Book Description
The inspiring true story of two great friends, a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-yr-old giant tortoise named Mzee (Mm-ZAY). When Owen was stranded after the Dec 2004 tsunami, villagers in Kenya worked tirelessly to rescue him. Then, to everyone's amazement, the orphan hippo and the elderly tortoise adopted each other. Now they are inseparable, swimming, eating, and playing together. Adorable photos e-mailed from friend to friend quickly made them worldwide celebrities. Here is a joyous reminder that in times of trouble, friendship is stronger than the differences that too often pull us apart.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful pictures and a moving story.......2007-10-01
This excellent account of the true story of Owen and Mzee will delight any young reader. The beautiful pictures of the animals and the park are perfectly complemented by the easy-to-read text making this book a wonderful story-time resource. Though young readers may be saddened when Owen loses his mother, his adoption by Mzee will soothe any lingering concerns while teaching a powerful lesson about acceptance. This book would be an inspiring addition to any family library.
I like this book.......2007-09-08
I bought this book for my four year old neice. It is a great story of friendship with the added bonus of being a true story. There are a lot of great photos in the book and my neice really enjoyed talking about the pictures and she added some details to the book just my commenting on what she could see in the pictures. I think this is a good purchase.
Great Book for Both Kids and Adults.......2007-08-31
Such a cute book and sent in mint condition. I would recommend this book for both children and adults.
Wonderful.......2007-08-01
What a sweet story. This book makes a great gift.It is excellent for adults to share with children.
Best Book About Love for Kids.......2007-07-21
This book is beyond heartwarming...my eyes brim with tears nearly everytime I read this remarkable story about dear Owen and sweet Mzee. My girls have been inspired by this story to not just let something be...get involved if you think it's right and not to judge a situation, to think "outside the box" and see how brilliant mother-nature is! This is a survival story and WE LOVE IT! Buy it, NOW!
Book Description
In this exciting follow-up to OWEN & MZEE, the New York Times bestselling story about an orphaned baby hippo named Owen and the 130-year-old giant turtle, Mzee, Craig Hatkoff explores the language of love, friendship, and nurturance that these two incredible creatures share with one another. This book traces their first year together, including their adorable playful ways and the unique "language" that they have developed.
Customer Reviews:
Lovely true tale .......2007-08-25
We purchased this book for our four-year-old avid book lover. While the book gives way to much info to keep a four-year-old's attention (unless they really love books), the photos are amazing and it is easy to shorten the relatable information until the child is old enough to appreciate it. Great book for reading/looking through just before going to a zoo.
Owen & Mzee a Wonderful Book.......2007-08-24
I got this book for my 4 year old niece. As an animal lover, I knew she would be charmed, but I didn't expect the adults to be so enthralled. Everyone who picks up this book gets caught up in the story and pictures. Thank you.
a marvelous story and book.......2007-08-23
The story and pictures are terrific, and the story of these unusual friends is beautifully told. A super book to own.
A lovely story kids will find involving........2007-07-10
Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu's OWEN & MZEE: THE LANGUAGE OF FRIENDSHIP provides a sequel to the true story of a unique friendship between a land tortoise and a baby hippo. Photos by Peter Greste explore a special friendship in text and color images, making for a lovely story kids will find involving.
Nice one.......2007-06-02
We have enjoyed reading this book about the unusual friendship between an orphaned baby hippo and a crusty old tortoise.
The quality of the paper used and the large photo-illustrations are appealing.
The story is delightful and raises many questions, some of which are answered. It both invites the reader to marvel at the mysteries that exist in nature, and educates the reader a little about the animals concerned and conservation in general.
Book Description
Hugely charismatic, humble, and possessed of preternatural luminosity of spirit, Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and a single mother of three, recounts her extraordinary life as a political activist, feminist, and environmentalist in Kenya.
