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There is not much to be said about The Best of Gerald Durrell (HarperCollins, £20, ISBN 0 00 255697 9) except that it should solve countless Christmas present problems. An anthology of Durrell’s writing about animals and conservation, it is hilarious, serious, provocative, informative and moving. Read it to yourself before wrapping it in fancy paper, taking care not to leave fingerprints or smears on such favourite pages as those about Albert the lion at Whipsnade.