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Zoo Nebraska
Zoo Nebraska: The Dismantling of an American Dream | Carson Vaughan
8 posts | 9 read | 10 to read
A moving true story of American struggle. Royal, Nebraska, population eighty-one--where the church, high school, and post office each stand abandoned, monuments to a Great Plains town that never flourished. But for nearly twenty years, they had a zoo, seven acres that rose from local peculiarity to key tourist attraction to devastating tragedy. And it all began with one man's outsize vision. When Dick Haskin's plans to assist primatologist Dian Fossey in Rwanda were cut short by her murder, Dick's devotion to primates didn't die with her. He returned to his hometown with Reuben, an adolescent chimp, in the bed of a pickup truck and transformed a trailer home into the Midwest Primate Center. As the tourist trade multiplied, so did the inhabitants of what would become Zoo Nebraska, the unlikeliest boon to Royal's economy in generations and, eventually, the source of a power struggle that would lead to the tragic implosion of Dick Haskin's dream. A resonant true story of small-town politics and community perseverance and of decent people and questionable choices, Zoo Nebraska is a timely requiem for a rural America in the throes of extinction.
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Hoopiefoot
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Sunday morning read.

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Addison_Reads
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Pickpick

This was an Amazon First Reads choice for me at some point. I decided to read it as my choice for #Nebraska for #ReadingUSA2019.

Reading about the misguided passion of one man who followed his dreams was interesting, but this tale has a sad ending. The greed of people is shown as money is placed before the well-being of the animals. This book reminds me of why I have so many mixed emotions when it comes to zoos.

18 likes1 stack add
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beeweird
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One of those books that's easy to read because of the writing, but also hard to read, it's hard to watch someone's big dreams and best intentions unravel so spectacularly. 💔🐒🐒🐒🐒🏡

9 likes1 stack add
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beeweird

"He drafted his resignation... he would deliver the letter and formally recommemd the zoo's permanent closure... For the first time in years, sprawled out on his bed, parents asleep in the room across the hall, Dick dared to look past tomorrow. And for a tiny fleeting moment, he felt relief.

A few days later, Johnny Carson called back."

?????

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BoldCityBooks
Pickpick

I actually enjoyed this book. It tells the story of a make shift zoo in a rural Nebraskan town. I never got bored and read it in two days. Recommend it if you‘re looking for something different.

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BoldCityBooks
Pickpick

I actually enjoyed this book. It tells the story of a make shift zoo in a rural Nebraskan town. I never got bored and read it in two days. Recommend it if you‘re looking for something different.

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JulieK2
Mehso-so

This is kind of a very sad book — I had to keep reminding myself, “when you know better, you do better”, but clearly we have a long ways to go when it comes to knowing better. This book might be a cautionary tale — about the pitfalls that are inherent in running a zoo, the willy-nilly style of many non-profits, and the incompetence of the USDA. There are several grammatical errors and missteps throughout the book as well, which was frustrating.

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ssravp
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Pickpick

This was something I never thought I would like, but I loved it. It was riveting.

WanderingBookaneer I just got this one as an Amazon First Reads. 6y
16 likes1 stack add1 comment