Some of you may be familiar with this story since it was all the rage on YouTube a few months ago.



The story started when Ace Bourke and John Rendell came to London from their native Australia in 1969. While there, they were Harrods Department Store doing some shopping when they saw that a pair of lions were on sale. They decided to buy one before bringing him home to an apartment they had above a furniture store in which they were staying. They called the lion Christian, and thus started their time together.

It quickly became clear as Christian grew that he would prove to be too big to own in their home. They loved him, and he had become a major part of their family. Once they knew he was going to need a new home, they decided to shop around for possibilities. It quickly became clear that living in a zoo was not a humane option. It was by chance that they got an opportunity for Christian to reintroduced to the wild. They ended up being visited by Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, a pair of actors who had taken on the role of animal rights defenders after starring in the movie Born Free. They connected Ace and John with a trainer who took domestic lions to the African wilderness so they could slowly be returned safely.

This book tells the story of Christian's time with John and Ace as well as two later visits they made to meet Christian and his family in the wilderness a year and two years after his return to the wilderness. It is a touching and interesting story that is likely to pluck the heartstrings of any animal lover.

The book is presented with simple writing and really does a great job of telling the story. It was actually first published in the early 1970's, but the interest that was produced from the video being on YouTube encouraged them to reissue the book with more up-to-date information. It is a quick, easy, and rewarding read.