(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch)
Ham’s Heaven was a tough book to get through – but not for the usual reasons: poor plotting, pacing, etc. It was tough because it was a very emotional story that needed to be told. The author, Ori Gersht, draws from a great deal of historical facts to create a fictional narrative about the unique bond between a man, Bradley, and probably the most famous chimpanzee of all time, Ham.
For those who are unaware, Ham was the first American in space – not Alan Shepard. (NASA had decided to play it cautiously by sending up an animal before they were ready to risk human lives).
Bradley was Ham’s handler and companion throughout his days being trained and tested by NASA before his famous foray into space. And while the testing and training was not designed to be purposely cruel to Ham, it nevertheless felt that way to an animal who could not be expected to comprehend why he was being subjected to it. Through it all, Bradley was always there to support and nurture Ham.
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I will say that there were some significant factual and grammatical errors in the book as it had been translated from Hebrew, and I wish an English proofreader would have had a go at it before it was released.
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All and all though, a good book and one that I would recommend.