Zamba: The True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer

Zamba: The True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived Reviews

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  Book Concierge

  This is Ralph Helfer’s memoir of raising and working with the lion he rescued as a young cub, Zamba, who became possibly the most famous lion and a leading Hollywood star.
  
  I’m not a great animal lover, but I was interested and engaged in most of this memoir. I particularly liked some of the stories Helfer told of how he trained Zamba (and other animals in his care) using affection rather than fear and physical punishment. There are scenes of humor and tenderness, and some rather frightening scenarios as well.
  
  I did find Helfer a bit preachy at times. Still, I applaud the way that he changed the minds of many animal “trainers” about the best techniques to use; but worry that a casual reader might not recognize the extremely hard work this is and decide to try to “sleep with my pet tiger” as Helfer frequently slept with Zamba.
  
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  Laurie (barksbooks)

  I enjoyed this book much more than Modoc because it seems truer a story. As much as I enjoyed Modoc it read like a smashing together of events contrived by author Helfer.
  
  Some backstory here, Helfer didn't come across Modoc the elephant until her later years and when he wrote the book telling about her life he recreated her past story based on interviews and, dare I say it, his own imagination. So parts of that book read like a fairytale to me. This one seems filled with true emotion and even though the time period jumps around all over the place I am glad I stuck with it.
  
  Parts of Zamba's story were gut-wrenchingly tragic but the overall feeling of compassion and love for this lion were well worth the pain. Author Helfer led an incredible life and it is a shame that his training style hasn't caught on and so much animal cruelty still exists.
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  Jen Kayna (Habitat for Happiness)

  This is a lovely (true) story of Zamba, a lion rescued from Africa and raised with a compassionate approach to training, which was unheard of in the 1950s. The book contains a collections of mini-stories about Zamba's adventures with his owner Ralph. For the most part it was a very light read, but it did have a few very sad, heartbreaking moments. I would have loved for the book to go into more detail about how specifically Zamba was trained, what his day to day life was like and more detail about the growth and operation of Ralph's exotic animal ranch. Overall though, this was a very enjoyable, interesting read.
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  Maddie

  One of the best books I have read in my whole life!!!
  
  Zamba is a lion cub who is taken in by Ralph Helfer, the author. This story explains the bond between the two and their encounters throughout Zamba's lifetime. Ralph also tells about his Affection Training Theory and how Zamba helps to prove this method the way to train animals.
  
  If you liked this book youi might also try:
  
  Modoc:The True Story Of The Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer
  and
  Wesley The Owl by Stacy O'Brien
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  Carol

  Such a beautiful story of a true relationship with a man and a lion. It is a book that you won't want to put down. Needless to say, the end is a tear jerker.
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  Namitha Varma

  A very touching memoir. Zamba truly was a great lion.
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  Izzy

  Dnf pg 10.
  
  I have a feeling it's just gonna get more self absorbed going forward.
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  Alexander Draganov

  Прекрасна книга, която стопля и лекува душата. Що сълзи се изляха накрая, не е истина.
  Истинското ревю на линка:
  
  https://citadelata.com/zamba-the-true...
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  Jānis

  Varbūt ne tik laba kā Zamba, bet vienalga ļoti aizkustinoša grāmata par to, ka dzīvniekus jāaudzina ar mīlestību. Patika gan man, gan bērnam.
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  Ensiform

  The author, a pioneer in what he calls “affection training” of animals, runs an exotic animal ranch, working with movies and television that require animal stunts. He details how he raised a lion, Zamba, from a cub, not merely as a tamed animal or even a pet but a true member of the family. Zamba stars in a couple of movies and many ads, but Helfer talks mainly about the metaphysical bond he and the lion had, their trip to Africa to shoot a film, and the tragic storm that destroyed his ranch.
  
  It’s a pretty interesting story, written in a wide-eyed, credulous, mystic style that could probably have been punched up by a decent editor. Helfer undoubtedly makes a few events seem a bit more portentous than they really were, and I doubt that angry anti-white Muslims in Africa really gaped in wonder at his godlike control over lions. I would have preferred more of the mundane, but still fascinating, logistics of living with a lion, like the extra large bed Helfer had built for Zamba, or things that happened on a movie set. But the bare facts of the bond between animal and man, the photos of Zamba with Helfer’s family, are enough to justify the book’s existence.
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  Kelly

  This book should be titled, "Ralph Helfer: The True Story of the Greatest Lion Tamer That Ever Lived". It was preachy, conceited, juvenile, moronic, and down-right stupid. I don't care how much you train a lion, it is still a lion. They are wild and dangerous and I would never let my kids that close to one.
  
  Also, I found it very insulting the way he portrayed people who hunt. I think it was very unfair and childish and untrue. His portrayal of his Charles Dickens-ianesque villianious Uncle was over the top, ridiculous (as well as the pet-shop owner). Did he really expect us to actually believe that?
  
