Daren
A book of reportage in four parts from Alex Shoumatoff who at the time was a staff writer at The New Yorker, and travelled to Africa to research and interview people to write these pieces. No stranger to Africa Shoumatoff references some of his earlier travels in these articles.
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas is the story of Dian Fossey in Rwanda and particularly violent murder, but also a potted history of her life and her troubled interactions with various people from her African staff to her research assistants. It seems that people had wildly varying opinions and experiences with Fossey - she seemed imminently unsuited to any interactions with humans! No real conclusion was drawn as to whom the murderer might have been, but various people / groups were examined and Shoumantoff gave opinions on whether he considered them relevant.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men In Madagascar live the indiri, also known as babakoto, one of the larger species of lemur and referred to as the dog-headed man. Supposedly mistaken for a strange tribe of men by early travellers (Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Sir John Mandeville), although Shoumantoff doesn't dwell on this - in fact he takes over half this article to even get to them. Instead he provides a potted history of Madagascar and its rulers, anecdotes about Sir David Attenborough and other distractions, although all leads to Madagascar's high value diversity of flora and fauna (much like the Galapagos) and how endangered everything there is, including the indiri.
The Emperor Who Ate His People Central African Republic is the location of the third article - and a review of the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa. Murders, ritual cannibalism, horrendous corruption and his ridiculously expensive coronation ceremony in a country heavily reliant on foreign aid (mostly France).
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS While dated in terms of current knowledge around AIDS, Shoumatoff takes a good go at tracing early reports of AIDS / HIV-like symptoms in various African countries, while also looking at other locations such as America and Europe where early cases are noted. He goes fairly deep into come technicalities around HIV1 and HIV2, interviews lots of doctors and people working in roles assisting AIDS (and other poor health) sufferers. Shoumatoff visits Uganda, Guinea Bissau, Congo (DR) and Kenya. Well put together, but not the kind of travel / history / entertainment story I would be seeking out!
These were all well assembled, interesting pieces.
4 stars.
A book of reportage in four parts from Alex Shoumatoff who at the time was a staff writer at The New Yorker, and travelled to Africa to research and interview people to write these pieces. No stranger to Africa Shoumatoff references some of his earlier travels in these articles.
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas is the story of Dian Fossey in Rwanda and particularly violent murder, but also a potted history of her life and her troubled interactions with various people from her African staff to her research assistants. It seems that people had wildly varying opinions and experiences with Fossey - she seemed imminently unsuited to any interactions with humans! No real conclusion was drawn as to whom the murderer might have been, but various people / groups were examined and Shoumantoff gave opinions on whether he considered them relevant.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men In Madagascar live the indiri, also known as babakoto, one of the larger species of lemur and referred to as the dog-headed man. Supposedly mistaken for a strange tribe of men by early travellers (Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Sir John Mandeville), although Shoumantoff doesn't dwell on this - in fact he takes over half this article to even get to them. Instead he provides a potted history of Madagascar and its rulers, anecdotes about Sir David Attenborough and other distractions, although all leads to Madagascar's high value diversity of flora and fauna (much like the Galapagos) and how endangered everything there is, including the indiri.
The Emperor Who Ate His People Central African Republic is the location of the third article - and a review of the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa. Murders, ritual cannibalism, horrendous corruption and his ridiculously expensive coronation ceremony in a country heavily reliant on foreign aid (mostly France).
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS While dated in terms of current knowledge around AIDS, Shoumatoff takes a good go at tracing early reports of AIDS / HIV-like symptoms in various African countries, while also looking at other locations such as America and Europe where early cases are noted. He goes fairly deep into come technicalities around HIV1 and HIV2, interviews lots of doctors and people working in roles assisting AIDS (and other poor health) sufferers. Shoumatoff visits Uganda, Guinea Bissau, Congo (DR) and Kenya. Well put together, but not the kind of travel / history / entertainment story I would be seeking out!
These were all well assembled, interesting pieces.
4 stars.