Thomas Leverett

Rose, who watched the film Beauty And The Beast, over and over as a child, with her cousin Emily, imagines things in her own life to have a connection to the film and the book as she works with tigers in Thailand.

Don't think this is a straight-forward retelling of the Disney cartoon though, because early on, Rose's Aunt Lily explains that the story goes back to the 1700s and explains the original to Rose, her niece, while her cousin Emily, might even be living yet another version of the tale.

I am not familiar with the film but was fascinated by someone, Rose, working at a tiger temple, with monks, and with her association with these beautiful but dangerous animals.

So many layers, so well written.

Hooked from the first page.

This reader is not a geologist nor is he a palaeontologist, but does enjoy watching documentaries on digs at ancient sites.

This reader has no connection with Iowa, Indiana, or Illinois and is not even from the US, so why was I gripped by this factual story from page one?
The author, Thomas Leverett, is lucky in that his ancestors left paper traces of their lives and he loves research. In his ancestor Frank Leverett this is more so, as he left hundreds of scientific papers. Those of us into genealogy can only be jealous.

With Frank Leverett walking, observing and writing (walking the equivalent of four times around the world) we follow him on an incredible journey, physically and mentally.

Frank's papers are held at institutions now and this book should also be held there to complement those papers and notebooks.
A fascinating read and informative as well as enjoyable.