I wish I'd written this book.
I met the author of The Last Lions of Africa, fellow-Australian Anthony Ham, at a waterhole in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park a year or so ago when we were both looking at lions from our vehicles.
He told me he was working on a non-fiction book. Like the old saying goes: "I wish I had a dollar..." But it turned out he was, in fact, writing a book of great importance.
I know the stats on lions - their numbers are in free-fall decline and they've disappeared completely from about 26 African countries where they once roamed. Hunting, poaching, revenge-killing and habitat destruction are pushing the King of the Jungle into ever diminishing pockets of safety.
What Anthony Ham does, quite masterfully, is use the writer's mantra of 'show-don't-tell' perfectly to illustrate the plight of Africa's lions not by railing at the reader or bombarding them with facts, but by taking us into the lives of individual, real-life lions, and the people who care for them or kill them.
The whole story of the life, times, family and untimely death of Africa's most famous lion of recent times, Cecil, shot by bowhunter dentist Walter Palmer in 2015, is told in detail. What was amazing about Cecil, I learned, was not so much his death, but the fact that he lived as long as he did.
Also touching to the point of tears is the heroic story of Lady Liuwa, who until she was brought some company, was the last living lioness in Liuwa Plains, Zambia, where big cats had once reigned supreme.
There are chilling stories of man-eaters (not to be read before bed time), and inspirational accounts of humans fighting to protect a species. I was given an advance copy of Last Lions to review, prior to publication, by the publishers, Allen and Unwin.
This is what I wrote for the book's cover: "Urgent and important, This moving tale with a heroic cast of characters, leonine and human, is a must-read for anyone passionate about wildlife and wild places."
5 out of 5.
Review: Tony Park
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