Letters from the Mist: Dian Fossey "No One Loved Gorillas More"

by Camilla de la Bédoyère, Bob Campbell, Jane Goodall

Now in paperback, the full story of Dian Fossey's life with the mountain gorillas of Africa is told through her own previously unpublished letters, published in association with the Gorilla Organization with a foreword by Jane Goodall  For 18 years, Diane Fossey lived among the mountain gorillas of central Africa, dedicating all her energy to protecting them. She struggled against poachers, official opposition, ill health, personal tragedy, and the isolation of her surroundings with unstinting determination. Through the pages of National Geographic magazine and her book, Gorillas in the Mist, she focused the world's attention on the plight of the great apes. In December 1985, Diane was murdered by an unknown attacker in her cabin. Here, her story is told through the letters she wrote to her friends and family, set in context by a compelling narrative. These letters provide a unique and intimate portrait of an extraordinary woman together with dramatic photographs by Bob Campbell, who worked closely with Diane for several years.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Travel, Animals, Nature

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2005

About the author

A background in science, education and journalism has been the perfect foundation for author Camilla de la Bedoyere. She studied zoology and geology at Bristol University, and has subsequently written or edited more than 200 books for children and adults, many of which aim to explain and explore the natural world and our relationship with it.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book about the story of Dian Fossey and her advocacy for these beautiful creatures. The photography alone makes this book a must-read. Dian was certainly a strong personality, but how else could she have achieved so much? She literally gave her life to save the mountain gorillas.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs, with brief text and letters written by Dian to her friends and parents. She was cantankerous but without her effort mountain gorrillas would be extinct.
If you enjoy this, her book, Gorrillas in the Mist, is the next step.

[John Ulferts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dian Fossey is one of the true heroines of the 20th century. She is almost single handedly responsible for saving mountain gorillas, one of our closest relatives, from extinction. She used every tool available to her - her considerable skills as a writer, her courage to fight back against poachers, and her voice - to draw attention to their plight, even as her research studying them revealed their true kinship to humans. This biography of her, filled with her letters, is well worth a read. The real highlight here though are Bob Campbell's photographs of Fossey and of the gorillas. I was fortunate to meet Campbell in Denver. It was clear how much she meant to him. This is a great addition to the books on Fossey though my favorite remains the late environmentalist Farley Mowat's Virunga also known as Woman in the Mists.

[Colleen Benelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dian Fossey is famous for her love of and work with gorillas. This book reveals the complex woman she was. She was smart, funny, difficult, tough and dedicated to her gorillas. Fascinating read with gorgeous photographs.

[Meghan Portillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no doubt that is a beautiful, well written book. But I was expecting a LOT more letters - instead, what I got was scant letters with much biographical filler. As much as I enjoyed this book, I was very disappointed at how many letters were included and how edited they apparently were (the reader got the chance to see original letters from time to time). I'm surprised none of the other reviewers mentioned this ... but then again my main interest is women's letters.

So these three stars reflect misrepresentation, not my opinion of the actual content. I would just be repeating what other reviewers have said if I went into why I liked this book so much. I am hoping that Farley Mowat's biography will provide more letters.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, words alone cannot say what needs to be said. Gorillas in the Mist did that quite well, but No One Loved Gorillas More is a pictorial book full of encounters and accounts documented by Dian Fossey. The rich photographs share a certain kind of wisdom, heart and beauty found nowhere else in the world. Dian's passion to keep the species alive is more than evident in the pictures, it's in the letters she wrote back and forth to her parents while living in Rwanda. Just by reading them, her emotions are easily visible through her use of words and her dedication ever present, even after her death.

[Christopher May · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read detailing Dian Fossey's life and her true passion, the beautiful but endangered mountain gorillas of central Africa. The book was both enlightening about the complex but incredibly dedicated life of Fossey and a true visual delight thanks to the wonderful photography of the photographers around her including Alan Root and Bob Campbell. The story of Fossey and the mountain gorilla has some really melancholic moments but it is truly one of hope and an example of what is possible for other endangered species. May her legacy live on.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has beautiful images. It's an excellent coffee-table book if gorillas and/or women in science and/or primatology are of interest to you. The text, while put together well, was not as good. The author was not a fan of Fossey's, it seems, and that really came through in the author's words between excerpts from Dian's letters. Beautiful book, but while the author seemed to be going for harsh truth in some places, it comes across as just harsh.

[Winnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book to read. The pictures of Dian Fossey during her activities at Karisoke give a good image of why she loved working there. Together with the beautiful portraits of 'her' Gorilla's and the many correspondence of Dian with her family and close colleagues it gives a good view how the years at the research centre must have been for Dian and how she was like as a person.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic coffee table book that told a brief and accurate look at a very isolated and couragous woman. Dian Fossey was very human but loved the animals she studied. She fought to protect them from an encroaching world she could not stop. The photos from Bob Campbell and Alan Root are absolutely fantastic.

[Kathryn Bakken]

Gorgeous, sad, insipiring.

[Shelly-shawn Womack-gritton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book!!