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African Madness
Beautiful new condition book, no marks, no wear. .
- GenresAfricaNonfictionTravel
202 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 2, 2018
This is a fascinating focus on four chronicles in various African countries during the 1980s.
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas
Dian Fossey is the subject here as Shoumatoff discovers more about her life and her very savage death. This was a hard read, as I valued the work she did with the animals, but dreaded the way she treated others. Admiration but aversion.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men
The author travels to Madagascar, where even then, the flora and fauna were already endangered. That was more than 30 years ago so I can safely assume some of what he saw is already gone.
Madagascar. For as long as I can remember, the word has had a magic ring, has been swathed in visions of the exotic bordering on the unreal.
The Emperor Who Ate His People
Here is a look at the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, a man who almost bankrupted his country with his coronation ceremony (equal to $80 million in 2018).
The Central African Republic, like so many of the new countries in this part of the world, is not so much a country as it is an anarchic collection of tribes, an invention of the French.
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS
Nature can never truly be conquered, as this chapter shows. HIV, in essence, is a plague but one that didn't get noticed until white people in western countries started dying. At the time, Shoumatoff's research on finding the source of AIDS was the very first in-depth review of the disease and it is still amazing to read so many decades later.
It was hard to stop reading this book. To ensure my reading time was also devoted to the other titles in my currently-reading shelf, I had to stop at the end of each chapter and physically put the book away, otherwise it would have been Shoumatoff all the time. The only reason I don't give it five stars is just because I still cringe at Fossey's murder, so there's a creep factor. Certainly not the author's fault, just my own perception.
Stunning work.
Book Season = Year Round (greed and sirens)
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas
Dian Fossey is the subject here as Shoumatoff discovers more about her life and her very savage death. This was a hard read, as I valued the work she did with the animals, but dreaded the way she treated others. Admiration but aversion.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men
The author travels to Madagascar, where even then, the flora and fauna were already endangered. That was more than 30 years ago so I can safely assume some of what he saw is already gone.
Madagascar. For as long as I can remember, the word has had a magic ring, has been swathed in visions of the exotic bordering on the unreal.
The Emperor Who Ate His People
Here is a look at the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, a man who almost bankrupted his country with his coronation ceremony (equal to $80 million in 2018).
The Central African Republic, like so many of the new countries in this part of the world, is not so much a country as it is an anarchic collection of tribes, an invention of the French.
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS
Nature can never truly be conquered, as this chapter shows. HIV, in essence, is a plague but one that didn't get noticed until white people in western countries started dying. At the time, Shoumatoff's research on finding the source of AIDS was the very first in-depth review of the disease and it is still amazing to read so many decades later.
It was hard to stop reading this book. To ensure my reading time was also devoted to the other titles in my currently-reading shelf, I had to stop at the end of each chapter and physically put the book away, otherwise it would have been Shoumatoff all the time. The only reason I don't give it five stars is just because I still cringe at Fossey's murder, so there's a creep factor. Certainly not the author's fault, just my own perception.
Stunning work.
Book Season = Year Round (greed and sirens)
December 23, 2011
A collection of four pieces on African history or culture.
“The Woman Who Loved Gorillas” is a stark, unflattering look at Dian Fossey. Differing from the usual hagiography about Fossey, this essay focuses on her mistreatment of the Africans, her erratic and supposedly violent behavior, and her anti-social arrogance. It’s not a slam piece, though, offering motives about her murder and admitting that Dian did much for the gorillas of Rwanda.
“The Last of the Dog-Headed Men” is a look at the elusive indri, a “singing” lemur of Madagascar.
“The Emperor Who Ate His People” is a look back at the career of Central African Republic dictator Bokassa.
Finally, “In Search of the Source Of AIDS” is both a quest for possible sources of the virus and a look at how the disease is ravaging Africa (circa 1987). The last essay might be the most powerful, if it weren’t so dated.
On the whole, the book serves well as a source of interesting information, viz. on the indri, Bokassa, the history of Madagascar, how totemist works in modern Africa, etc. It’s marred, though, by Shoumatoff’s odd tendency to make general pronouncements on national character (belied by the facts which he himself relates a page or two later) : “the Rwandans are a peaceful people who abhor violence” (and so are unlikely to have killed Fossey with a machete, of all things); “the Malagasies are, on the whole, a remarkably serne and wonderfully polite people” (I guess all that tribal warfare is just gentle native play). So again, this is a fine document for facts, but great travel writing requires a clear and unbiased attitude, which Shoumatoff doesn’t have.
“The Woman Who Loved Gorillas” is a stark, unflattering look at Dian Fossey. Differing from the usual hagiography about Fossey, this essay focuses on her mistreatment of the Africans, her erratic and supposedly violent behavior, and her anti-social arrogance. It’s not a slam piece, though, offering motives about her murder and admitting that Dian did much for the gorillas of Rwanda.
“The Last of the Dog-Headed Men” is a look at the elusive indri, a “singing” lemur of Madagascar.
“The Emperor Who Ate His People” is a look back at the career of Central African Republic dictator Bokassa.
Finally, “In Search of the Source Of AIDS” is both a quest for possible sources of the virus and a look at how the disease is ravaging Africa (circa 1987). The last essay might be the most powerful, if it weren’t so dated.
On the whole, the book serves well as a source of interesting information, viz. on the indri, Bokassa, the history of Madagascar, how totemist works in modern Africa, etc. It’s marred, though, by Shoumatoff’s odd tendency to make general pronouncements on national character (belied by the facts which he himself relates a page or two later) : “the Rwandans are a peaceful people who abhor violence” (and so are unlikely to have killed Fossey with a machete, of all things); “the Malagasies are, on the whole, a remarkably serne and wonderfully polite people” (I guess all that tribal warfare is just gentle native play). So again, this is a fine document for facts, but great travel writing requires a clear and unbiased attitude, which Shoumatoff doesn’t have.
April 22, 2016
Looking through all the ratings here on GoodReads I was surprised to see how many people have recently read this book. I picked it up while volunteering for the local Friends of the Library booksale. I went to West Africa for the first time five years ago and have since become obsessed with the region. I also love travelogues so I snapped up the old Vintage paperback which was labeled "Current Affairs". It is a wonderfully written collection of four essays that were written in the mid 80's. My immediate reacting while leafing through the book was "is this book still relevant?" Shoumatoff's work is historically accurate and engaging but it is also so charming because the essays were written thirty years in a world that still used Telex. In the first essay about Dian Fossey Shoumatoff writes about the Hotel des Mille Collines which was the scene of horrible savagery and deaths during the genocide of the 90's. He writes about Zaire, which is now Democratic Republic of Congo. In the last essay he writes about the search for the source of the disease. It is fascinating to read his musings now.
July 21, 2008
I can't remember if I read this one while preparing to go to Madagascar (hasn't happened yet) or before I went to Zimbabwe.
August 27, 2015
Great book -- rereading the essay on Dian Fossey was revelatory after having been there
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews