American Hippopotamus

by Jon Mooallem
Category: "U.S. History - Cultural"
Pages:71
Year of Publication:2013
Date Added:05/20/2014
Date Read:04/11/2015
Notes:Before World War I, there was concern that the farming practices of the times weren't keeping up with the food needs of the growing nation. A plan was forwarded to Congress by Robert Broussard, from Louisiana, to introduce hippopotamuses to the swamps along the Gulf Coast and raise them for food. He partnered with Frederick Russell Burnham, an American scout who fought for the British in the Boer War, and Fritz Duquesne, a South African con man who fought for the Boers and was a German spy in America during World War I. The book is a character study of those involved — the plan to introduce hippos never happened.
My Rating: 8

Reviews for American Hippopotamus

Review - American Hippopotamus

An interesting tale about interesting men during interesting times. The author was right to keep it short — there wasn't enough material here to make a book. The hippo plan was just the glue to hold the story of Burnham, Duquesne and Broussard together.

Reviewed by Roger on 2015-04-11 09:12:12

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