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In the Shadow of Man

by Jane Goodall, Hugo Van Lawick (Photographer), David A. Hamburg (Foreword by)

4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 · rating details · 2,189 ratings · 116 reviews

This best-selling classic tells the story of one of the world's greatest scientific adventures. Jane Goodall was a young secretarial school graduate when the legendary Louis Leakey chose her to undertake a landmark study of chimpanzees in the wild. In the Shadow of Man is an absorbing account of her early years at Gombe Stream Reserve, telling us of the remarkable discover...more

Paperback, 297 pages

Published April 21st 2000 by Mariner Books (first published 1971)

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Jul 12, 2008 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars

My tattered and beloved copy of this book now bears the inscription:
Denise
Follow Your Heart
Jane Goodall

I read this book about ten years ago, and to this day it remains one of my favorites. Jane Goodall had gone to secretary school and just happened to have a connection to the Leakey family, whose discoveries have shaped our view of evolution today. A young woman with no prior knowledge about chimpanzees finds herself in the middle of the Gombe, following chimps as they go about their daily busi...more

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Dec 06, 2008 Larry rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone who thinks we were created special.

This book is #1 on my list of the books that most influenced my life. The orginial publishing date I am guessing was in the 60's or early 70's when the author, the elfin like Jane Goodall, was both young and unknown. She was a disciple of Leakey but possessed of an intellect equal or surpassing his. This single book, written well before all the later DNA work was to me the crystal window into the evolution of human beings. Whatever Christian based uncertainties I had vanished upon my reading of...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Selaine Henriksen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Last week my friend Sandy and I went to see a movie about Jane Goodall's life which she was there to present and then had a Q&A session and signed autographs. She's 77! Sandy said that was definitely one of her items on her bucket list. Whenever Sandy and I get together something strange happens. She ended up with a touch of the flu that struck just as we were leaving and then throwing up outside of the car on the street. I'm sure my neighbors, because natch it was back in the 'hood, thought...more
Last week my friend Sandy and I went to see a movie about Jane Goodall's life which she was there to present and then had a Q&A session and signed autographs. She's 77! Sandy said that was definitely one of her items on her bucket list. Whenever Sandy and I get together something strange happens. She ended up with a touch of the flu that struck just as we were leaving and then throwing up outside of the car on the street. I'm sure my neighbors, because natch it was back in the 'hood, thought we'd been out drinking in excess. ( which we have done, too, but not with driving).

So- Jane Goodall was marvelous. Her answers to questions showed a sharp intelligence combined with an empathy that was quite moving and inspring. She only briefly, and in response to a question, touched on factory farms but said she gave up eating meat after that because she couldn't bear to eat the fear and pain the meat represented. I felt that And I determined to eat less meat ( I can't say I'll go vegan because I want to eat eggs and cheese.) I was impressed that she didn't attempt to change anyone's mind or eating habits. She just said that if you want to make a difference there then ask your local grocery store to carry cruelty-free or free range foods.

I bought her book "In The Shadow of Man". It's her first and probably a tad out of date, judging from the forward. I had it signed. She writes in a very engaging manner, as though she had an eye on keeping the reader amused. Very astute of her. She leads with the tension of whether her program would be allowed and how to despair at the chimps avoiding her, easily. To the wonder of their acceptance to the thrill of the chimps's individual stories, a few of which left me in tears. Particularly the polio epidemic. The scene of the one chimp crawling into camp with a paralysed leg and all the others looking at him with horror and fear and he`s looking over his shoulder to see what they`re scared of is both heart-breaking and hilarious.

I think the biggest surprise is that they hunt and eat meat. Not only hunting, but hunting infants of a species they also play with as children themselves. I have to admit to being shocked by that. I`m not sure why. Do I have a rose-coloured lens when looking at animals? No, I'm a trained veterinary technologist and have worked in a number of clinics, including a research facility.

I think it's just of all the things I've heard over the years of Jane Goodall's research that had never come up. Perhaps, in the interest of garnering funding for the research, that was one thing that would turn people's emotions against the chimps. I've been interested in her work for ages and never heard of that.(less)

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Jul 24, 2011 dragonhelmuk rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Another valentine's present and amazing book, this time on chimpanzees. Chimpanzees remind me far more of humans than gorillas do. They are very social, but are more individual than chimpanzees. Their gestures are very human, kissing, hugging, holding hands, touching head/back/genitals to pacify (see bible/old Irish legend for genital-touch greetings in human cultures ;>). I especially liked the rain dances and generally they remind me of the exciting things of the human nature-nurture debate...more Another valentine's present and amazing book, this time on chimpanzees. Chimpanzees remind me far more of humans than gorillas do. They are very social, but are more individual than chimpanzees. Their gestures are very human, kissing, hugging, holding hands, touching head/back/genitals to pacify (see bible/old Irish legend for genital-touch greetings in human cultures ;>). I especially liked the rain dances and generally they remind me of the exciting things of the human nature-nurture debate (incest taboo in practice, hierarchy, possession), and the most exciting potential for finding out the behaviour of common ancestors (based on comparative behavioural research). Their sex lives are a bit weird, but not quite as bad as gorillas. I'd love to read about bonobos and orangutans next though. Three quotes taken at random (alas a paper book again)

