Gerald Durrell frequently believes he is the only same man in a world of lunatics. Never has he conveyed the collective lunacy of mankind more brilliantly than in this hilarious collection of reminiscences. In Corfu, mother is given a calamitous birthday party which starts with the hi-jacking of the ice box and ends with the entire gathering marooned on a remote and deserted beach, Mamfe, the night the punka fell on the Dicrict Commissioner, unleashing the deadliest snake in Africa on the dinner table. Bournemouth, and the ravishing Ursala, the Mrs Malaprop of the south coast, bombards her gracious surroundings with outsize social gaffes.