There are those who have accused Stephen Fry of spreading his many talents too thinly. Rescuing the Spectacled Bear reminds us that it"s possible to argue that he"s at his best as a writer. It"s a funny and moving diary of his bid to rescue Peru"s endangered Spectacled Bears and altogether a delight. Earlier in 2002, BBC 1 broadcast a programme about Fry"s visit to Peru to track Paddington Bear"s roots and (more seriously) to rescue a Spectacled Bear, one of the world"s endangered species. Later, Fry and his team went back and helped rescue a mate for the bear they had found on their first trip. Fry is clearly keen to draw the world"s attention to these bears and this engaging diary of his time in Peru is both funny and committed. Will Fry become the Diane Fossey of the bear world? The full colour, full-page illustrations are a particular delight and perfectly complement the author"s whimsical word pictures of the Spectacled Bears. And there"s even a bonus in the shape of some very funny jacket notes, comparing (item by item) the Spectacled Bear and Stephen Fry in terms of size, appearance and habitat, not to mention sexual habits. Of the bears: "Mating occurs in April, May and June and couples stay together for a week or two, with copulation occurring numerous times." Of Stephen Fry: "Subject of much speculation among scholars and gossip mongers. The mating ritual, which is remarkably noisy, lasts fourteen and a half years and makes a great deal of mess." --Barry Forshaw