Customer Reviews

Walking With the Great Apes: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Birute Galdikas

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Sy Montgoemry writes extremely well, and as a consequence, her book is compulsively readable. Not only that, but the subject matter is pure fascination, as she sheds light on each of these great apes, their extraordinary environments, and the daring women scientists who study them - their unique approach to science, their trials and tribulations. A great book.

A very well written book and a great introduction to those who want to know more about the lives and studies of these 3 extremely remarkable woman Jane Goodall, Birutas Galdikas and last but not least for me THE woman of the 20th century Dian Fossey.

An astonishing writer named Sy Montgomery thoughtfull wrote Walking With The Great Apes. Montgomery's captivating novel portrays three women who are fasinated about how primates live and care for one another. In a dire world of poaching and murder, these three scientists attempt to protect and preserve the world and nature of humanity's closest cousins. All together Walking With The Great Apes is a thought-provoking book and a must read for anyone interested in the Great Apes.

This is a tender, touching, love story of epic proportions. The love and feminine worship of the Trimates by the author, Sy Montgomery is apparent and the loves both human and primate of each woman is so masterfully told by Montgomery. We can't help but feel a kinship to the three wonderful women who are celebrated in this Leakey led sisterhood of Montgomery's biographical tale of primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Berute Galdikas. Not unlike her other works, Montgomery has allowed us to follow her...NO! This time, walk along side of her throughout her journey to tell the stories of these three women scientists who spent their lives in the service of Louis Leakey until his death in 1972, and the primates they each chose to bravely live among and almost change into their respective Animagus form. Montgomery has taken three biographies and woven them poetically together like the intertwining lives they each lead, without gossip, but of obvious sincere heroine worship.

Sy Montgomery did a good job of showing how similar chimps, gorillas and orangutans are to humans. Each of Leaky's "primates", Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas were transformed by their relationships with these great apes. What they learned changed our understanding of what it means to be human. They also raise questions about what is possible to learn of these animal through unstructured observation and gaining their trust rather than by rote data collecting.

Sy Montgomery is an excellent writer and makes our visit to far away places very personal. She sees and records the very close connection that we all share with the other primates and she provides respectful insight into the three women who started this voyage into discovery.