Cover Image: Tiger Wars

Tiger Wars

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Good insight in to the tiger king and all the extra characters around him! Great read along with the telly show, kept me entertained and reading more

Was this review helpful?

Having seen the documentary on tv, I felt compelled to read this book. What a let down, it's rushed, biased and lacking in content. It fails to read like a biography, the bias of the author toward Joe Exotic shines through. On the plus side, it's a quick read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Like a large number of people, I spent the first part of quarantine 2020 binge-watching the Tiger King on Netflix. So I felt like I was well aware of Joe Exotic and his eccentric ways and Carole Baskin and her whole deal. I definitely did (and still do) have a strong opinion on whether Joe should be found guilty and spend time in jail or whether Carole killed her husband and fed him to the tigers.

However, this book definitely added a huge new layer of depth to what I thought I knew. Where Tiger King, the series, skimmed the surface of what was going on behind the scenes at G.W. Park, Tiger Wars dug deep and told us even more of the scoop. The Netflix series focused a lot more on Joe being the good guy, where as Tiger Wars shows us what others in his own park thought of him.

This book was super interesting. It dug into Joe's trial, which I knew nothing about. I would definitely recommend it if you watched the series during quarantine.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having seen the Netflix series I had to read this book. An interesting account of Joe exotic and his life and his trial. Fascinating-in my opinion I don't think we have heard the last of him yet.

Was this review helpful?

When real life is more fantastical than fantasy, you have Tiger Wars. The book follows the battle between Joe Exotic and Carol Baskins over his private zoo. The story has been splashed all over the news shows and even has it's own Netflix drama....or soap opera, depending on your view. The book does give some background on the battle between these two very unusual characters. It was a good read. The battle continues to this day but the book really does give a better idea of how the whole drama started.

Was this review helpful?

Tiger Wars by Al Cimino I never watched the Netflix series and Don't attend to. However, I was open minded and requested to review and read this book.

This Book tells the famous story between big cat breeder Joe Exotic, and his war against Carole Baskin. Baskin, who runs the Big Cat Rescue in Florida, a sanctuary for abused and abandoned wild cats, waged a long legal battle to have Joe’s exotic animal park in Oklahoma shut down for the maltreatment of his animals.

To be honest I found this book a load of rubbish, it was badly written throughout and I hate to write a bad review.

I would not recommend this book...........

So NO Stars from me!!! These people are Not right in the Head!!!! as they say!!!

Total Nutters!!!! Yes, I did read it.......

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the arc of Tiger Wars by Al Cimino.

Was this review helpful?

A book, like the show, which is sort of like a train wreck that you cannot look away from. Trigger warning, as there’s some bad animal abuse within the pages, so if you cannot handle that, then you definitely cannot handle this book. I do think the author did a good job of giving those who have not seen the Netflix series a good insight to the case, and those who did a bit more info, as I watched and still got more information from the book. Well researched and put together, at times a tough read. But do recommend to those looking for more of the story or those looking into the story!

Was this review helpful?

Like so many others during lockdown I followed the Netflix series Tiger Wars which featured Joe Exotic, a bizarre character who owned a private zoo in Oaklahoma USA.. I was a little disappointed that the series didn't cover what exactly was happening to these rare wildlife breeds and how Joe Exotic was interbreeding and selling lions, tigers and other animals.. I wanted to know what happened to the animals when Joe Exotic was imprisoned especially the ones who were born with terrible birth defects.

I have to say that for animal lovers this is a very hard read. The book did include more information on the abuse the animals had inflicted on them and the situation was tragic to say the least!

The book covers the vendetta between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin which was featured heavily in the tv series. It also includes transcripts from the court hearing which could have been summarised to make the latter part of the book more interesting. I was unable to find research sources used by the author which would have given authenticity to the information supplied.

People who loved the eccentricity of Joe Exotic will be entertained by this book. However, animal lovers, be prepared for upsetting details.

Was this review helpful?

