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Simon King
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Genre
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Media
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Audio Book
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Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton | ||
ISBN | 978-184456788 | ||
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Reviewer
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Vicky
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Synopsis
Even as a very young child, Simon King was passionate about the natural world. Being savaged by a rabid cheetah, charged at by rhinos and elephants and defecated upon by a long list of birds and other animals may sound like hell to some. But these, along with countless other experiences alongside all things furry, scaly, slimy and feathery have provided him with an enormously rich bank of tales to relive and retell.
With his professional life starting aged ten, acting in a television drama called The Fox, (for which he looked after an orphaned fox for two years at home), through projects such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Big Cat Diary to name just a few, Simon King has traveled to every continent and lived in extreme conditions from remote desert to Arctic and Antarctic wilderness.
With characteristic honesty and charm, Simon King weaves his animal stories amongst encounters with extraordinary people, and astonishing places to give us a memoir that will delight readers.
Review
Simon King's rendition of his book Wild Life is to put it simply, quite brilliant. Most of us have seen him helping to present the Spring and Autumn Watch and the Big Cat Diary in Kenya but did you know how much filming he's done for other people - such as David Attenborough with Planet Earth and The Blue Planet - I didn't know quite how much Simon had done or travelled to film for our entertainment and benefit.
Immediately you hear Simon's voice you are carried away with him wherever he wishes to take you and to whatever country or animal he is talking about. He presents his autobiography in a very anecdotal way with plenty of very funny things that have happened to him - i.e. very large seal snot - very gooey and just plain yuck - in his mouth, on his head - in fact everywhere including the camera. All you the listener can do is exclaim the yuck sound and laugh!! There are quite a few horrendously funny stories like this - but juxtaposed is the story of his father and their relationship and his wife and children. Simon appears to want a family but is taken away from them by the very nature of his job.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Simon's audio book and could go and listen to it again because it is so entertaining. Don't just buy this audio book as a present for someone else - buy it for yourself and take it in the car to listen to - your journey will pass by very quickly.
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