I've lived just down the road from Koorana Crocodile Farm for 16 years and have encountered John Lever many times but I've never gotten to know him, so I was pleased when I learned that a colleague, Jenny Lanyon, was engaged as writer of his memoir.

John is obviously a complex and driven character, who has lived an extraordinary life. He started with nothing and wrested a business inch by mozzie-ridden inch from unpromising tidal flats. What comes through loud and clear is that he's a man of passion, in every sense, who will give anything a go to survive and prosper. He is ably assisted by his wife Lillian, whom he admires as a good sort who smacks her lips when she drinks a beer and can cut up a pig in a silk dress and pearls (Lillian, not the pig).

His early experiences working with villagers in Papua-New Guinea are rivetting and bizarre in equal measure. I particularly appreciated his respect for the indigenous people and his active concern for their welfare. He has some absolutely wonderful anecdotes, such as the time he transported half a tonne of unanaesthetised croc in a plane, stuffed bound beneath their feet. I googled to see how big the Britten-Norman Islander plane was. It was a 10-seater - mind well and truly blown. Another time he and a colleague made an emergency landing on a remote airstrip in torrential rain and spent the night in a convent wearing nuns' habits, while their clothes dried. I would have liked to see that.

John ran for parliament twice unsuccessfully. I wonder if he knows just what a lucky escape that was. How could a man of such action and independent thought have coped in that hothouse of schemers and sycophants?

As a farmer's daughter and environmental scientist, I appreciate his intelligent and forward-thinking conservation philosophy of making an unpopular animal valuable alive. This is particularly important in poverty-stricken Third World regions but also applicable here. After all, we nearly wiped them out not so long ago.

"Kissed by a Croc" is a fascinating read. Credit should be given to John's biographer. Jenny is a strong-minded and forceful character herself, yet the only voice I heard was John's. That takes no small measure of writing skill.

I highly recommend this book. So why don't you spend an afternoon with the Lever family and kiss a croc from the safe distance of your favourite reading chair.

Julie Davies
Journalist

"I love it. It's fabulous and I'm so happy with the results." These words from the daughter who commissioned the Scott Family History Project to record the lifelong memories of her rural parents for the benefit of all the grandchildren.

Michelle Scott
Scott Family History Project

"I admit I was not particularly interested in the story, so the book lay there for a while. Then I made the big mistake of starting it one morning while making brekkie for the kids. Well, I couldn’t put the bloody thing down! The coffee went cold, the porridge got burnt and the kids had to toddle off to the bus on their own with me still caught up in the book!

I felt I could hear John’s voice telling the story. I was rapt in being a part of it for a couple of days, even though I didn't get much of my own work done! Jenny Lanyon has done the story not just justice but brought it to life – I feel that I was 'Kissed by a Croc'!"

Veronika Zeil:
Artist and Journalist

Australian crocodile farmer and co-author with Jenny of 2014 HarperCollins published ABC book: Kissed by a Croc

"I could talk in confidence and expose my soul to Jenny and after choosing our words for my autobiography, whatever was left out was our secret and would not be revealed."

John Lever:
Kissed by a Croc

"I first met Jenny through her work in the Capella region putting together the local community newsletter and have stayed in touch through the years. She is really passionate about getting to know what’s happening in her local area, meeting people and getting an understanding of their stories. What really strikes me about Jenny is she has an enquiring mind and shows a real interest in people and their lives. Her sympathetic style of questioning and genuine manner help to get the best out of her subjects. She also has a very strong work ethic. Jenny is always happy to learn new skills, techniques and ideas to produce the best possible work."

Breakfast Presenter for ABC Capricornia Radio, Australia

Jacquie Mackay:
ABC Capricornia Radio

OBE, Emeritus Director of the Vancouver Aquarium and author of 'Letters Home from the Pacific War 1943 - 1946' and 'Islands of the Imperial Dream', Jenny assisted Dr Newman to compile his memoirs over seven years.

He describes her as:
"Smart, energetic, full of ideas, cooperative, cheerful."

Dr Murray Newman:
Ex Vancouver Aquarium

"I got to know Jenny some twenty-five years ago when my wife and I lived in the same district in Central Queensland. Knowing her journalistic capabilities, I asked her to research my Australian family growing up on a dairy farm in the 1930s. She interviewed me and my siblings and took many photos. I thank her for her thoughtfulness, sensitivity and total cooperation."

Retired Central Queensland, Australian Grazier

Laurie Reid:
Australian Grazier