Born in a rural village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most girls were uneducated. We see her studying with Catholic missionaries, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the United States, and becoming the first woman both to earn a PhD in East and Central Africa and to head a university department in Kenya. We witness her numerous run-ins with the brutal Moi government. She makes clear the political and personal reasons that compelled her, in 1977, to establish the Green Belt Movement, which spread from Kenya across Africa and which helps restore indigenous forests while assisting rural women by paying them to plant trees in their villages. We see how Maathai’s extraordinary courage and determination helped transform Kenya’s government into the democracy in which she now serves as assistant minister for the environment and as a member of Parliament. And we are with her as she accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in recognition of her “contribution to sustainable development, human rights, and peace.”
In Unbowed, Wangari Maathai offers an inspiriting message of hope and prosperity through self-sufficiency.
Customer Reviews:
Extraordinary Women's memoir.......2007-06-27
This memoir is an inspiring example of what one woman can do, bit by bit, and eventually have an internationally positive influence. The author's story resonates with anyone who wants to make a difference in her/his own molecule of the world.
Perseverance and hope.......2007-04-05
When Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, questions were raised regarding her choice by the Nobel Committee. Why should an environmentalist receive a prize that was identified with peace and human rights, voiced the critics. Reading Maathai's memoir sets the record straight, and justifying her selection for the award. In this fascinating and very personal account, she paints a vivid picture of her life, embedded in the realities of Kenya before and since independence. Her experiences during the Moi regime, in particular, demonstrate the challenges a young educated woman confronted in the face of traditional prejudice as well as political oppression.
Raised in rural Kenya, Wangari Maathai never lost the deep connection with the land and its the natural beauty. Over the years, she noticed the changes and the increasing fragility of the environment. Trees for her became a symbol and a tool for protecting the vulnerable ecosystem and assisting rural population to stem the growing poverty.
Thanks to the intervention of her older brother and the support of her mother, she was able to attend school beyond the primary level, which was all girls at the time could reach for. As luck had it and, being a bright student, her convent school was one of those selected to send graduates to the US under what became known as the Kennedy Airlift: a program to send young Africans to American colleges for further education. These young people were being primed to become future leaders of their societies in the soon to be independent African states. Maathai returned to Kenya with a Master's degree in biology, a subject that for her combined her scientific interests with her deep love for her natural environment. She was encouraged in her research and added a PhD in veterinary medicine to her record. Life should have been easy after that with a good husband, a blossoming academic career and three wonderful kids. But women in Kenya were not supposed to be independent and strong. Her fight for women's equal rights broadened her environmental commitments. Eventually she lost her academic position, her husband divorced her and she ended up as poor as she was a child. Not deterred by the adversities she was facing, she continued fighting on several fronts. She started the Greenbelt Movement to plant trees to reclaim the land as a campaign for and with rural women. Over time it gained such prominence that it was perceived as a threat by the authorities. Public show of opposition, such as the demonstrations to save Uhuru Park in Nairobi from President-friendly developers, increasingly identified Maathai and the Greenbelt Movement as a focus for opposition forces. They fought for human rights and dignity, anti-tribalism and democracy. The details of these struggles, the friendships and solidarity that Maathai experienced, both in Kenya in internationally, supported her morally and probably saved her life more than once.
Maathai's memoir is very personal and written from the heart. We get to know her thinking and feelings as well as a detailed description of the difficult life women and men who opposed the Moi regime faced. Her easygoing and conversational style softens the impact of her description of the arduous and sometimes even brutal experiences that she relays. At the same time, her story is a stirring example of how one person's strength and perseverance can make a difference to a people and the world. The Greenbelt Movement is now a motor for tree planting around Africa and beyond. This is an inspirational book as well as a historical record. Reading it will make you feel enriched. [Friederike Knabe]
Didn't grab me.......2007-03-09
I heard the author speak on NPR awhile ago, and thought this would be a fascinating book. However, I just couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. I think the lady has an interesting story to tell, but I just couldn't connect with what she had to say.
Impressive, Incredible, & Motivational. It will have you believing in the Impossible!.......2007-01-27
I enjoyed this book! "Unbowed" is a straight-forward, gripping, and majestic effort by Wangari Maathai --- a formidable woman who faced unimaginable hurdles in a noble effort to help others ... and shape the destiny of her country.
