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Mark Seal admits in the opening of the book that he had never been to Kenya before he decided to research this story for an article that grew into a book. The early part of the book, which deals with Joan and Alan Root's early lives and the development of their film making careers, as well as the eventual end of their marriage and partnership, is an interesting personal story. But when Seal moves on to describe Joan's life alone, and the personal and political circumstances that led to murder, t
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AUTHOR: SEAL, MARK
TITLE: Wildflower
DATE READ: 05/18/14
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Bio/2009/Random House/212 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: 1960's - 2004
CHARACTERS: Joan Root -- wildlife filmmaker
FIRST LINES: " One can only imagine what British colonialists felt when they first sailed from chilly & proper England to hot, exotic Kenya."
COMMENTS: Fascinating look at the life of wildlife filmmaker Joan Root. For years Joan worked w/ her husband on wildlife films, mostly ...more
TITLE: Wildflower
DATE READ: 05/18/14
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Bio/2009/Random House/212 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: 1960's - 2004
CHARACTERS: Joan Root -- wildlife filmmaker
FIRST LINES: " One can only imagine what British colonialists felt when they first sailed from chilly & proper England to hot, exotic Kenya."
COMMENTS: Fascinating look at the life of wildlife filmmaker Joan Root. For years Joan worked w/ her husband on wildlife films, mostly ...more
In some ways the best aspect of this book is Seal's remove from the political and social tempest in Kenya at the time of Root's death - he doesn't attempt to recast Root's decisions or pass judgment on them but rather lets them stand as being in some ways an emblem of her life. Her life was a difficult one, and throughout her actions reveal a person who, once committed to another or a cause, would stand for it in the face of great personal cost. And ultimately, Seal's rendering of her story ends
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Mark Seal has been a journalist for over 30 years. He wrote a story for Vanity Fair in 2006 about the brutal murder of Joan Root, a native of Kenya woh had been a naturalist, Osacar-nominated filmaker and conservationist. She was murdered in the bedroom of her house on the shore of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. From this story, came the book of her life and death. Not only is this book a wonderful story of her life including the twenty year marriage with Allen Root and thier groundbreaking filmaking i
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Aug 31, 2009
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Nov 22, 2009
SarahC
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Aug 28, 2015
Cheryl Scaccio
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review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
africa
Sep 08, 2016
TR Ryan
marked it as to-read
Nov 20, 2017
Jenny
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