LOVE, LIFE, AND ELEPHANTS An African Love Story

Dame Daphne Sheldrick’s work is part memoir, part history of the elephant protection efforts in Kenya in which her husband, David, was instrumental. It’s a mixed bag. Sheldrick provides a richly descriptive portrait of the various rescue animals she fostered throughout the years, efforts that culminated in the foundation of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for elephants and rhinos. Narrator Virginia McKenna adequately portrays Sheldrick's affection for these animals, though the book’s descriptions tend to become repetitive. The story of the animals is interspersed with personal details of Sheldrick’s own life and loves, delivered by McKenna with an excessive degree of drama. The over-the-top quaver in her voice detracts from the story. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2012]