The series tells the story of teenaged brothers Hal and Roger Hunt, who accompany their father in his work as a "bring 'em back alive" man. His job is going to far flung places to bring home animals for zoos and wildlife parks.
The books contain a wealth of fascinating information about the animals and their habitats, although they can seem a little dated to modern readers as views on zoos and keeping wild animals in captivity have changed a lot over the time since the books were written.
Written in the "Boy's Own" style, they include thrilling adventures, and life and death moments. Hal is 17/18 and Roger is 13/14 during the course of the series. Their exploits include meeting head hunters, witch doctors, escaped convicts, and a jungle tribe who have had barely any contact with westerners before. There is at least one "baddie" in every book, and the boys must outwit them and live to get home safely, as well as carrying out their job of collecting animals.
The books also touch on serious subjects such as the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, poaching, and social and cultural pressure on young people. These are dealt with in a way appropriate for the age of the intended readers, and everything "real life" is factually accurate. Many of the animals the boys encounter are unusual (Bongo and Boomslang spring to mind!), and may be unknown to the reader, and again, all the information about wildlife and habitat is factually correct.
The first volume in the series, "Amazon Adventure", was first published in 1949, and the last, "Arctic Adventure", in 1980.
Between 2012 and 2014, four follow-on stories were published. Written by Anthony McGowan, they tell of the adventures of Roger's daughter and Hal's son.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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