Zoo Nebraska The dismantling of an American dream

A smaller-than-small northeast Nebraska town called Royal, population 81, was once home to a zoo with chimpanzees and other exotic animals. In his first book, Vaughan recounts the story of Dick Haskins, a young man who fell hard for chimps in his youth. Haskins had even prepared to work with primatologist Dian Fossey in Rwanda, but when she was murdered, his plans were dashed. This is the tale of the realization and ultimate tragedy of his dream. Haskins returns to Royal, his hometown, with one chimp and decides to start a zoo, but it's a struggle at every turn. Eventually Haskins steps away, physically and mentally spent. A husband-and-wife-director team follows, successfully building membership, but when their partnership with the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha lapses, Zoo Nebraska begins to falter. Vaughn takes into account the ways small-town politics and shifting loyalties color decisions. He deftly blends this with Haskins' outsized vision, and how animal welfare is precariously balanced between competing interests. A fascinating small-town drama results in a heartrending read.--Joan Curbow Copyright 2019 Booklist

Journalist Vaughan skillfully narrates a resonant, at times heart-wrenching tale of small-town Americana. Royal, Neb., population 81, was just a blip along Highway 20 in northeast Nebraska until local resident and animal lover Dick Haskin founded what would become Zoo Nebraska. It began in 1986 in a donated trailer home, with Reuben, a chimp Haskin had become close to while working at the Lincoln Children's Zoo, as its first resident, eventually expanding to include other buildings and species. Vaughan shows how the zoo's high staff turnover, woeful underfunding despite native Nebraskan Johnny Carson's intervention, and chronically inept management (particularly after an exhausted Haskin departed) led to the sad events of Sept. 10, 2005, when the primates escaped and ran through the town, causing havoc and resulting in the killing of Reuben. What could have been rote reporting in lesser hands springs to life as Vaughan dramatically revisits that grim day and the series of bad decisions that led up to it, giving a white-knuckle retelling of the rampage and the sad, even cruel aftermath (a local restaurant quickly added "Chimps & Dip" and a Reuben sandwich to the menu). Vaughan's nuanced, poignant storytelling provides a sobering take on what happens when the best intentions go awry. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A freelance journalist's account of a zoo that became the symbol of hopeand later, tragedyfor a small Nebraska town.Dick Haskin never expected to open a zoo in tiny Royal, Nebraska. A farmer's son who loved animals more than people, Haskin dreamed of working as a primatologist after watching a film about Jane Goodall in his early teens. However, when he graduated from college in 1983, he found he had to take jobs in zoos, which he "truly, viscerally, hated," rather than Africa. But a chance meeting with Dian Fossey at a primatology conference brought with it the opportunity to work at her research center in Rwanda. Fossey's murder not long afterward dashed Haskin's original plan, but in its place arose another idea that involved opening a primate center in Royal. Haskin acquired a chimpanzee named Reuben and a trailer, but he set his sights on creating "a first-class facility" that would become both an important research center and a boon to the local economy. Despite climbing attendance and a donation from Nebraska native Johnny Carson, by the late 1980s, Haskin and his foundation were "running on fumes." Bickering board members had no interest in raising the funds necessary to transform Haskin's vision into reality. The centerlater known as Zoo Nebraskaeventually fell into other hands that managed to expand the number of animal attractions and tourist visits but also earned the enduring enmity of larger zoos that saw ticket sales decline. Power struggles involving zoo directors and its board members also ensued. In 2005, Haskin's quixotic dream ended in violence when law enforcement officials shot and killed three escaped primates, one of which was Reuben, Haskin's "best friend." In this easily digestible portrait of small-town life, Vaughan compassionately and understatedly traces the evolution of one man's grand vision and the petty politics that destroyed it.A thoughtful meditation that will appeal to animal lovers and readers interested in tales of small communities coming together. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.