.com Review Biruté Galdikas is one of Louis Leakey's "three angels": Jane Goodall dedicated her life to the study of chimpanzees; Dian Fossey, gorillas; and Galdikas, the orangutans of Borneo's rainforest. Dark Place's author, Linda Spalding, says that Goodall is usually described as the "good fairy" of the three, respected and adored by all. Fossey, she says, died a martyr and was even compared to Jesus Christ at her eulogy, despite being considered "mad, paranoid, alcoholic, delusional, enormously daring, and vastly insecure." The difficult path Galdikas followed in the shadow of these two has attracted similar scrutiny--and, more recently, controversy. A Dark Place in the Jungle tells the story of Spalding's "follow" of Galdikas, her attempt to study the scientist as Leakey's angels studied the great apes, observing her at a distance and noting her behavior. She trails Galdikas in the States and travels to Borneo three times in pursuit of the naturalist in her element. Spalding's assessment of her is far from favorable or flattering: Galdikas is portrayed alternately as conflicted, abrupt, arrogant, deceitful, distant, and, ultimately, as having failed drastically in her mission to "save" the orangutan from the press of human greed and indifference in Borneo. In this way, Dark Place is a troublesome read. As a travelogue, the book is magnificent. Spalding is an observant, perceptive writer; her descriptions are lush, even lyrical, and often insightful, especially the meditations on motherhood and her reunion with her two young daughters, who travel to Borneo with her. Passing judgment on Galdikas's alleged guilt and Spalding's interactions with her is difficult, but Galdikas must certainly address the issues Spalding has raised. --Paul Hughes Read more From Publishers Weekly In 1995, novelist Spalding (The Paper Wife) traveled to Indonesia with her two daughters to work on a book about orangutan researcher Birut? Galdikas, who, along with Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, was a prot?g?e of anthropologist Louis Leakey. That book turns out to be a sophisticated mixture of memoir, science writing and travel essay; a disturbing expos? of complex, sometimes counterproductive, attempts to protect an endangered species; and a knowing self-portrait of a perceptive, sympathetic woman trying to make sense of the ambitions and disappointments around her. Spalding left Toronto with her daughters hoping to gain insight into Galdikas's work by visiting her "research" station, Camp Leakey, in Borneo. Once there, she writes, she encountered unexpected hostility, because she hadn't come under the auspices of the expensive Orangutan Federation International tourAwhose profits, according to Spalding, benefit Galdikas's family more than the orangutansAand because her questions were too probing. Unfazed, the author deciphered her subject from a distance. Her picture of Galdikas as a young woman who came to study orangutans in 1971 and is now holding them illegally in her house, of altruistic scientific inquiry derailed by the temptations of power and money, provokes both repugnance and some measure of understanding. Spalding's lush descriptions of the rainforest are complemented by observations of the guides, forest rangers, villagers and scientists she met, as well as by her extensive reading on ecotourism and evolution. She distinguishes herself by her respect for the local population and by her attempts to comprehend the disparate opinions about Galdikas and the proper treatment of orangutans. Her candid recounting of her fluctuating emotions combines with meditations on motherhood and on the course of her own life to broaden her book's scope even beyond its potent portraiture. Author tour. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
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