When Louis Leakey first heard about Jane Goodall's discovery that chimps fashion and use tools, he sent her a telegram: "Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as human."

But when Goodall first presented her discoveries at a scientific conference, she was ridiculed by the powerful chairman, who warned one of his distinguished colleagues not to be misled by her "glamour." She was too young, too blond, too pretty to be a serious scientist, and worse yet, she still had virtually no formal scientific training. She had been a secretarial school graduate whom Leakey had sent out to study chimps only when he couldn't find anyone better qualified to take the job. And he couldn't tell her what to do once she was in the field — nobody could — because no one before had made such an intensive and long-term study of wild apes.

Dale Peterson shows clearly and convincingly how truly remarkable Goodall's accomplishments were and how unlikely it is that anyone else could have duplicated them. Peterson details not only how Jane Goodall revolutionized the study of primates, our closest relatives, but how she helped set radically new standards and a new intellectual style in the study of animal behavior. And he reveals the very private quest that led to another sharp turn in her life, from scientist to activist.

"In this engaging but overlong biography, Peterson (The Deluge and the Ark) details the life of the woman who revolutionized primate studies. In 1960, at age 26, Goodall was sent by paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey to the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) to study the chimps. With no scientific training and no precedents to follow, but with plenty of courage and the conviction that chimpanzees have individual personalities, she lived with the animals. Patiently observing them, she discovered that they eat meat, engage in warfare and use tools — a revelation that persuaded Leakey that it was necessary to redefine 'man,' because the use of tools had always been thought to be uniquely human. Peterson provides colorful descriptions of day-to-day life at Gombe and Goodall's interaction with the chimps, and ably portrays her relationship with Leakey, the National Geographic Society (which sponsored much of her work), her two marriages, her reaction to her celebrity and her ventures as an activist for the well-being of chimpanzees in captivity and the wild. However, exhaustive details of Goodall's childhood, her youthful loves, the activities of her infant son and the lives of her students and fellow researchers become wearisome. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"In this engaging but overlong biography, Peterson (The Deluge and the Ark) details the life of the woman who revolutionized primate studies. In 1960, at age 26, Goodall was sent by paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey to the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) to study the chimps. With no scientific training and no precedents to follow, but with plenty of courage and the conviction that chimpanzees have individual personalities, she lived with the animals. Patiently observing them, she discovered that they eat meat, engage in warfare and use tools — a revelation that persuaded Leakey that it was necessary to redefine 'man,' because the use of tools had always been thought to be uniquely human. Peterson provides colorful descriptions of day-to-day life at Gombe and Goodall's interaction with the chimps, and ably portrays her relationship with Leakey, the National Geographic Society (which sponsored much of her work), her two marriages, her reaction to her celebrity and her ventures as an activist for the well-being of chimpanzees in captivity and the wild. However, exhaustive details of Goodall's childhood, her youthful loves, the activities of her infant son and the lives of her students and fellow researchers become wearisome. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"[W]hat a story of poise, conviction, and sacrifice Peterson tells....Peterson vividly and significantly enriches our understanding of Goodall as a scientist, spiritual thinker, and humanist." Booklist (Starred Review)

"[T]his book captures the spirit of a remarkable woman in science; highly recommended." Library Journal (Starred Review)

"A loving depiction of a remarkable woman who charmed the world as much as it captivated her." Kirkus Reviews

"[T]he biography transcends its rather awestruck beginning and grows, detail by detail, into an absorbing portrait. At its best, it provides a remarkable account of what a person can accomplish through courage and self-sacrifice..." Deborah Blum, The New York Times Book Review

"Peterson provides copious detail, more than most of us would consider relevant....Occasionally, those specifics become tedious...but once you surrender to Peterson's agenda, his biography takes you deeply and completely into Goodall's many worlds..." Los Angeles Times

Peterson shows clearly and convincingly how truly remarkable Goodall's accomplishments were and how unlikely it is that anyone else could have duplicated them. Peterson details not only how Jane Goodall revolutionized the study of primates, but how she helped set radically new standards and a new intellectual style in the study of animal behavior.

Dale Peterson is the coauthor with Jane Goodall of Visions of Caliban (a New York Times Notable Book and a Library Journal Best Book) and the editor of her two books of letters, Africa in My Blood and Beyond Innocence. His other books include The Deluge and the Ark, Chimpanzee Travels, Storyville USA, Eating Apes, and (with Richard Wrangham) Demonic Males. They have been distinguished as an Economist Best Book, a Discover Top Science Book, a Bloomsbury Review Editor's Favorite, a Village Voice Best Book, and a finalist for the PEN New England Award and the Sir Peter Kent Conservation Book Prize in England. He resides in Massachusetts.