Alan's book started life as a collection of true stories of his days working at Sydney’s Taronga Park Zoo as a 15-year-old. At this time, relatively innocent in the ways of the world, he had moved from Launceston, Tasmania to the “Big Smoke” (Sydney) by himself. He was ripe for absorbing experiences, a bit like a blank canvas. So without realising it, he began living life and was determined to experience as much as possible. Writing down his “At the Zoo time” included allowing 30 monkeys to escape into the Sydney suburbs, chasing Fairy Penguins down to the harbour, remembering some dangerous times with the elephants, being responsible for the death of two of Sir Edward Halstrom’s favourite albino Kangaroos. (for which he was sacked from his position, quite unfairly he might add). It was only when he began to write down his life’s journey, he realised he had lived an extraordinary life, full of humour and worthy of sharing.