Product Description

Rich with details about the gorillas' lives, the realities of conservation, and portraits of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times, this is a riveting adventure story that is sure to take its place among the classic accounts of the world of nature. In 1978, when Bill Weber and Amy Vedder arrived in Rwanda to study mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey, the gorilla population was teetering towards extinction. Poaching was rampant, but it was loss of habitat that most endangered the gorillas. When yet another slice of the Virunga Mountains was targeted for development, Weber and Vedder recognized that the gorillas were doomed unless something was done to save their land. Over Fossey's objections, they helped found the Mountain Gorilla Project. The MGP was designed to educate Rwandans about the gorillas and about the importance of conservation, while at the same time establishing an ecotourism project - one of the first anywhere in a rainforest - to bring desperately needed revenue to Rwanda. Weber and Vedder describe their experiences getting to know entire families of gorillas, from powerful silverback patriarchs to helpless newborn infants. They tell us about the gorillas they recognised and came to know as individuals, stories both tragic and joyful. They describe a landscape that was heaven one day, green hell the next. And they tell of their discovery of the terrible and mysterious events surrounding Fossey's murder. They explain that the key to saving the mountain gorillas was helping the people of Rwanda--even in the face of a horrendous civil war--to share in the benefits of conservation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200228 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
Bill McKibbenAuthor of "The End of Nature"The best book ever written for those who want to understand not only the glory of Africa's wildlife but also the setting for that glory.... Bill Weber and Amy Vedder are two remarkable human beings; the gorillas were lucky to find them, and you are, too.

About the Author
Bill Weber and Amy Vedder, of the Wildlife Conservation Society, have devoted more than twenty-five years to the cause of conservation in nearly thirty countries in Africa and around the world.

Customer Reviews

Inspiring
I read this book while on a trip to Rwanda & Uganda to see the mountain gorilla’s. It is a magnificent book not just because of the couples work with the Gorilla’s in difficult terrain but also because of their initiative to start eco tourism (essential to saving the Gorillas) in the face of much opposition (including Dian Fossey). It is enchanting to read about the high quality of the relationship between the couple and their work with the local people (including the lead up to the chilling Genocide).

I am planning on rereading it.

Brilliant
This is a fantastic book. It looks at the authors experiences in Rwanda studying mountain gorillas. It is fascinating to read of the individual gorillas and the authors relationships with them, as well as how they studied them. You get a real feel for their dedication to these magnificent creatures. This book explores conservation in Rwanda, including the setting up of the Mountain Gorilla Project which helped introduce ecotourism to the world and contributed greatly to the Gorillas survival. The book touches upon the authors relationship with Dian Fossey and is interesting for another view on this much lauded conservationist. It also has some powerful chapters on the Rwandan genocide which leaves you shocked and also thankfully better informed about this terrible event. This was an immensely enjoyable read and is highly recommended.

kingdom of gorillas
I found this book to be very inlighting regarding the conservation work being done in rwandan to save the gorillas,you need to read books like this to unstand why people do what they do to save the gorillas.why i brought this book is because of the authers and the fact they studyed the gorillas with dian fossey