Here are the stories of 30 research scientists who go off the deep ends of the earth. Travel with a young researcher in Dian Fossey's camp as she is handed a gun and told to go out and shoot a gorilla poacher. See how a scientist reacts when he discovers a poisonous bushmaster in his bidet. From bush pilots and endangered species to Land Rover nightmares, these hair-raising tales will keep you up past dawn. This book is a tribute to the courage of an intrepid band of researchers who have risked all to bring home the truth. Authors are contributing their royalties to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
A compendium of hysterically funny travel crises--and not of the tame "I asked for a hamburger on the train to Frankfurt and got a..." order; these are gems from the field, horror stories written by 21 anthropologists, botanists, and biologists. There are some reports on the well known, such as Kelly Stewart's memory of Dian Fossey packing a pistol in a fruitcake as she crossed into Rwanda. The dominant and disarming truth that reigns in this utterly delightful volume? "Almost every exciting bush story I have ever heard or experienced," cites one contributor, "has been due to the protagonist's stupidity." A must-read for those who ate up its predecessor, the 1994 bestseller I Should Have Stayed Home.
From Publishers Weekly
The ultimate in armchair travel, this sequel to I Should Have Stayed Home is rife with flamboyant animals, culturally rich tribes and bungling Western anthropologists, biologists and doctors. Twenty-one of the last group contributed their hilarious misadventures here: an anthropologist working in Kenya without her husband turns down the native women's kind offers to share theirs. A sick doctor in Peru endures a local remedy involving a cactus, a fork and notebook paper. A biologist in the African savanna watches a playful elephant toss her Land Rover around. A plant ecologist on Mount Kenya realizes that hyraxes (relatives of the elephant, but the size of woodchucks) have taught themselves how to maneuver the zippers on his tent to get to his stash of cookies. And everyone has a story about the snakes that constantly sink their fangs into hapless humans. ("Unfortunately," writes one jaded doctor on an African game reserve who saw his share of hysterical humans bitten by harmless amphibians, "on the rare occasions that victims of dangerous snakes were brought to the hospital, our antiserum had always expired.") Gone Too Long is the perfect way to explore without getting bitten. (Jan.) FYI: Author royalties will be donated to the Wildlife Conservation Society and Cultural Survival.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Humourous, inspiring, inquisitive,
By
This review is from: I've Been Gone Far Too Long: Field Study Fiascoes and Expedition Disasters (Travel Literature Series) (Paperback)
A field researcher myself, I pleasantly related to, was heart-warmed by, and made to reminisce, the excitements and hesitations of working in the field.
Field research brings varied experiences to the individual; some pertaining solely to work, to life at large, but also to the heart. I've Been Gone Far Too Long delivers a broad and balanced collection of experiences from diverse anthropological, medical, biological, cultural and social perspectives. It is largely the good editorial that allowed the humour, fear, thrill, and even romance of the writers to be carried through to the reader. With engaging narratives and theatrical prose, you're invited to walk the road less-travelled with these select field researchers, and experience a fraction of what it's like to have to consider survival whilst gathering data for a thesis or story; where all you really want is neither a convenience store nor a fluffy bed, but simply a comfortable and secure toilet. However, what this books fails to communicate is detail. The editorial could've had greater impact if it included lengthier stories that allowed for enhanced character development and insight into the projects that each of the researchers were involved in. This would've in turn, given the reader greater depth into each of the environments and experiences that were encountered. I felt several stories had the potential to instil greater curiosity and illuminate keen issues, but most stories reached their conclusion before any of that was allowed to arrive. I've Been Gone Far Too Long celebrates the privileges of working in enriching environments amidst diverse peoples and inspiring circumstance. You'll realise that at the end of each story, what the writer truly wants to say, is quite contrary to the title, and that is, "I'm glad I came."
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Uneven but Generally a Good Read,
By Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews
This review is from: I've Been Gone Far Too Long: Field Study Fiascoes and Expedition Disasters (Travel Literature Series) (Paperback)
This book proves that getting a PhD in some kind of natural history does not guarantee great writing skills.But.... There are at least two memorable stories in here, and actually the one by the scientist who was netting birds in Borneo is very well written and is bust-your-britches hilarious. Probably an excellent gift for your college professor friend who is about to go do some field research in some exotic locale. Not recommended for someone who doesn't like camping or travel.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly, but not spectacularly, engaging,
By
This review is from: I've Been Gone Far Too Long: Field Study Fiascoes and Expedition Disasters (Travel Literature Series) (Paperback)
For anyone who harbors romantic notions of scientific fieldwork -- say, camping in a wilderness Eden with little more to do than observe wildlife and join in cultural exchanges with friendly natives -- this book offers a bucket of cold water. Researchers who have been there point out the often unreported side of science in the wild: natives who threaten to kill you, poisonous snakes in inconvenient places, bureaucrats who block you from doing your work, bad food, animals that steal your food, animals that consider YOU food, and unreliable boats, cars and airplanes that have a habit of breaking down in the worst of situations.
And that's just some of the examples. While "I've Been Gone Far Too Long" offers 21 different stories from different authors, it manages to maintain a remarkably even level of quality. Each of the stories are pleasantly, but not spectacularly, engaging. Each offers some folly, misadventure or misunderstanding, but usually these are mild rather than outrageously wild. There are plenty of chuckles, but few gut-busting laughs. In particular, I liked Dorothy Cheney's story of a researcher trying figure out the puzzling behavior of Kenya's Maasai tribesmen (who are themselves puzzled by the researcher) and Monique Borgerhoff Mulder's story of taking some tribal elders to find an ancient grave site in Tanzania. The only story that I thought fell flat was A. Magdalena Hurtado's stiff description of her work in the Paraguayan jungle. To be fair, this book may paint a picture of scientific fieldwork that overemphasizes the problems. Some of the authors do stress that even amid the difficulties there are rewards. One character says: "Fieldwork is an adventure that is filled with anxiety and despair, the routine broken only occasionally by moments of sheer exhiliration." One final note: I'd suggest reading the Afterword by Nigel Barley first, or at least not waiting until the end. It offers some observations that put the stories of the book in some context.
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