Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Peter Mathieson's The Snow Leopard struck a chord with me. He skillfully wove his personal trials and tribulations into the fabric of an adventure story, looking for an endangered cat in remote parts of Nepal, and his study of Buddhism. The Tree Where Man Was Born falls far short of the standards he created. We learn lots about the anthropology, history, and natural environment of East Africa but little or nothing about the author. The book starts slowly and the reader waits in vain for a story. Once you realize its a travelogue, its pretty good with lots of interesting tidbits about critters and folks in this region of the world. It is by no means a nature classic as billed.

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

by Peter Matthiessen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book before I knew who Peter Matthiessen was, namely, one of the greatest nature writers of all time. Because of the book's title, I thought the author would tie present day East Africa to a by-gone era when man was primitive and evolving and nature ruled. I read the first one-hundred fifty pages and put it down for five years before returning to it. At that time, I was lost in my passion for the life and times of early man and not so interested in anything that rhymed with 'present day'.

Then, after finishing that portion of my writing, I returned to what might be Matthiessen's greatest nature book (well, there is Snow Leopard and At Play in the Fields of the Lord. Hard to pick). When I picked it up the second time, I couldn't put it down. His descriptions of nature, the depth of understanding he voices for the people of the land, his vivid descriptions of what happens around him are like no one else. Here are a few of my favorites:

* Soon vegetation crowded the road, which was crossed at dusk by a band of bush-pig, neat-footed and burly, neck bristles erect, as if intent on punching holes right through the truck
* Soft hills inset with outcrops of elephant-colored boulders rose beyond a bright stretch of blue river
* Kamande Gatora is a contained person with the watchfulness of the near-blind; he had taken the Mau-Mau oath and been imprisoned, in the years after his mistress had gone home to Denmark, despite 'the kind deeds I was receiving from her untold and the old life we stayed with her
* Marsabit in June: great elephants and volcanoes, lark song and bright butterflies and far below, pale desert wastes that vanish in the sands.
* By morning the wind was blowing up in sandstorms. Flights of sand grouse, seeking water, hurtled back and forth over the cracking palms, and a train of camels etched a slow crack into the desert to the south.
* Inland, black boulders climb to far-off ridges that rise in turn to the Kulal Mountains, in Rendille Land.
* ...because the heat is dry and because the wind is never still for more than a few hours.
* Since gnu are ever willing to stampede, the crossing is a hazard for the calves, and one morning of early winter more than six hundred drowned.
* By late afternoon, when the predators become restless, raising their heads out of the grass to sniff the wind, those calves would already be running.

I'm only to pg. 127... Does it take your breath away, too?

This is very interesting, it had material I was not familiar with, it was well researched and cited. It gave me leads to other aspects relating to this text. I was very happy with it. The author has a very good, clear, consise style. I would buy and read anything he writes. John

I recently visited Tanzania. The cover photo of the baobab tree brings me back to the Serengeti. The book covers much of the same area we visited. Very appropriate commentary, including historical perspective. By the way, my friend kept telling me about the pictures in her book of the same title. I couldn't understand it until she brought it over -- same text with magnificent photos: a coffee table book. Available as a used book from Amazon: same title with photos by Eliot Porter, titled "The African Experience." Of course, I bought it.

Great Matthiessen book. The pictures are great, but are too few and have nothing to do with the text. PM shifts between his experiences, the tribes and history lessons. The stories of his expeditions are exciting and even amusing. His discussions on history and culture are fairly interesting. It gives a good look at East Africa.