I didn't watch the Netflix series so I had to read this to see what the talk was about. I cannot say what I want as it would be revealing. This man is probably one of the most vile human beings that ever walked the earth. His actions made me feel ill. The writing was rushed. Not a lot of descriptions where they were needed. This one fell kind of flat with me.

Was this review helpful?

One of the great delights of lockdown was the Netflix series Tiger King. Chronicling then unlikely story of Joe Exotic and his animal park, the series was a huge viral hit and social media sensation. It’s inevitable that a raft of further material should pop up as people are eager for more information on this fascinating and bizarre story. Tiger Wars is one of the first books I’ve seen covering the story. It’s a worthy companion to the series, filling in a lot of the gaps and giving a neutral voice to some of the more peripheral characters. The first two thirds of the book are really interesting but sadly the last third falls down a bit. It mainly covers Joe’s trial and there’s large sections that are made up of Joe’s testimony. True to form he does tend to ramble and it does drag on a little. He’s a domineering personality and I found it more interesting to read about people’s experiences with him rather than read large passages of his grievances and claims of those who wronged him. Having said that, it’s definitely worth a read if you enjoyed the series and want to learn a bit more about what went on behind the scenes.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

Was this review helpful?

If you haven’t seen the Netflix show, Tiger King, you may not know much about Joe Exotic and his saga. In that case, get this book, Tiger Wars, Joe Exotic vs The Big Cat Queen by Al Cimino. And if you have seen it, the book will enhance your knowledge and let you in on secrets and details you may not know about.

This book delves into Joe Schreibvogel’s life, family, the start of the zoo. It explores the crazy rift between Carole Baskin and Joe which reads more like a work of fiction than something rooted in fact but the truth is stranger than fiction and this book shows you just that.

Check it out:

The global smash-hit Netflix documentary mini-series Tiger King introduced viewers to the weird, crazy and chaotic life of private zoo owner and big cat breeder Joe Exotic, and his war against Carole Baskin. Baskin, who runs the Big Cat Rescue in Florida, a sanctuary for abused and abandoned wild cats, waged a long legal battle to have Joe’s exotic animal park in Oklahoma shut down for the maltreatment of his animals.

But Carole had her own dark past, and Joe wasn’t going down without a fight; he responded by plotting to have her murdered. Tiger Wars delves deeper into this stranger-than-fiction tale and tells the shocking story of this big cat war, the cult-like characters involved and the spiral of obsession that landed Joe Exotic in jail and exposed the dark heart of America’s big cat obsession.

I thought this was a fun read, its quick and entertaining!

Read for free on Kindle Unlimited or only $2.99!

Was this review helpful?

If like me you watched the Netflix series you will know a lot of the content. There is a lot more detail surrounding the court case however and this is worth reading. Would recommend.

Was this review helpful?

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Well, who would have thought that Tiger King would take over the world.
I was one of those who binge watched the Netflix series, open mouthed at each episode and how each was getting stranger by the episode

When I saw the chance of reading a book about it, I wondered whether it would be as entertaining and strange as the TV series. I was not disappointed!!

I think in the end, no one really comes out well but this was a great read

Was this review helpful?

No one would argue that March 2020 is a month that would probably go down in world history, and for two reasons. Netflix released the mighty true-crime mini series Tiger King, and a lethal respiratory pandemic gripped the world. The latter is nothing to joke about of course but the smash-hit Netflix docu-series has only added more eccentricity and downright weirdness to the rather bizarre year we are all experiencing. The true crime true story of the rise and fall of this eccentric, gay, cowboy, redneck, faux country singer Joe ‘Exotic’ Schreibvogel has to be watched to be believed.

If you are unfamiliar with this ridiculously crazy story of murder for hire, suicide, embezzlement, & the atrocious way middle America treats wild animals, then this book is probably a good start. However, if you have seen it (like 34 million of us) the only real highlights are the un-aired court case itself, that is transcribed in detail, and offers a good insight into the true character of Joe Exotic and his lesser reported nefarious activities. Other than that, it offers a lot less than the TV series gave us and is essentially just a handy guide to the 2020 global TV phenomenon.

Although this analytic write-up, is obviously well researched, it's a book that's devoid of any personality from the author, offers no opinions, narrative, nor otherwise, and in fact could have been written by anybody. I'm not even 100% sure this is official or officiated with the TV show, itself? Maybe the author is seeking a quick buck off the back of the tiger king TV success story. An ethos I'm sure Joe Exotic himself would agree with!

Was this review helpful?

I was one of the people who binge watched Tiger King on Netflix and could watch it more and more. When I saw that there was a book about it, I knew I had to read it. At first I was a little hesitant in reading it but once I started, I couldn't put the book down! This was such a good read and made me really think about the whole show and what it was about. Needless to say I still think that Carole Baskin killed her first husband but what Joe did was wrong too. This is a must read!

Was this review helpful?

dnf at 18%

trigger warning
<spoiler> rape, child molestation, n-word, animal cruelty, homophobia, self harm, suicide attempt </spoiler>

This book tells the story of the feud between Joe Exotic and the Big Cat Queen, how they came to be in contact with big cats, how their zoos work, how they found out they have a problem with each other.

The introduction directly references the netflix show, but it does not say where this book stands. Was it written in conjunction with the show? Did both simply happen to have the same topic and Netflix was quicker with releasing the material?
It kind of reads as if this book has been cobbled together as they saw the show is getting attention.

There is no mention of how the information was gathered or which intention this book follows. Is it the show retold? Is the data based on unquoted news articles? Oh, yes, there are no footnotes at all. We have to blindly believe everything we're told, and I don't know about you, I am not good at that.

Adding to this, the writing style is not als clear as I would have liked, and reads very rushed. Heavy topics are dropped permanently without delving deeper into them. Turns out you have to deal with them sensitively, not only in fiction, but also in non fiction.

The introduction was bad, I thought maybe some starting problems. The first chapter with a rushed biography of Joe Exotic was bad, I thought maybe after the biography it gets better. Chapter two is the same for the Big Cat Queen - and sadly, chapter three isn't written any better, so I called it a halt.

I expected an uncomfortable read because of the content matter, but I was not prepared for writing this sloppy.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Was this review helpful?

If you're like me, you may want to go back to simpler times during quarantine when everyone was obsessing over binging Tiger King and the war between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin.  So to try and make it last a little big longer, I decided to read Tiger Wars - which goes a lot more in depth about both Joe and Carole and their lives and their Zoos/Sactuaries. 

While the story follows similarly to the Netflix series, there is a lot more backstory that I found to be very helpful with rounding out their stories a little bit more.  Still off the wall and absolutely insane though.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

Was this review helpful?

This was a follow-up to the Netflix documentary, Tiger King, that swept through American living rooms while we were all cooped up during the Covid-19 pandemic.  The book is written in a factual, journalistic-type style, with lots of recorded dialogue from interviews and from courtroom testimony.  I personally found the Netflix documentary series fascinating, so the extra information in the book was also fascinating to me.  But, there was a lot of overlap between the book and the series, and the writing style lacked the creativity that the series invoked.  I would recommend this book to any Tiger King fans, and to those of my friends who (like me) enjoy processing the low anthropology that these kinds of documentaries reveal.  If you haven't watched the series, it would probably be a dry and uninteresting book.

Was this review helpful?

This was a good book to read as someone who binged Tiger King in a day. There was new information that was not presented in the documentary, which makes this book worth reading. It's a quick read and it's well researched, which are two bonuses.

Was this review helpful?

If you are a big Tiger king fan like I am and have watched both the Louis Theroux Documentary and Tiger Kind on Netflix I would recommend reading this book, It tells the story of Joe life I hadn’t heard about including transcripts from his trial .

Was this review helpful?