The Tree Where Man Was Born (Classic, Nature, Penguin) [Paperback]

Peter Matthiessen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classic, Nature, Penguin | Publication Date: April 1, 1995

In this classic volume, Matthiessen exquisitely combines both nature and travel writing to bring East Africa to vivid life. He skillfully portrays the daily lives of herdsmen and hunter-gatherers; the drama of the predator kills; the hundreds of exotic animals; the breathtaking landscapes; and the area's turbulent natural, political, and social histories.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These dual Matthiessens, which launch the publisher's new "Nature Classics" line, profile the relationship between humans and nature in East Africa (The Tree, LJ 12/1/72) and in the United States (Wildlife, LJ 1/15/60). The latter volume has been expanded and updated for this edition.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Few nature books called 'classic' are as deserving of the appellation as this one, for no one writes about Africa with quite the same insight and enthusiasm as Peter Matthiessen. . . his grasp of people, events, history, science, and conservation is exceptional. . . .With his sympathy for and knowledge of the tribal peoples and the wildlife of Africa, Matthiessen has an uncanny ability to make us see a raw and untouched landscape where only those people who have adapted their lives to the patterns of nature truly belong. This is a place where we are the intruder, and it takes a rare writer to make us see it that way. --Kirkus (UK)

Stunning. . . .The Africa [Matthiessen] evokes is finally timeless, majestic, throbbing with life, indivisible. --Saturday Review

The lush prose casts its own spell on a landscape observed with awe and inexplicable sadness. . . .[Matthiessen's] narrative powers are considerable. . . . --Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140239340
• ISBN-13: 978-0140239348
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A loving and detailed account of a difficult journey, June 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tree Where Man Was Born (Classic, Nature, Penguin) (Paperback)

Is there anyplace wild enough to lift the weight that Occidental culture has placed on our shoulders? Africa, where the first man walked erect, may be the last place where man can feel awed enough by Nature to try and remember that he, also, is just another among the millions of other species that populate the planet. Paul Bowles, Bruce Chatwin, Doris Lessing, Isaak Dinesen and Peter Mattieshen found that answer, and shared the experience. In Mattieshen's poetic account, the tragic and fabulous beauty of a continent that has been devastated by greed and war is revealed, as the impossibility of traveling Africa and not falling in love with it and being changed by it forever.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good combination of natural atmosphere and history, July 18, 2001

By 

Frances C. Morrier (North Oxford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tree Where Man Was Born (Classic, Nature, Penguin) (Paperback)

I wasn't certain what to expect when I got this book. I was a bit concerned that since it was written about experiences in the 1960's that it would feel a bit dated. Although the 1960's view of the future of East Africa's peoples and wildlife is not entirely accurate, I am finding the book to be an excellent way to prepare for a trip to Tanzania--for someone wanting a combination of background on the peoples, landscape and wildlife. Matthiessen's usual subdued, to me, dry style seems leavened a bit by his awe. And the account of the elephant researcher who's 'close encounter' approach puts Matthiessen off his feed, was really enjoyable to me--a departure from his usual, very dry approach. I recommend this one to anyone interested in the peoples and wildlife of Eastern Africa.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendent Prose, February 8, 2007

By 

Ethan Schowalter-Hay (La Grande, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tree Where Man Was Born (Classic, Nature, Penguin) (Paperback)

This is one my very favorite of Matthiessen's impressive canon, ranking easily with Far Tortuga and The Snow Leopard. Indeed, I think some of the passages in The Tree Where Man Was Born might surpass the stunning Himalaya descriptions in the latter book. Matthiessen's eye for landscapes is unparalleled, and his lyric evocations of beast and horizon have an otherworldly quality. A prime example, and one to look out for, is his account of finding rhinoceros tracks on the high volcanic slopes of Mt. Lengai. Another highlight are his crystalline observations of ecological moments during a vigil atop an East African kopje.