  I think it is downright cruel to wild animals to treat them like toys, pets, showpieces. He was soooo hypocritical. He berates people who hunt, or people who don't agree with his methods, and yet he collects thousands of animals and puts them in cages. It sickens me. Then he trains those animals to act like demasculized sissies. I hate to see animals caged up. I have a hard enough time going to a zoo, but this guy was over the top.
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  Dee Toomey

  Zamba...the story of a man and his lion. But yet, this is a story of more then that. This is the story of kindred spirits, of uncondiitonal love, and of what life will be like when, indeed, one day, "the lion will lay down with the lamb". Ralph Helfer lived his life fulfilling his calling to raise and train animals not with fear and over-bearance, but with gentleness, love, and respect. Zamba the lion was the product of Helfer's "affection training" and a more lovable lion never lived. If you love animals, you will love this book.
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  April Hochstrasser

  After such a stunning book as Modoc, I expected the same from Zamba. However, it was very preachy, about training animals with affection rather than fear, and very self-agrandizing for the author to make the claims that he did. Not much content, especially compared to Modoc. I wouldn't waste my time.
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  Christy Swanson

  Absolutely beautiful story ..
  Will make you cry
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  Connie N.

  This was a very readable story about a man who feels strongly about affection training for animals rather than the fear-training that was prevalent when he first got into the business in the 1950's. Ralph happened to get the opportunity to raise a lion cub, and he made it his mission to teach Zamba by "communicating" with him rather than showing force. As his reputation grew because of his success with Zamba, he expanded his business of renting animals to movie studios for commercials, movies, and television shows. Soon he became very well known and was able to convert a lot of people to his way of thinking. Ralph has had an interesting life, and he shared much of that in this book. He described raising Zamba from a cub, building his movie rental business, participating in many movies and other productions, including the Rose Parade. When filming in Africa for the movie The Lion,, he had some amazing adventures. And there were some harrowing situations as well, that occurred on his extensive ranch in California. All in all, I enjoyed this book very much, and it was a quick and surprisingly enjoyable read.
• 
  Skip

  Ralph Helfer adopts a four-month lion cub, rescued near the Zambezi River and raises him in California using affection training, rather than punishment training. Helfer's backstory, born poor in Chicago, moving to California, growing up in an apartment building with Carol Burnett as a friend, working in pet stores, eventually building a business caring for and providing "wild" animals for TV/motion picture production. Zamba is perhaps best known as the Dreyfus Funds mascot, but starred in many movies too. A must read for lion lovers, up there with the Born Free trilogy by Joy Adamson and The Lion King. The anecdotes were emotional: Zamba meeting a blind woman, Zamba's close brush with death and blindness, surviving a freak snowstorm, Zamba's working vacation to Africa. Unlike other GR reviewers, I did not find the book preachy: I was too vested in Zamba's life history and co-existence with people.
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  Luann

  I enjoyed reading about Zamba and plan to read the author's other books.
  
  Helfer seems to have been very influential in the changing attitudes towards training wild animals and possible interactions between humans and wild animals. However, I will urge readers to note that Zamba was raised by Helfer from a very young age and thus a rather unique example, and keeping wild animals as pets is not only potentially dangerous to both the animals and the humans, but also usually illegal. Very few people have the knowledge, temperament, and skills set to properly care for and train a wild animal.
  
  
  
  
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  Kenya Starflight

  DNF at about 70 pages. I was invested and willing to give the author a shot... right up until he insisted that Zamba ate a vegetarian diet and was actually much healthier than a meat-eating lion would have been. I call bull, and question whether the author was lying about Zamba's diet or about how healthy the lion actually was. Cats are obligate carnivores that need meat to survive, and that includes big cats.
  
  So sorry -- not finishing a book that's either untruthful or advocating cruelty to animals by feeding them a diet that will kill them.
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  Brenda E Gould

  This author also wrote Modoc ( a true story about the friendship between a man & elephant), I loved that book.
  This book reveals the affectionate training method used or training exotic animals and about the amazing Lion- Zamba. Reflects nature's harmony & how we can strive to achieve it. Zamba was truly a king.
  
  Downside, the author spends a lot of time touting his philosophy and the stories of Zamba seem anecdotal, rather than the primary focus of this book.
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  DiegoMom

  The power of love between animals and humans - how affection training is the only way an animal should ever be trained! This book talks about the connection and the bond one can have with an animal - so powerful!
  
  Cried the last chapters - powerful book that has you laughing one minute and crying the next. A must read!
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  Omar Manjouneh

  It has been a beautiful read, so light you keep losing track of time leafing through it. Yet, I would've loved to read more into the process of training Zamba in more detail, I believe the fictionalized wrap had more attention from Ralph than the content itself. Still had an enjoyable, heartwarming time following the narrative till the very end.
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  Olivia Hannon

  I was on board with this until Helfer apparently metaphysically ‘cured’ his own cat allergies in the span of a week by locking himself in a room with 4 kittens. The implications he’s inferring to with scene really rub me the wrong way. I always read biographies with a grain of salt, people usually try to make themselves look better than they are, but that was pushing it too far for me.
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  Kc Parkins-kyle

  Riveting story of a man and his lion
  
  I could hardly put the story away. I was compelled to read in order to hear the next story about Zamba. As good as Modoc, but more personal yet!
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  Beka

  Though Mr. Helfer has some wrong ideas about our "oneness" with nature and animals, his stories about working with those animals on his ranch and at the movies were very entertaining.
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  Heidi

  *tears in my eyes*
  What a beautiful story about a remarkable lion and the man who loved him and shared him with Hollywood.