Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"[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)
Review
"[T]his book captures the spirit of a remarkable woman in science; highly recommended." Library Journal (Starred Review)
Review
"A loving depiction of a remarkable woman who charmed the world as much as it captivated her." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[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
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
Review
"Goodall is probably one of the most admired women living in the world today. And if you are one of the many who regard her as a hero...Dale Peterson's comprehensive new biography, will do nothing to change your mind....Peterson's book is a thorough, intelligent, and highly readable look at an unusual life. The book is long (almost 700 pages) but for the most part the details are delightful." Marjorie Kehe, The Christian Science Monitor (read the entire CSM review)
Synopsis
An in-depth biography of Jane Goodall describes how the seminal scientist and naturalist revolutionized the study of primates through her years of study of the chimpanzees of Gombe, helped establish radical new standards and a new intellectual style in the study of animal behavior, and how her work inevitably led to her career as an activist.
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
This essential biography of one of the most influential women of the past century shows how truly remarkable Jane Goodalland#8217;s accomplishments have been. Goodall was a secretarial school graduate when Louis Leakey, unable to find someone with more fitting credentials, first sent her to Gombe to study chimpanzees. In this acclaimed work, Dale Peterson details how this young woman of uncommon resourcefulness and pluck would go on to set radically new standards in the study of animal behavior. He vividly captures the triumphs and setbacks of her dramatic life, including the private quest that led to her now-famous activism.
Peterson, a longtime Goodall collaborator, has a unique knowledge of his subject. Candid and illuminating, this work will be a revelation even to readers who are familiar with the public Goodall as presented in her own writing.
About the Author
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.
Table of Contents
Prologue ix
Part I: The Naturalist 1. Daddyand#8217;s Machine, Nannyand#8217;s Garden and#149; 1930and#150;1939 3 2. War and a Disappearing Father and#149; 1939and#150;1951 19 3. A Childand#8217;s Peace and#149; 1940and#150;1945 29 4. Child in the Trees and#149; 1940and#150;1951 38 5. Childhoodand#8217;s End and#149; 1951and#150;1952 53 6. Dream Deferred and#149; 1952and#150;1956 67 7. Dream Returned and#149; 1956and#150;1957 81 8. Africa! and#149; 1957 92 9. Olduvai and#149; 1957 107 10. Love and Other Complications and#149; 1957and#150;1958 122 11. The Menagerie and#149; 1958 134 12. London Interlude and#149; 1959and#150;1960 149 13. Lolui Island and the Road to Gombe and#149; 1960 167 14. Summer in Paradise and#149; 1960 179 15. Davidand#8217;s Gift and#149; 1960 194 16. Primates and Paradigms and#149; 1960and#150;1962 212 17. The Magical and the Mundane and#149; 1960and#150;1961 229 18. A Photographic Failure and#149; 1961 245 19. A Different Language and#149; 1961and#150;1962 261
Part II: The Scientist 20. First Scientifi c Conferences and#149; 1962 281 21. A Photographic Success and#149; 1962 295 22. Intimate Encounters and#149; 1963 313 23. Love and Romance, Passion and Marriage and#149; 1963and#150;1964 332 24. Babies and Bananas and#149; 1964 343 25. A Permanent Research Center and#149; 1964and#150;1965 354 26. Gombe from Afar and#149; 1965 372 27. A Peripatetic Dr. van Lawick and the Paleolithic Vultureand#149; 1966and#150;1967 387 28. Epidemic and#149; 1966and#150;1967 403 29. Grublin and#149; 1967 415 30. Promise and Loss and#149; 1968and#150;1969 431 31. Hugoand#8217;s Book and#149; 1967and#150;1970 449 32. Regime Changes and#149; 1970and#150;1972 465 33. Abundance, Estrangement, and Death and#149; 1972 484 34. Friends, Allies, and Lovers and#149; 1973 503 35. Things Fall Down and#151; and Sometimes Apart and#149; 1974 523 36. Domesticity and Disaster and#149; 1975 541 37. A New Normal and#149; 1975and#150;1980 562 38. Picking Up the Pieces and#149; 1980and#150;1986 581
Part III: The Activist 39. Well-Being in a Cage and#149; 1986and#150;1991 601 40. Orphans, Children, and Sanctuaries and#149; 1986and#150;1995 619 41. Circumnavigations and#149; 1996and#150;2000 639 42. Messages and#149; 2000and#150;2003 652 43. Woman Leaping Forward and#149; 2003and#150;2004 670 Notes 689 Works Cited 704 Acknowledgments 712 Index 715