(First ever glimpse of chimpanzee tool use)
Cautiously I moved round so that I could see what he was doing. he was squatting by the red earth mound of a termite nest, and, as I watched, I saw him carefully push a long grass stem down into a hole in the mound, After a moment he withdrew it and picked something from the end with his mouth...

(Chimpanzee excitement)
I shall always remember Christmas at the Gombe Stream that year. I bought an extra large supply of bananas and put them around the little tree which I had decorated with silver paper and cotton wool. Goliath and William arrived together on Christmas morning and gave loud screams of excitement when they saw the huge pile of fruit. They flung their arms around one another and Goliath patted William again and again on his wide-screaming mouth, whilst William laid one arm over Goliath's back. Finally they calmed down and began their feast, still uttering small squeaks and grunts of pleasure, somewhat muffled and sticky through their mouthfuls of bananas.

(First sight of chimps hunting)
It happened one morning when Rudolf, Mr McGregor, Humphrey, and an adolescent male were sitting, replete with bananas, and the baboon troop was passing through the camp area. All at once, Rudolf got up and moved rapidly behind one of the buildings followed by the other three. They all walked with the same silent, purposeful, almost stealthy pace...
I followed-but even so I was too late to observe the actual capture. As i rounded the building I heard the sudden screaming of a baboon and then, a few seconds afterwards, the roaring of male baboons and the screaming and barking of chimpanzees. I ran the last few yards and, through some thick bushes, glimpsed Rodolf standing upright as he swung the body of a juvenile baboon above him by one of its legs and slammed its head down on to some rocks. Whether or not that was the actual death blow I could not tell: certainly the victim was dead as Rodolf, carrying it in one hand, set off rapidly up the slope.
The other chimps followed him closely, still screaming, and a number of adult male baboons continued to harass Rodolf, lunging towards him and roaring. This lasted only for a few minutes and then, to my surprise, they gave up. Presently the four chimpanzees appeared, climbing into the higher branches of a tall tree where Rodolf settled down and began to feed, tearing into the tender flesh of the belly and groin of his prey(less)

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Mar 31, 2010 Steven Peterson rated it 4 of 5 stars

A really fine volume. Jane Goodall describes her study of chimpanzees at the Gombe Stream in Tanzania. She and her team has studied these animals over a long period of time. This covers the social behavior of the chimpanzees in the earlier years of the study.

The story occurs at several levels. One, simply, is the interaction of individuals with their own personalities--Flo, David, Goliath, Faben, Merlin, Passion, and so on. Another level is the group/society. What is the structure of the society...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Teagan D rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-time-favorites, non-fiction, for-the-love-of-animals

I loved this. I can't promise that everyone would - I have a feeling it was a case of "this was the perfect book for where I am emotionally/intellectually/spiritually at the moment and it struck home." But even if you were to read it and not feel compelled to give it five stars, I really think you'd like it. Jane's writing made me feel as if we were sitting together over coffee; she's well-written without being pretentious, careful in her observation and description without being dry or over-sci...more

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Jul 15, 2011 readinrobin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an incredibly riveting, interesting, amusing, amazing book. In the 1960s, Jane Goodall left secretarial work to travel to the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve (now the Gombe National Park), along with her mother because officials there did not believe a young woman her age should be unaccompanied, to begin studying chimpanzees. The author's love for her work, for the chimps, for nature, for the reserve, come through fiercely. This is a very detailed and impressive account of her time the...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Mayday Maddie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well, I must admit that this book made Jane Goodall one of my role models... Young girl from Europe leaves a fair job & city behind in the 1960s for the rolling wilderness of the Gombe reserve and chimpanzees. Goodall's story is very inspirational and bittersweet. You fall in love with the chimp troop just like she did, live and die with them from page to page. The photographs are very cute (I only wish there were more).
It is very startling how human-esque these chimpanzees really are. Desp...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Xue rated it 4 of 5 stars

An amazing read! A well written book with intriguing stories about chimpanzees. The author does a great job adding a personal, light-hearted touch while providing enough information for readers to learn about the chimpanzees as species. I gave four stars only because I do not agree with some of the anthropocentric perspectives/world views of the author revealed through her writing - I study environmental management, and I suppose that back in 1960s, they had a different sort of conservation cult...more

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Apr 06, 2009 Valerie added it

Actually, I've read am earlier edition, not this one. I know something of what's happened in the interim, and I've actually been to one of Goodall's lectures, but I haven't read the current edition, which I suspect probably contains things like the polio epidemic.