During her fantastic journey, she became a mother of three, an inspiration for millions, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Her life is an eloquent triumph of good versus evil. Those who have asked: "What can one person do?" Need only to read about her "Green Belt Movement". I'll give you a hint: It is about trees, self reliance, and human endurance.
Prepare yourself for spell-binding details (page 277) on crime, corruption, and monumental waste of natural resources by so-called leaders --- who feed off the carcasses of their people.
"Unbowed" is a book that will have you believing in the unattainable. Exquisitely written ... it is a compelling story of incredible courage, tenacious will, and survival in modern day Africa.
I loved it. You will, too!
take a bow.......2007-01-14
I have never read such a heroic story. Every time I close my eyes they pop open again and I say but how could person like this possibly had the courage to do do all the things that she did. When I try to tell Olive about it I cant find the words to say what I want to say. I keep thinking what I want to say to you, what it has made me feel, but my mouth just drops open and I have no words to express my feelings. I am awed. I am overwhelmed at the things this person accomplished. Its almost as if it is not a human being doing these things. Perhaps its because I know where she went to school when she came to the US. Perhaps its because she is so close to the age of a lot of my younger friends. Perhaps its because I have only read of such bravery and devotion to a cause. Perhaps its because she is so close in age to many of the friends I have and I can associate personally with that. Perhaps I have never really felt this close to greatness. Perhaps I am just learning a little about life I never realized. Just perhaps.
Book Description
“Here is a man who suffers so his readers can laugh.” — Daily Telegraph
Bill Bryson travels to Kenya in support of CARE International. All royalties and profits go to CARE International.
Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It also provides plenty to worry a traveller like Bill Bryson, fixated as he is on the dangers posed by snakes, insects and large predators. It is also a country with many serious problems: refugees, AIDS, drought, and grinding poverty. The resultant diary, though short in length, contains the trademark Bryson stamp of wry observation and curious insight.
Customer Reviews:
Bill Bryson's African Diary.......2007-07-19
This book did not have any of the comic timing I have come to expect with Bryson. It read more like a promotional pamphlet for Care Inc. I would not recommend.
A snippet of Bill Bryson.......2007-06-03
The same excellent travel writing from Bill Bryson ... just a bit smaller, and the profits to charity. Worth a read.
Donate $12 to charity and get this book as a thank-you gift.......2007-05-19
CARE International, a global charity, invited travel writer Bill Bryson to visit Kenya to write about the group's programs there. This book is the result. The total text is about the length of a long magazine article in an outlet such as Vanity Fair or The New Yorker, and there are about a dozen pages of high-quality color pictures.
All the proceeds are donated to CARE. In effect, you're donating $12.00 to charity to read a very positive magazine story about CARE International. Bryson is a talented writer, his accounts are interesting, and CARE is a good organization.
So, overall I felt it was a good deal but the book is not particularly distinguished beyond this. It's not Bryson's best writing, but it's good enough. The most effective bits concern his fear of flying in small planes, as opposed to the people he meets. His discussion of CARE is a straightforward puff piece, but I can live with that.
Too Short.......2007-04-15
Bill Bryson's great, I love his books, and this is typical Bill Bryson, but it's too short. I realize it was written strictly as a fundraiser for CARE--okay. Still, I know B.B. could come up with a lot more material than this on an eight-day trip to Africa. I zipped through this book in what seemed like about five minutes. I was hoping for more.
Bill, hon, you could probably have written more than this whole book on the African slums alone, if you'd wanted to. One thing I found interesting is that apparently even the very bad slum he visited, did have public schools for the kids. We have kids adopted from Haiti. Similar slums in Haiti don't have schools--only people who can afford to pay fees can send their kids to school in Haiti. So even this terrible African slum is not as bad as it gets. Maybe Bill should do Haiti next.
I also think it's interesting that (similar to Haiti) you see little girls with their hair beautifully braided, even in the poorest slums (as seen in one of the book's photos).
Bill Bryson's African Diary.......2007-03-21
I totally enjoy Bill Bryson's work........I have everything he has ever written and have literally worn out my copy of "A Walk In The Woods". He has such a great sense of humor and warmth...my favorite author!
