"The Paris menagerie has a special significance in the history of zoos. Founded in 1793-1794 at the height of the French Revolution, it was the model for the other great zoos of the nineteenth century that followed, beginning with London in 1827 and then (among others) Amsterdam in 1838 and Berlin in 1844. Award-winning author Richard W. Burkhardt, Jr has written the definitive history of the Paris Zoo and its early inhabitants, human and nonhuman. The archival base for the Paris Zoo is much more extensive than what exists for the zoos of London, Amsterdam, and Berlin, and Burkhardt is the first to explore it in depth. In this book, which features narrative or thematic chapters interwoven with chapters focused on particular animals or species, Burkhardt shares with readers many historical treasures that illuminate not only the workings of the menagerie but also various dimensions of the golden age of French zoology (the years of Lamarck, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and Georges Cuvier). His history reconstructs the diverse sources of specimens, the growth of the collection over time, the efforts to make the menagerie scientifically significant, contemporary attitudes toward animals, and the lives of the animals themselves in colonial and diplomatic contexts. The Leopard in the Garden is poised to capture the hearts of readers the world over"-- Provided by publisher.