This is a comprehensive, voluminous and satisfyingly complete biography of Gerald Durrell.

I loved him before reading the book and now I love him even more.

As far as I can see, the book tells us everything of importance about Gerry, his early years, his animal-catching expeditions, his relationships, including of course his two marriages, his books, his zoo, his breakdowns, physical illnesses and death.

It includes many great photos of Gerald, his family and his animals and extracts from wonderful poetic letters to Lee.

On the whole, we’re provided with many extracts from Gerry’s writings.

Since I’ve lived abroad for most of my life, I unfortunately never got to see Gerry on TV, nor any of his programmes.

Gerry was an amazing person and it was he who initiated captive breeding in order to prevent the extinction of many species. Preservation of as many species as possible was Gerry’s main aim in life.

Gerry was a gifted writer, wonderfully humorous, and a captivating raconteur.

He was a loving man, first and foremost towards animals, but also towards his friends and family. Sadly, I’m not certain that he loved himself since he did not look after his own body. He was a gourmand and became obese.

He also drank heavily. There has been much talk of his having an alcoholic gene, or perhaps a few of them, inherited from “Mother”, who was also a drinker, and which gene or genes his famous elder brother Larry also inherited. But we all possess some negative genes, and this does not mean that they have to control us. He could have sought help for his alcoholism, had he wanted, but he did not want to.

Gerry did nothing to tackle his drinking problem. He drank every day, felt he needed to drink, and functioned well, nonetheless.

Eventually his liver was destroyed by the drinking and he needed and received a liver transplant. This was a natural consequence of his practically life-long alcoholism.

I haven’t read many biographies but, even if I had, I think I would have regarded this as the best I had read.

It is absolutely well-written and absorbing.

I was moved to tears by several parts of the book, not least, when I got to the part of Gerry’s death. Though I never knew him really, I found it hard to accept that he was gone.

After Gerry’s death, the author, Douglas Botting, visited Corfu to research “the life and times, haunts and homes” of Gerry and his family.

One night he was struggling to get home from the beach in pitch black and was guided home by a firefly though it was too late in the year for fireflies and it was alone. He was led through a gap in the beach he couldn’t find, then led up an invisible path, then up another steeper path ninety degrees to the left; he then found himself at the garden gate of the house where he was staying.

The firefly went over the gate and he followed it across the unlit patio, “The kitchen door was somewhere there in the dark, and the firefly flickered unerringly towards it. As I reached for the doorknob the firefly fluttered up and settled on the back of my hand, winking the while. I was home.”

One of Botting’s friends, a distinguished political journalist, said “Good God!” “You know that was Gerald Durrell keeping an eye on you, helping you home.” And when Botting told the story to natives of Corfu, they all nodded and said “Gerald Durrell!”

Now I don’t know if I believe that Gerry had inhabited the body of a firefly, but I’m sure he had something to do with its appearance and guidance.

I really appreciated this excellent book and highly recommend it to all of Gerry’s fans. ( )

A large and complex book about a large and complex man. Douglas Botting is sympathetic to his subject while keeping a clear eye on his weaknesses. Durrell, one of the most important conservationists of the 20th century, comes across as a incredibly charismatic personality, but his ability to fly into a rage and harangue those around him must have been very hard to deal with. What his mother Louisa did to launch Gerald and his equally famous brother Lawrence, is never made clear, but certainly the three of them shared a love for alcohol that hampered their health in the long run - although, as Lawrence died at 78 and Gerald at 70, how much longer they might have lived had they handled the bottle better is a question.

While the stories of Durrell's childhood come mostly from his semifictional memoirs (My Family and Other Animals), Botting does a good job following up the important people in his life for their perspectives on his adulthood. The overriding image is of a great and visionary man, who also had the drive and energy to realize his dreams. If you've ever enjoyed any of Durrell's wonderful writing ("like crisp, fresh lettuce" - Lawrence Durrell) about the eccentric people and animals he encountered in his life, you should read this book to understand the man. If you've never read anything by Gerald Durrell, do so, and then read this book. ( )