Book Description
Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers on the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college. Lekuton's riveting text combines exotic details of nomadic life with the universal experience and emotions of a growing boy.
Customer Reviews:
Growing up as a Maasai warrior.......2007-09-20
I really liked this book. It is one of several that I purchased after coming back from Tanzania, and I have recommended it to others. The author is straight-forward about his situation, so I wouldn't recommend it to children under, say, 12, but it is quite moving as an adult book, though he wrote it for young people.
From the African bush to Harvard........2007-09-15
Facing the Lion is the amazing TRUE story of a Maasai boy growing up in Kenya. I first heard about this National Geographic book from my son's 8th grade world history teacher - it was on a summer reading list. B-O-R-I-N-G - right? Well think again. You will not be able to put this book down! The boy grows up tending his family's herd of extremely valuable cows - and that means standing guard at night when lions literally leap from the bush to decimate the livestock. The lessons that the boy learns from incredible adventure, adversity, and challenge in his African upbringing only serve to give him the drive, determination, and power to succeed at HARVARD. My husband read the book on a plane and now uses a number of examples in his consulting practice. A FUN read and a WONDERFUL book for ANYBODY - teens to adult.
Simple, yet informative!.......2007-09-10
Narrated in the voice of a child as he grows up in a Maasai village, this is a quick, easy-to-read book for learning a lot about the Maasai culture (ie; before traveling to Africa, or for general interest). It was recommended by my travel agent and, while very simple, I will agree it is very well worth the read!
Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai.......2007-06-08
This book was absolutely fascinating to adults as well as younger readers.
Joseph Lekuton is elected to Kenya Parliament.......2006-07-27
On July 24, 2006, this remarkable young man was elected to the Kenyan parliament to represent his home district. He says thank you for the help and encouragement he received while living in the United States.
Book Description
Jambo! Welcome to Kenya, home of lion prides, nomadic tribes and city-smart nightclubbers, realm of equatorial glaciers, ochre-red deserts and tranquil Indian Ocean coves. Whether you want to watch wildlife, set out into the great unknown or chill on a beach, Lonely Planet helps you plan the African adventure of a lifetime.
SET OUT ON SAFARI - get the lowdown on choosing, planning and booking safaris for every budget
EMBRACE THE OUTDOORS - whether it's cruising the coast, ballooning over the Mara or trekking up Mt Kenya, we give you the when, where and how
THE BIG FIVE - our 16-page colour wildlife guide is your essential animal-spotting companion
REST EASY - accommodation options to suit all tastes, from back-to-nature bandas to luxury ecolodges
MAKE YOUR OWN WAY - up-to-the-minute information on how to get around, be it by buzzing matatu or graceful dhow
Customer Reviews:
Part of my travel kit.......2007-09-30
Although I am an experienced traveller, I always ensure that I bring along a copy of the Lonely Planet guide. Not only does it give me a flavour for the country I am to visit, but the guides are packed full of excellent tips from those who know the area. A Lonely Planet guide pays for itself - it is one of the essentials in my travel kit.
Comprehensive, but not the best out there........2007-07-06
This book was somewhat helpful when I recently spent two months in Kenya, but I found that some of the information was out of date (despite this being an updated edition) and there were many things that should have been mentioned that were not. Although it gives a great overview, for those who are going to be spending a substantial amount of time in Kenya, I would probably opt for the Rough Guide to Kenya, which was more thorough and much more accurate.
Excellent, Accuarte, and Helpul Information.......2007-07-06
I used this book while living in Nairobi for 3 months. It was especially helpful for planning my excursions around the country. My Kenyan friends couldn't believe how helpful it was. They didn't even know where to get the kind of information the book provides. I wouldn't travel to Kenya without it!
Kenya travel guide.......2007-03-09
LOts of good information for my upcoming trip. Will take it with me to refer as I travel.
Missing coordinates.......2006-08-02
Yes, LPK is fine source. But there are lot of people (including me) using GPS. And we miss coordinates & waypoints.
