I was in the mood for a road trip, and I don't think I could have found a better one to read about than Lynda Rutledge's West With Giraffes, which was inspired by actual events. The book weaves real-life figures like the world's first female zoo director with fictional ones.

The narrator of the story, young "Woody" Nickel, is an almost feral child, barely surviving a brutal father and a harrowing life on a farm during the Dust Bowl in the Texas Panhandle. But no matter what he's had to do to survive, his voice tells you that he's basically good. He may not always do the right thing, and readers may wince a time or two at what he does, but everyone will want Woody to come out on top. Watching his growth as a person is one of the many highlights of the book.

He has a tough time convincing Riley Jones, the caretaker in charge of getting the giraffes to San Diego, that he's just the driver Jones needs, and it doesn't help when a pretty red-headed female photographer starts following them, but Woody is determined to get to California.

The well-paced story of West With Giraffes will sweep readers right out onto the road with Woody, Riley, and the giraffes. It's part adventure story, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, and it has a lot to say about the kindness of strangers, being changed by the grace of animals, and the need to tell a story before it's too late. The setting is spot-on, and anticipating what the passengers in that custom-built truck will be facing next is part of the fun of reading the book.

If you're in the mood to turn back the clock and experience a cross-country road trip in 1938, I strongly suggest that you pick up West With Giraffes.

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Narrated by 105-year-old Woody Nickel (Woodrow Wilson Nickel), this tale is primarily about two giraffes traveling from New York to San Diego. Requested by Belle Benchley, first known female zoo keeper, the giraffes are to be driven carefully across the country. The world is at war. Middle American citizens in are plagued by the Dust Bowl forcing thousands to abandon their farms, including Woody, whose father and mother died. With the little money left, he travels to New York to a cousin he doesn't know. Here he sees the giraffes that miraculously survived the 1938 hurricane. Enthralled by the two, he follows them west and when Riley Jones, who is in charge of the trip, fires the drunken driver, Woody vows to get the giraffes to San Diego. T

It's a trip fraught with adventure, strange and new experiences for the 17-year-old who has never driven a huge flatbed truck nor seen mountains, let alone drive through them. Nor does he know much about women when he meets Augusta Red, a photojournalist following them who says she is journaling the trip for Life magazine. Woody has a way with animals and works well with the giraffes. Everywhere they go Americans who have never seen such animals flock to see the Boy and Girl. Some are generous and kind but others scheme to claim the animals for their own purposes.

The author used the numerous newspaper accounts documenting the trip and always looked for a diary that might have chronicled it but there was none. Her chosen narrator, close to death, was compelled to tell the story of his life focusing on his love for the giraffes. What he writes will be given to someone who will appreciate and understand the value of the gift. This is a wonderful story told in a fascinating way. I hope others discover it.

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I was captivated by this tale but it was sometimes a harrowing journey. It does a good job of taking the reader back to the time of 1938. It is told from the perspective of 105 year old Woodrow Wilson Nickel (Woody Nickel). He is writing his stories in a journal as he desperately tries to get them all down on paper before his impending death. He wants to be sure the one he is writing to (we don't find out who until the end) has the entire true story of events. Woody Nickel was young, naive in many ways but jaded in other ways in 1938. His experiences have made him sometimes "less than honorable" in his decisions and his actions. There were times I wanted to wring his neck! But isn't that true of many of us when we are young? And the world was different. So we follow Woody as he learns and grows. I was wound up with worry for the animals at times so some parts were difficult. But the ending was mostly good and I did enjoy it.

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This was a heart-warming road trip story with moments of grace, second chances, animal encounters, and a reminder of the power of stories. It briefly addresses poverty, racism, the role of women in the Dust Bowl era, and violence with a gentle hand.

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Loved, loved loved loved this book! Anytime a book can incorporate animal and human interaction in a meaningful way, and draw me into the narrative, which, in this case was quite elaborate, I am a happy camper. The fact that the book was based on a true historical event makes it even better. I'm even getting my husband to read this one.

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A fiction novel based on the San Diego Zoo's first two giraffes who were driven from New York to San Diego in a specially fitted pickup truck. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean and miraculously surviving a the infamous 1938 hurricane, "Lofty" and "Patches" were driven across the United States to avoid the stress of transport by train. This novel is the fictional tale of their cross country road trip and the adventures they encounter along the way.
This e-book is available for free for Kindle Unlimited / Amazon Prime subscribers.

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I think I had a smile on my face almost entirely through reading this book! I mean, who does not love giraffes? After reading The Women, I needed a light hearted story like this one. There was a lot of sadness and tragedy in this book, after all it took place in 1938 wen the country was on the brink of war, and people were living in Hoovervilles around the country, and hoboes were jumping trains looking for their next meal and a better life, and people were just dying living in dust bowls where they couldn't breathe, much less survive.. But the story of two giraffes caught in a hurricane while being shipped to New York from Europe-and their story of how they made it across the entire country to San Diego, on washed out roads, and too small bridges and tunnels and steep mountain passes is just amazing. This book is based on a true story, and the clippings from various newspapers from all over the country are shown throughout the book. The characters are so believable-Woody, running away from his past, and trying to be a better person, but the old ways die hard. Red, a woman, wanting to write a photographic journey for Life Magazine about this trek, when women were frowned upon for having any such ambitions of traveling alone, and The Old Man, guiding this entire voyage, seemingly crusty on the outside but with a heart of gold for treating animals. I think everyone will like this!!

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