Synopses & Reviews
AFRICA IN MY BLOOD is an extraordinary self-portrait in letters of Jane Goodall's early years, from childhood to the publication of IN THE SHADOW OF MAN, revealing this remarkable woman more vividly than anything published before, by her or about her. We see her at eleven founding the Alligator Society ("You have to be able to recognize 10 birds, 10 dogs, 10 trees and 5 butterflies OR moths"); at seventeen developing a crush on the local minister ("He has a beautiful long nose and he loves dogs"); at twenty punting at Oxford -- and falling out of the boat ("And I stood in the water -- up to my chest -- and roared and roared with laughter"); at twenty-two working at a film company and saving for a trip to Africa.
At twenty-three, she took that trip, to "the Africa I have always longed for, always felt stirring in my blood." In Kenya's White Highlands, she rode horses, danced, and developed her observational skills on both animals and men ("He is very handsome and Clo and I sat in the car admiring his bottom and feeling sorry for him because he was getting filthy and oily"). The men returned her interest ("What the devil am I to do with all these middle aged married men. They hang in multitudinous garlands from every limb and neck I've got").
The turning point of her life came when a friend told her, "If you are interested in animals, you must meet Louis Leakey." And when she did meet the legendary anthropologist, he saw in this young secretarial school graduate the ideal candidate to undertake a revolutionary study of chimpanzees. He sent her to the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve on Lake Tanganyika, where she immersed herself in the lives of wild animals as no one had ever done before. Goodall has told this story in other books, but never so immediately and emotionally. She describes a chimp rain dance ("Every so often their wild calls rang out above the thunder. Primitive hairy men, huge and black on the skyline, flinging themselves across the ground in their primaeval display of strength and power . . . Can you begin to imagine how I felt? The only human ever to have witnessed such a display in all its primitive, fantastic wonder?"); a female chimp mating with five males early in the morning ("Hello -- No 5 is queuing, down on the bottom branch. 'Thanks Big Boy, but don't hang around.' No 5 leaps out of the way as No 4 charges down . . . Soon over and off he goes. Now perhaps a girl can have a bite of breakfast"); a colobus monkey clasping its dead baby ("She kept trying to groom its poor little coat. Oh, it was heart rending. I'm only so glad I've never seen a chimp with a dead baby. I just couldn't bear it").
AFRICA IN MY BLOOD is a dramatic, moving, funny, and important book that tells the story of how an English girl who loved animals became one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century.
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"Jane Goodall is more than just a remarkable scientist. She is, as
other writers have noted, a real-life Horatio Alger.... this is a
valuable book."
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"[Goodall]is a natural writer and riveting storyteller. Africa in My
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Blood confirms these additional talents." --Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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"Often letter anthologies are the purview of a subject's
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near-evangelical followers, but Africa in My Blood is an engrossing
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woman who first made science friendly." --Biography Magazine
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"An intimate and vivid portrait" --Natural History Magazine
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and compassion for chimpanzees changed the very understanding of what it means to be human. Jane's personal letters make you feel like you are a member of the family. This absolutely MUST become the first of a trilogy! The "heart" and the "soul" must join the "blood". I can hardly wait --- it wasn't fair to leave us in 1966 when we know there is so much more." -- Roger Fouts (Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, Central Washington University)
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"[Goodall]is a natural writer and riveting storyteller. Africa in My Blood confirms these additional talents." --Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Often letter anthologies are the purview of a subject's near-evangelical followers, but Africa in My Blood is an engrossing primate primer, a treat for old fans, and a fitting tribute to the woman who first made science friendly." --Biography Magazine
"An intimate and vivid portrait" --Natural History Magazine
"Jane Goodall is more than just a remarkable scientist. She is, as other writers have noted, a real-life Horatio Alger.... this is a valuable book." The San Francisco Chronicle
"No one, perhaps, has done more for great apes than Goodall, whose decades of work with Kenyan chimpanzees showed the rest of the world how chimps live -- how they use tools, eat, sleep, have sex, raise their young, fight, make peace -- demonstrating that they deserve further study as well as human protection. Here, in a follow up to last year's spiritual autobiography Reason for Hope, are displayed the roots of that work, in a thick, fun, enlightening, somewhat diffuse compilation of letters that Goodall wrote to relatives, friends, and colleagues over the first 32 years of her life, now amplified by Peterson's introduction and annotations. The earliest letters show the preteen Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall at school in England, chattily inviting her best friend to see her collection of "quite a lot of caterpillars." Later batches describe life in "Chimpland," where Goodall and her co-workers have set up their ongoing project. We see a mother chimp and her neighbors react to a baby; we also see Goodall, then-husband Hugo van Lawick and a cast of dozens handle the practical problems of running a jungle encampment, from parasites to postage and publicity. Goodall describes her work with her mentor, paleontologist Louis Leakey; shows her continued affection for her family; keeps up with U.S. and European animal-behavior researchers such as Konrad Lorenz; and narrates "the proudest [day] of my whole life to date": the chimpanzee "David G -- yes -- he has TAKEN BANANAS FROM MY HAND." This volume covers only the "early years" (1934-1966); readers who care about animal behavior -- or who enjoy the collected letters of a fascinating, friendly, and dedicated woman -- will hope for a sequel." --Publishers Weekly, March 6, 2000
Publishers Weekly
"A sumptuous delight! A story of greatness bred from innocence and wonder of one of the most remarkable lives of our time. As Africa grips Jane Goodall, her story grips the reader. AFRICA IN MY BLOOD allow us to witness, in a very intimate way, how the early seeds of understanding and compassion for chimpanzees changed the very understanding of what it means to be human. Jane's personal letters make you feel like you are a member of the family. This absolutely MUST become the first of a trilogy! The "heart" and the "soul" must join the "blood". I can hardly wait --- it wasn't fair to leave us in 1966 when we know there is so much more." -- Roger Fouts (Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, Central Washington University)
About the Author
JANE GOODALL continues to study and write about primate behavior. She founded the Gombe Stream Research Center in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, and the Jane Goodall Institute for Wild Life Research, Education, and Conservation to provide ongoing support for field research on wild chimpanzees. She is the author of many books, including two autobiographies in letters, Africa in My Blood and Beyond Innocence. Today Dr. Goodall spends much of her time lecturing, sharing her message of hope for the future, and encouraging young people to make a difference in their world.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
Jane Goodall Africa in my blood CONTENTS List of Correspondents vi Introduction 1 1. Childhood, 1942-1952 10 2. Transitions, 1952-1957 38 3. Kenya Colony, 1957-1958 81 4. Waiting, 1959-1960 142 5. First Discoveries, 1960-1961 152 6. Photographing Gombe, 1961-1962 190 7. Close Observations, 1963 231 8. Marriage and Return, 1964 270 9. Bananas and Babies, 1964 281 10. Coming of Age, 1965-1966 334 Illustration Credits 372 Index 373