a GREAT true animal story !!! November 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm a twelve year old boy who loves animals. My mom gave this book to me and told me that I would love it. She was right. The Adamsons raised this lion cub named Elsa as a pet and then had to release her later into the wild. They tell what they had to do with her before they could release her. Elsa is so heartwarming and the pictures in the book are neat. The relationship that the Adamsons had with Elsa was unbelievable. I would find it hard to believe that someone would NOT like this book. I would recommend it to anyone, any age. I am getting ready to start the next two books by the Adamsons about Elsa.
Born Free Book Reveiw November 4, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Born Free
Joy Adamson
1960
ISBN: 0-375-71438-3
196 pages
When Elsa's natural instincts soften, reality becomes harder and harder to face.
After a young lioness has been raised and transformed from fierce predator to loving house
cat by her owner Joy, the thought of releasing Elsa into the wild seems to be the greatest
challenge the two have had to face.
Born Free is a true story about a woman ,Joy, and a lioness ,Elsa. Joy's husband
was a game warden in Africa, so the two went on many safaris together. During one of these
safaris, they find three orphaned lion cubs and decide to raise and take care of them during
their cub life. The day finally arrives when the cubs are to be shipped to a European zoo,
and Joy just cannot part with the smallest cub, Elsa. Elsa stays with the two of them and
becomes part of the family for many months. Between all of the fun and
suspense, the truth of the matter finally reveals itself. Elsa, though removed of all the natural
instincts she needs to survive, must soon be permanently released into the wild.
Filled with laughter and excitement, Born Free is a terrific bittersweet adventure,
giving people the ability to learn about a miraculous breakthrough in human and animal
interaction. This book is a timeless classic that you can read again
and again.
By: Amy Schmidt
THE CLASSIC TRUE LIFE ADVENTURE May 4, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Animals have always been a favorite topic of mine, but as a young person who just happened to find a copy of this book some 39 years ago, with the cover torn off, I consider it one of the great discoveries of my life. It was summertime, and I was headed to the 7th grade. I wasn't much of a reader until that momentous day. The story of Elsa and the Adamsons totally transported me to another place, and many wondrous adventures in Africa. Due much to this book, I now am a voracious reader. The story is heartwarming, and is the reason I insisted my 7th grade son read it for his current book report.
Whether you're 9 or 99, Elsa's antics and her loving bond with Joy and George will capture your heart. I guarantee it. And with Africa's Lion population dwindling to probably less than 30,000 today, I can't think of a more timely book, in honour of conserving their remaining habitat. Especially when one considers that Africa had over 100,000 Lions when I first read it.
Born Free April 25, 2005
This book touched my heart, to actually realize how one woman could bome so close to animals that we look at and call beasts. The compassion that one woman had is enough to change they way you may think about how we live. And once you read this book, dont forget that it is a true story. After seeing what Joyce had done wither her love for animals, any dream can come true.
Great Stroy for all ages November 13, 2003
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is one of my favorites. This book tells you the story of a bond between a hunan and a lioness. This is a great book because it shows you a different side of wild animals and the way they live. When you read it, you will get the excitement as if you are along on the safari with them!
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