Book Description
Cynthia Moss has studied the elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park for over twenty-seven years. Her long-term research has revealed much of what we now know about these complex and intelligent animals. Here she chronicles the lives of the members of the T families led by matriarchs Teresia, Slit Ear, Torn Ear, Tania, and Tuskless. With a new afterword catching up on the families and covering current conservation issues, Moss's story will continue to fascinate animal lovers.
"One is soon swept away by this 'Babar' for adults. By the end, one even begins to feel an aversion for people. One wants to curse human civilization and cry out, 'Now God stand up for the elephants!'"—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times
"Moss speaks to the general reader, with charm as well as scientific authority. . . . [An] elegantly written and ingeniously structured account." —Raymond Sokolov, Wall Street Journal
"Moss tells the story in a style so conversational . . . that I felt like a privileged visitor riding beside her in her rickety Land-Rover as she showed me around the park." —Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, New York Times Book Review
"A prose-poem celebrating a species from which we could learn some moral as well as zoological lessons." —Chicago Tribune
Customer Reviews:
Captivating Elephant Saga.......2006-12-21
Moss takes you on an incredible journey into the lives of African elephants and allows you to take a bird's eye view of the research she has done. The book, while captivating, can seem a little discombobulated to some, however. The book divides itself into the different years Moss is writing about, each chapter being a different year. This set up, however, is a bit confusing as the chapters do not limit themselves to that particular year, but instead discussed a myriad of years all while focusing on a particular topic. That said, you do see progression in the timeline as the book reads on.
The only downside I saw to this book was the fictional retelling of circumstances that she was not witness to. She describes the deaths of a few elephants as well as some mishaps involving the elephants in near poetic detail, though she never actually saw what happened, or she only witnessed the very end of the circumstance. She does not note where the fictionalization begins, and you only understand what parts are ficionalized after reading on and seeing where she says "I don't know what happened." These are merely assumptions made on the part of the author and though they could have very real merit, it can hurt the integrity of the book when read by someone who is looking for a purely factual account of African elephants. While Moss does warn that she does make assumptions, it would have been better if she noted right before each fictionalized story that it was an assumption. That said, the stories do involve true elephant behavior and shows the audience how elephants may react in certain situations.
There is an incredible amount of insight in this book. You become attached to certain elephants, feel joy over new births, celebrate victory over hardship, and mourn the deaths of these creatures. It teaches the reader about their behaviors, environment, and most of all, the conservation of these majestic animals.
HOW WONDERFUL ELEPHANTS ARE.......2006-07-05
IT IS AMAZING TO ME THAT MAN DOESNT KNOW OR CHOOSES NOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW INTELLEGENT AND WONDERFUL THESE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES OF GOD ARE AND THIS BOOK MAKES IT REAL CLEAR.
The lives of elephants revealed.......2002-01-18
This is a wonderful book. Cynthia Moss takes the reader deep into the intricate social lives of Africa elephans in Amboseli National Park (Kenya), and leaves a profound impression. How very sensitive these animals are, and how endearing. It is entirely clear how these creatures have suffered at the hands of humans, but also nobody can read this book and not feel the urge to conserve this fantastic species. Also it may inspire some to travel to Amboseli to see the elephants 'in person' - an experience that you will never forget!
Intriguing.......2002-01-05
This is an excellent book. At first, the book seems confusing as the author continuously refers to the individual elephants on a first name basis when one has no idea of who these "people" are. As the names become more familiar and the individual stories develop, the strange names develop into a wonderful, although at times anthropomorphic story on the natural history of these gentle animals. As she warns us, the author takes the liberty of adding unwitnessed, fictional pieces to most stories, which can be confusing and at times blur the objective observations that she makes with subjective, although probably real, assumptions.
But this book is not a hard core technical text, despite glimpses of it being so in the beginning. The book is about remembering the wonderful social and behavioral characteristics of individuals that make up a population. From matriarchs to lonely males, from birth to death during periods of drought or at the hands of Masai warriors, this book gives a comprehensive insight into relevant issues affecting the survival of the African elephant. The author comes across as a human being, with emotions that go beyond the hard-core science. Although her prose is dry at times, this book is very enjoyable and opens a magnificent window into the world of the Amboseli elephants.
