Reviews for Zamba: The True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived

The average rating for Zamba: The True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-03-29 00:00:00 Bran San This is Ralph Helfer's memoir of raising and working with the lion he rescued as a young cub, Zamba, who became possibly the most famous lion and a leading Hollywood star. I'm not a great animal lover, but I was interested and engaged in most of this memoir. I particularly liked some of the stories Helfer told of how he trained Zamba (and other animals in his care) using affection rather than fear and physical punishment. There are scenes of humor and tenderness, and some rather frightening scenarios as well. I did find Helfer a bit preachy at times. Still, I applaud the way that he changed the minds of many animal "trainers" about the best techniques to use; but worry that a casual reader might not recognize the extremely hard work this is and decide to try to "sleep with my pet tiger" as Helfer frequently slept with Zamba.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-02-04 00:00:00 Michael Wimberley I enjoyed this book much more than Modoc because it seems truer a story. As much as I enjoyed Modoc it read like a smashing together of events contrived by author Helfer. Some backstory here, Helfer didn't come across Modoc the elephant until her later years and when he wrote the book telling about her life he recreated her past story based on interviews and, dare I say it, his own imagination. So parts of that book read like a fairytale to me. This one seems filled with true emotion and even though the time period jumps around all over the place I am glad I stuck with it. Parts of Zamba's story were gut-wrenchingly tragic but the overall feeling of compassion and love for this lion were well worth the pain. Author Helfer led an incredible life and it is a shame that his training style hasn't caught on and so much animal cruelty still exists.