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Book Review of In the Kingdom of Gorillas: Fragile Species in a Dangerous Land

In the Kingdom of Gorillas: Fragile Species in a Dangerous Land
reviewed on


I enjoyed reading about the authors' work with the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, especially their emphasis on the human aspect of conservation. I think that most scientists are often unwilling to accept the importance of integrating conservation efforts with development goals, for their dedication to the science of it. I know that that was how I felt for the longest time. I no longer feel that way, and reading about the authors' perspective greatly enlarged mine. One critique that I do have with this book is the unnecessary recollection of all the things that were wrong with Dian Fossey following their discussion of her death. Not only was it superfluous, but it also detracted from their credibility as professionals--perhaps they felt that they needed to one-up Fossey for some of the admittedly horrible things that she did to them? I am interested in their opinions about the mountain gorillas, life in Rwanda, the Hutus and Tutsis, but no, not about their personal biases. Otherwise, this was an intriguing read.