Thorough and moving study of elephants!.......2001-01-11
This book covers thirteen years of Cynthia Moss' research on elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Several of the elephant families residing at Amboseli are featured in this book. Cynthia Moss learned to distinguish each individual elephant by such characteristics as the shape of their ears, ear markings or the size and shape of the tusks. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of elephant life like mating, draught etc. Together with fellow researcher Joyce Poole Cynthia Moss discovered that the bulls like their Asian cousins go into musth too (the period they are the most attractive to the cows). Thus a longstanding mystery was solved. But through it all shines Cynthia Moss' deep love for the elephants, she found with them so much to recommend. Learning from them. She certainly succeeds in sharing the joy of studying and living with elephants. I warmly recommend Ian and Oria Douglas-Hamilton and Joyce Poole's books too. Indeed Cynthia Moss has found new insights but this is still the book to read on elephants in the first place.
Book Description
The four-million-copy international bestseller of the incredible love story between a European woman and an African warrior
The White Masai combines adventure and the pursuit of passion in a page-turning story of two star-crossed lovers from vastly different backgrounds. Corinne, a European entrepreneur, meets Lketinga, a Samburu warrior, while on vacation in Mombasa on Kenya's glamorous coast.Despite language and cultural barriers, they embark on an impossible love affair. Corinne uproots her life to move to Africa—not the romantic Africa of popular culture, but the Africa of the Masai, in the middle of the isolated bush, where five-foot-tall huts made from cow dung serve as homes. Undaunted by wild animals, hunger, and bouts with tropical diseases, she tries to forge a life with Lketinga. But slowly the dream starts to crumble when she can no longer ignore the chasm between their two vastly different cultures.
A story that taps into our universal belief in the power of love, The White Masai is at once a hopelessly romantic love story, a gripping adventure yarn, and a compulsively good read.
Customer Reviews:
Book Review.......2007-09-22
If you like adventure, this is the book for you. This is not fiction. It is an adventure where a white woman had decided to live in Africa and her adventures of falling in love with a Masai Warrior. Very interesting.
A Self-Centered Tale of Delusion and Neediness or Next Time, Just Buy A Painting.......2007-08-04
I can say gratefully that a friend lent this sad tale to me. Thank you, God that I didn't shell out any shillings for this doggie of a poorly written book, and thank you for the fact that is not about another clueless American doing stupid things in foreign lands, like stalking gorgeous native men and expecting them to love you, your way.
As far as I could tell, this is a tale of an overly-indulged, wealthy, attractive, very obsessive young woman, Corrine Hoffman, who allows herself to be victimized while constantly insinuating herself on a man who really doesn't want anything to do with her except perhaps a quick "poke in the whiskers" with no foreplay. She calls him "my Masai" on page five after only seeing him a couple of times. (Creepy)
Lketinga sees the picture almost immediately; she chooses not to see. She believes he loves her, but it becomes obvious it's pretty one-sided --her side. Love is not perceived in the same way by the Samburu. Theirs is a culture of tough environmental and basic survival and requires tribal cooperation; a culture of the community, not the individual. Their life is definitely not about females having any rights, only responsibilities. It is not an adolescent, bodice-ripping, Romantic tale of romance. Samburu life is not easy, but it's the way it is. In fact, African life doesn't seem like something I want to try either.
So you have Corrine and her wacky friends. The European women in this story come across as pretty flighty, irresponsible and quite hippie-skippy, although they all run circles around her linguistically. Her friend Sophia does not seem to have much more sense than Hoffman does and you can easily visualize a "type" of wealthy, attractive, dilettante young European women, playing out their fantasies and spending their or their daddy's money. Her friend Sophia constantly seems to move to better quarters and is difficult to locate as she goes back to Italy for vacations, moves in with a loser boyfriend, procreates without thought of the future for her child and seems lacking in all common sense. Add to that, Hoffmann's constant references about her lack of appetite suggest a serious eating disorder as when she says "there's a lavish meal laid on, and after nearly five days fasting, I've almost got an appetite." There are numerous comments regarding her inability to eat. From the very beginning, her control issues are apparent.
