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West with giraffes : a novel Cover Image Book Book

West with giraffes : a novel / Lynda Rutledge.

Rutledge, Lynda, 1950- (Author).

Summary:

"'Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes...' Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California's first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world's first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes. Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it's too late"--Publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781542021746
  • ISBN: 154202174X
  • ISBN: 9781542023344
  • ISBN: 1542023343
  • Physical Description: 356 pages ; 22 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: Seattle : Lake Union Publishing, 2021.

Content descriptions

General Note:
publisher, date of publication and page numbers may vary

Search for related items by subject

Subject: San Diego Zoo > Fiction.
Human-animal relationships > Fiction.
Animal rescue > Fiction.
Giraffe > Fiction.
Interpersonal relations > Fiction.
Zoo keepers > Fiction.
United States > History > 1933-1945 > Fiction.
Genre: Historical fiction.
Novels.

Available copies

  • 25 of 45 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
  • 0 of 1 copy available at Rolla Public.

Holds

  • 3 current holds with 45 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Rolla Public Library FIC RUT (Text) 38256101836298 Adult Fiction Checked out 05/04/2024
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Syndetic Solutions - BookList Review for ISBN Number 9781542021746
West with Giraffes : A Novel
West with Giraffes : A Novel
by Rutledge, Lynda
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BookList Review

West with Giraffes : A Novel

Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

Woodrow Wilson Nickel shared the dream of so many 1930s Panhandle farmhands: to get to California. He had no idea he'd eventually make the journey in the company of two giraffes. The Dust Bowl eventually sends Woody to New York, to work for a distant cousin. After a hurricane rips through the East Coast, two overseas shipping crates survive intact and reveal the most unique cargo Woody's ever seen: two giraffes. With some quick thinking and fast talking, Woody lands himself a gig as the pair's driver, joining their keeper in delivering the giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. A stubborn photographer joins them, and the group travels across the country, gaining plenty of press and getting into a few scrapes along the way. Rutledge's (Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale, 2012) larger-than-life story about the power of both animal magnetism and human connection is based on true events. Fans of The Night Circus (2011) and How the Penguins Saved Veronica (2020) will adore the witty, charming, and heartwarming West with Giraffes.

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