In another book (I think by Roger Fouts), an incident is described in which Goodall was given a tour of chimpanzees in a medical research facility. She's described as being unable to speak because she was choked up with tears at how awf...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Sky rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have always loved this story and the enlightenment Jane Goodall always manages to emit. I met her in 1993 and it was something I will never forget.

"Thinking back over my life, it seems to me that there are different ways of looking out and trying to understand the world around us. There's a very clear scientific window. And it does enable us to understand an awful lot about what's out there. There's another window, it's the window through which the wise men, the holy men, the masters, of the...more

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Mar 29, 2010 Moira rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: womens, outdoors, africa, animals

An interviewer once asked Ms. Goodall what one thing she wished for and she replied that she'd like to be able to know how a chimpanzee thinks, feels...in other words to trade places for one moment and look out at the world with our nearest primate relative's brain, to know what he knows, feels and thinks. With her research and resulting books, she has gotten as close as possible to that wish and brought that perspective to us as well. This book is her first: an account of the beginning of the r...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Tahleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-and-nature

I skipped around because I had to read part of it for school, but I like it so much that I ended up finishing it. She's got a very descriptive style and presents the chimps as individuals, making the book extremely accessable. Plus she wasn't a technical "scientist" when she began her research; she was just a young British woman who loved animals, didn't even have a college education. I thought that was so cool.

It's very interesting to read the stories of the community she watched at Gombe, and...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love the way Goodall's observations of the chimpanzees are so similar to the observations someone would make of humans. The chimps go to each other for physical contact (a hug, pat on the back, etc) when they are frightened, after a fight, when they want to show affection, in greeting, or when they need comfort. I'm noticing that everywhere now: kissing a bumped head, my son fighting with his best friend at a park and then hugging him ten seconds later, two adult males greeting each other with...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

This may not be the most methodologically correct form of naturalist writing, but I was totally interested in the lives of the chimps Goodall observed in the Gombe. Goodall is very sentimental, but the detail of chimp behavior in this book is still rich. You get a sense of the rhythm of their lives and the individual personalities of chimps come out. The photos and illustrations are also cool. This is a very accessible document of pioneering research in primatology that will hopefully make you m...more

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May 28, 2009 pri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

beautiful account of her work and stories of the characters that she met in the chimps that she studied. full portraits that really make you care about what happens to each chimp and cry when one dies a sad death. i did find that i wished she would talk more about her own experiences. being with her mother out there in the gombe. being alone afterwards. she devoted so much of herself to her work. but it did make me long for a book that covered how she herself felt in the work and with her child...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Kalie Lyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

Almost everyone has heard of Jane Goodall and her work with the chimpanzees. However, the stories of the chimpanzees themselves, and what made Jane fall in love with them in the first place, is something not everyone is familiar with. In the Shadow of Man is a book about those stories, and about the early years, which would become many years, of Jane Goodall’s study, research, and fascination with human’s closest living relatives.

Not only is this book informational and descriptive about the comp...more

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Jun 03, 2010 Tippy Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: evolution, animalia

Overall enjoyable. She does a good break down of chimp relationships. Some parts were sad. I will say that I think the manner of studying chimps by luring them to your camp with bananas is of course altering the very behaviors you're trying to objectively study. However, I do think she still gains a lot of valuable information and she is constantly asking the right questions. More than the answers, it is her never ending questions that I enjoyed. I also believe she has a good idea of how her set...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Jacqui rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-man, science

I read Jane Goodall's In the Shadow of Man (Houghton Mifflin 1971) years ago as research for a paleo-historic novel I was writing. I needed background on the great apes so I could show them acting appropriately in their primeval setting tens of thousands of years ago. While I did get a marvelous treatise from this book on their wild environ, I also got my first introduction to the concept that they are almost-human, maybe even human cousins.

But I digress. Back to Jane Goodall.

This is the memoir...more I read Jane Goodall's In the Shadow of Man (Houghton Mifflin 1971) years ago as research for a paleo-historic novel I was writing. I needed background on the great apes so I could show them acting appropriately in their primeval setting tens of thousands of years ago. While I did get a marvelous treatise from this book on their wild environ, I also got my first introduction to the concept that they are almost-human, maybe even human cousins.

But I digress. Back to Jane Goodall.

This is the memoir that began her career, that relays her start in the field of anthropology, how she conducted her early studies and the price she paid personally and professionally for her perseverance. She had no formal background in primatology or fieldwork when she began this study. She entered Tanzania with an open mind, a patient attitude and an interest in exploring the adventures of chimpanzees in the wild. From there, she invented everything else that would allow her to investigate these fascinating primates. In the book, she shares every step with readers--how she followed the chimps until they finally accepted her presence without fleeing, how she learned to identify each animal and in that way track their lives, how she learned to understand their verbal and body language, how she learned to be a better mother by watching Flo's parenting skills.