She's obviously driven to be successful. She knows how to hire and manage people, works like a dog, has good business skills and has no problems working with men. But she doesn't have a glimmer that her business interactions and negotiations with various businessmen might not be understood by her husband, whose cultural concepts of proper behavior between men and women could not be more different, and whose behavior from the beginning has led him to question her motives. And for all the time she spends in Africa, she never seems to pick up language skills. The African women that befriend her seem much wiser and truly helpful, always willing to help out, explain reality to her and to try and help pull her out of her cultural haze.
Lketinga, her husband, cannot be judged from this tale, as you never know his thoughts or his version of this sad domestic partnership, but I believe that he tried to let her know the relationship was doomed from the start. His wise suggestion to her that that "If I have such a good business in Switzerland, why don't I come back a few times a year for holidays and he would always be waiting for me" should have sparked her brain cells into a reality check, but to no avail. With complete self-centeredness she inflicts herself on this man and his community, and then wonders why he starts to resent and distrust her, even as her hard-earned Swiss francs service their needy community and floundering business efforts.
Much of the deference she receives is due to her physical attractiveness, the fact that she is white, and her obvious purchasing power. To those struggling native people she must have seemed a female Donald Trump. Corrine appears to have an endless supply of money. We are told she was a very successful business woman but I wonder if in reality she suffers from fear of holding on to her success.
Hoffman complains constantly about the amount of work she needs to do, always hiring help, having others pity and do things for her, describing her raw fingers, bad hair days, lack of sleep, her hollow-cheeked face and failing body. Martyr complex? Probably. Controlled by a dysfunctional need to crave a "real man" then resents it when he tries live life in the culture he knows? Very probably. Results. Complete wacko. Her husband quickly becomes a sort of victim of her wealth. He hates it but wants what it creates for him and the tribe. He can't manage it because he doesn't have the skills, so he uses the old tribal "you woman, me man" thing and the situation deteriorates more quickly. Her money and skills gives her power over him and emasculates him.
Hoffmann doesn't listen to the advice she receives from the native women and doesn't seem to have enough common sense to research the basics of what "marriage" entails in the new culture she is forcing her way into. Sex doesn't seem all that important to her, although she frequently admires his physical beauty and elegance of body; his compatibility needs elude and appall her at times. He is a piece of living, beautiful artwork that she must possess but will never understand. Next time, Corinne, buy yourself the painting, leave the person alone and save everyone the boring, constant flow of your endless tears.
Throughout the book, Hoffman constantly places herself in serious physical and personal danger, neglects herself even when very seriously ill, still pursuing her obsessive effort of the moment. Her lack of personal self-care causes serious consequences for her, endangers her unborn child and brings her at one point, close to death. One has to wonder, if it affected her long-term. Did it not occur to her that the fact Lketinga can neither read nor write, is not at all westernized, and comes from a primitive, agrarian culture, could cause serious conflict and misunderstanding? Corrine thoughtlessly forges forth not realizing her female independence is eroding his self-confidence and pride while still noting to the reader that he cannot add, subtract, organize nor stop giving her money away.
Lketinga's increasing lack of trust in their relationship probably stems from their initial meetings, when she broke with her current beau to take up with him. Lketinga probably believes that if she dumped her current man that quickly in favor of him, she might not be worthy of his trust. It was extremely disturbing to see how she brazenly and aggressively stalks him until she corners him in his village. She's relentless and very creepy. However, it is obvious that she has great affection for these people, that she does try to assimilate herself into their primitive way of life and does sometimes, actually enjoy it. Some of the scenes she describes of Samburu village life are quite moving. She sees the inequalities that exist for black Africans and how people scorn their black/white marriage. They are humiliated frequently by both black and whites yet she does not see nor knows how to manage the very real difficulties that her financial and female independence cause.
How many trips through the jungle in an ancient, broken-down Land Rover does it take for her to figure out that this isn't working? How many bouts of malaria, anemia, hepatitis and other diseases must she endure, even at the risk of injuring the child she carries? The most shocking tale to me was her attempt to assist a young woman in the midst of a monstrous labor trying to give birth to her dead child. Hey, if I saw some poor screaming woman squatting and bleeding profusely, with the arm of her unborn child hanging out of her vagina, I would be out of there forever!
