Explore
the fascinating life and legacy of groundbreaking primatologist and
conservationist Dian Fossey, who made it her life's mission to study and
protect mountain gorillas, in this powerful biography from award-winning author
Anita Silvey.
In 1963, young American Dian Fossey spent all her savings and took out a loan
to realize her dream--to go to Africa. It soon became her life's mission to
study and protect the few mountain gorillas left on Earth. Fossey had no
experience or formal scientific training, but she was smart, passionate, and
strong-willed--and she just happened to meet paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey,
who helped her pursue her goal of studying animals in the wild. Fossey set up a
research camp and threw herself into tracking and observing mountain gorillas.
Over the next 18 years, Fossey got closer to gorillas than any human ever had
before. As she learned to mimic their behavior and became accepted by them,
Fossey's studies grew into a labor of love and a mission to protect her beloved
gorillas from poachers and other threats--no matter what the cost.
Sadly, Fossey was murdered at her camp in 1985, and to this day, her death
remains a mystery. But her legacy lives on through the Dian Fossey Gorilla
Fund: In 1973 Fossey recorded only 275 gorillas living in Volcanoes National
Park; there are about twice that many today. Fossey's story is one of tragedy,
but also passion, science, and preservation. As Jane Goodall, once said,
"If Dian had not been there, there might be no mountain gorillas in Rwanda
today." Unforgotten is the dramatic conclusion to Silvey's trilogy of
biographies on Leakey's "Trimates." With unparalleled storytelling,
sidebars, maps, and an award-winning design, Unforgotten will inspire the next
generation of budding scientists and conservationists.
Praise for UNFORGOTTEN
Silvey deals honestly with Fossey’s internal battles, including alcohol
reliance and emotional trauma, and her murder in 1985, but largely elides the
myriad repercussions of her anti-poaching efforts. Employing lush, full-color
photographs of gorillas and rainforest-covered mountains, and informative
sidebars on related themes (e.g., the history of San Francisco, the Leakey
family) this is a visually compelling, though limited, treatment of its
subject. Includes a foreword by Ellen DeGeneres, extensive notes, maps, and
suggested resources for further study. —Publishers Weekly
As
the author of 100 Best Books for Children, 500 Great Books for Teens, and
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book, ANITA SILVEY
has devoted more than 50 years of her career to championing book that turn
casual readers into lifelong book lovers. Books in this National Geographic
series are Undaunted: The Wild Life of Birute Mary Galdikas and Her Fearless
Quest to Save Orangutans and Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall. Recent
books include Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger.
Silvey has been a guest on NPR, The Today Show, 60 Minutes, and various radio
programs to talk about the best books for young people. In a unique career in
the children's book field, Silvey has divided her time equally between
publishing, evaluating children's books, and writing. Her lifelong conviction
that "only the very best of anything can be good enough for the
young" forms the cornerstone of her work. Formerly publisher of children's
books for Houghton Mifflin Company and editor in chief of The Horn Book
magazine, she currently teaches modern book publishing, Modern Book Publishing
and the History of Children's Book Publishing at Simmons University.
PHOTO CONTENT FROM ANITA SILVEY
No comments
Post a Comment
I love comments! I try to read and reply to them all. Feel free to agree or disagree and generally share your thoughts with me.