Encountering Gorillas
A Chronicle of Discovery, Exploitation, Understanding, and Survival
By (author) James L. Newman
Publication date:
03 November 2017Length of book:
220 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9780810896031
Gorillas, the largest of the apes inhabiting our planet, have been a source of fear, awe, and inspiration to humans. In this book, James L. Newman brings a lifetime of study of Africa to his compelling story of the rich and varied interaction between gorillas and humans since earliest contact. He illuminates the complex relationship over time through the interlinked themes of discovery, exploitation, understanding, and continuing survival. Tragically, the number of free-living gorillas—facing habitat loss, disease, and poaching—has declined dramatically over the course of the past century, and the future of the few that remain is highly uncertain. At the same time, those in zoos and sanctuaries now lead much more secure lives than they did earlier. Newman follows this transition, highlighting the roles played by key individuals, both humans and gorillas. Among the former have been adventurers, opportunists, writers, and scientists. The latter include real gorillas, such as Gargantua and Koko, and fictional ones, notably King Kong and Mighty Joe Young. This thoughtful and engaging book helps us understand how our image of gorillas has been both distorted and clarified through culture and science for centuries and how we now control the destiny of these magnificent great apes.
Newman (geography, emeritus, Syracuse Univ.; Paths Without Glory: Richard Francis Burton in Africa) presents a poignant review of our relationship with the African gorilla from earliest European contact to the present, and reflects on the future of our fellow primate. Much as Barry Lopez’s Of Wolves and Men traced the long human history of fear, mistrust, and ignorance surrounding our view of wolves, so does Newman catalog over two centuries of myth and misperception about gorillas. The author covers four essential themes—discovery, exploitation, understanding, and future survival. He leads readers through a litany of early misunderstanding of the gorilla, when it was thought of as a threatening and savage demon, and discusses our current understanding of it as a complex social animal, sensitive, intelligent, and frail against the onslaught of human activities. An accomplished Africanist, Newman illustrates the multiple threats to the survival of this species, from timber harvesting and habitat loss, owing to encroaching human populations and civil wars, to the documented impact of human diseases upon them. An extensive bibliography offers interested readers much for further review. VERDICT This sometimes heartbreaking exploration will be of keen interest to any reader concerned with the effects of human development on the ecology of the African continent and its gorillas.