At the time she wrote this book, chimpanzees were not considered human--still aren't. Goodall approached her fieldwork expecting to see them fail the tests of human-ness, things like using tools, caring for their families, working as a group, planning their actions. Each hurdle she put in front of them, they lept across, until her work destroyed all the rules about what made you and I human. She did for chimpanzees what Dian Fosse did for the gorillas and Birute Galdikas did for orangutans: she humanized them.

By the time I finished this book, I realized that chimpanzees have a good and fulfilling life. They have adapted their lives to suit their environment. They lack man's wanderlust, restricting themselves to smaller and smaller parts of Africa every year, but by Jane Goodall's account, they enjoy their lives.

Can we say as much for ourselves?(less)

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Jan 16, 2013 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

Only three stars mainly because of the subject, book deservers five but you have to be a hardcore chimpanzee lover and probably have a scientific approach to fully enjoy this. For me, it was a struggle to finish. Jane Goodall certainly has done an amazing work and helped to break some boundaries. For me the obvious comparison is of course Gorillas In The Mist that I read a while back. I can't help it but somehow Dian Fossey's guerilla like, rebellious and outrageous efforts to defend the gorilla...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Cheryl rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: animals, favorites, non-fiction, science, conservation

My favorite chimp was David Graybeard.

This is a good story and adventure. I feel like I am right there with Jane Goodall and the chimps and I wish I was. Watching these chimps and learning about their different personalities and seeing all this would be amazing. I was definitely drawn into learning about every one of them and felt happy when something wonderful happened and not so happy when tragedy and sickness occurred. The fate of Mr. McGregor was particularly moving.

The story's a bit anthrop...more

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Jan 13, 2009 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

A science classic. Dame Jane Goodall’s first book about her early years in the Gombe National Park studying chimpanzees. Her work was groundbreaking, what she learned monumental and this book is the testament to the humanness Goodall discovered within our closest living relative.

I have a first edition hardback published in 1971 with color photographs. Simply a wonderful, wonderful book, I've read more than once. Highly cherished.

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Jun 05, 2008 Dave rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's a field study of chimpanzees living in Tanzania. that with addendum covers on generation (40y or so) of tribe(ish). The parallels to human activity are amazing, it's like humans without the bull of language and civilization. I found myself in the constant...hmmm how would I react. The part on child development was enlightening, especially since the author was in the processes of having on herself. The way that the author is able to bring her own experience into the discussion helped to illu...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, natural-history, childhood-favs

There are some books that I have been moving with me for the past 40 years. Its fun to revisit them to see if they still have that "magic". The book does chronicle an amazing change in science history - the beginning of long-term animal behavior studies in the field. The stories of the chimps interactions and chimp-human interactions are interesting. I still admire JG for her pioneering work.

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Jan 21, 2008 Jenny rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this on the plane on my way to Colombia. Goodall writes well, and I loved the chapter about her initial arrival at the Goombe Reserve, when she hiked alone each day and sat quietly for hours hoping to see Chimpanzees feeding. While observing or hiking wild boars, Boas and Leopards would pass within feet of her and she maintained a cool head.

And then . . . she starts feeding the Chimps, and naming them, and attributing all sorts of emotions to them. After my initial shock and distate for...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Shauna Mckelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cerritos-reading-2011, july-2011, summer-2011, one-million-pages

This book falls chronologically before Through a Window and describes the author's experiences in Gombe studying chimpanzees. This book is very informative, and the life histories of the various chimps are fascinating. I read this book after Through a Window and was still able to piece together the story in reverse, but it probably would have been easier to have read this book first.

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Sep 02, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I personally read this book as part of biology class. I chose it because I had always admired Jane goodall. However I never thought that I would have been so touched by this amazing story. It made me want to be a zoologist even more than I ever had before. Jane is without a doubt my idol.

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Feb 17, 2013 Natasha11 rated it 5 of 5 stars

If I could suggest any one Jane Goodall book, this would be the book. This is where she started. It is emotionally charged and incredibly educational. I cannot think of a better book on Primatology. Bottom line is, Jane Goodall is an amazing person and this book captures that.

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Mar 17, 2009 James rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read the initial published copy from around 1970 that I picked up in a used bookstore and loved it. Had the honor to stand in line and shake her hand after a reading inside a church in Pasadena,CA that was part of tour promoting a "Reason for Hope".

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Mar 28, 2011 Ivan Stoikov - Allan Bard rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great description of the wild chimpanzees' life, probably one of the best books about animals' life. A book that shows we have to really think about all those horrible things we do to our "Little" brothers...

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About Jane Goodall

Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE (born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall), is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute an...more

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