Daniel Mannix, who died at 85 in 1997, left a legacy of wildlife books, one of which was adapted for Disney's Fox and the Hound and on other topics, including one on gladiators that inspired the movie, Gladiator. This book focuses on animals, which he adored. He skips his early career as sword swallower and fire eater, discussed in a separate book, and talks about kinkajous, eagles, snakes, a domesticated cheetah, and other animals he had adopted. It's a topic he covered extensively in numerous articles in the now extinct men's magazines of the 50s and 60s. Excellent work, great anecdotes, about an assortment of interesting wild animals. ( )