How much quiet time is she really able to spend with her man while she buys the cars, pays bribes for passports and travel paper? Can she manage the household, take care of baby, run and stock the store, hire good help, deal with stealing employees, bad bookkeeping, terrified child brides and a nation with no concept of punctuality? Meanwhile he disrupts her business; fires the people she hires; disappears for days on end, herds his sheep, goats, oxen, visits his mom, smokes Miraa, drinks and does the manly thing with his male tribe members? Sad things are bound to happen.
Alas, the time arrives when Corrine has no money left and Lketinga's pretty much on the mental brink...presto! Time to go! Alas, love is gone but now she has her new baby to become her new obsessive-compulsive replacement ...and as her as her moody, addictive man starts becomes increasingly paranoid about her fidelity, (which the reader can see from almost the beginning) she manages to leave with her infant daughter on the pretence of a nice Swiss vacation. (Fade out with..."Oh my man, I love him so, he'll never know..." aka goodbye Nicki Arnstein)
But she sends sweet "please forgive me" letters to Lketinga, his mother and his brother. So I guess at least she didn't lose her nice Swiss manners.
Can this be real?.......2007-07-24
Ok. I finished reading this a week ago and am still attempting to wrap my mind around her mentality. I, too, lived in Kenya for nearly two years, but did not stake claims on the country like a neo-colonial in the way this author did. While it was interesting that she would sacrifice so much in the name of love (which again, I just couldn't understand seeing as they were from two polar opposite cultures, didn't speak a common language and he wasn't as in love with her as she with him I thought), I can't understand how she maintained an ignorance and ego about her the whole time she was there. How could she not pick up the language? Even some basic Swahili should have been achieved in weeks of living in the country. As an anthropologist, I simply can't understand her frame of thought and why she really didn't see a need to assist the people she was living around and over-used the mission. I kept thinking the mission is there to help people who really need help and didn't ask to be placed in a marginalized environment, and here she put herself in this nightmare and expected the mission to continually bail her out. I do not consider this a travelogue, rather an odd memoir of "how I ruined my life." It still seems to me that she doesn't know, understand nor care to understand Kenya and I would certainly not recommend it for people who wish to understand the Samburu (she was so ignorant she didn't even realize the Maasai and Samburu are two different ethnic groups albeit closely related) or even the continent of Africa. This book was just an ego trip of how eccentric a woman can be.
Stupid woman learns a lesson.......2007-05-25
I saw this book in the library and checked it out due to what can only be described as morbid fascination. I thought that it would make me vomit, and some parts did make me sick, but the ending totally goes along with what I would expect to happen.......
This Swiss gal, Corrine Hofmann, takes a trip to Africa and sees some big black warrior and gets all hot and bothered and decides to go native. She basically stalks this poor guy, makes him marry her and take her back to his tribe then proceeds to reject his culture and lifestyle because it is so backward. She then has a kid with him and takes the kid away from it's father when she runs away back to Switzerland after he starts to act violent, lazy, jealous, etc.
Though I found this book highly entertaining I have to say that I really am disgusted by this Hofmann woman. She rejected her own race and culture and then proceeds to reject and try to change the culture of her new husband. She is as insensitive to his culture and race as she is to her own and can feel nothing but pity for the poor daughter that she created and then took away from her native soil.
But I guess now she is making a load of money off of the book so she cannot be all that stupid.
Colonialist legacy lives on.......2007-04-27
Corinne Hofmann's memoir The White Masai is a modern-day romantic expression of the classic colonial impulse. Her experience, and even more alarmingly her reflection upon it, is myopic, mono-dimensional, and deeply self-serving.
That the book is poorly written is only the first problem the reader has to surmount. The die is cast in the book's first scene, when within hours of arriving in Kenya on vacation, Hofmann spies a Samburu man and, without having met or even exchanged words with him declares him to be "my Masai." The fact that he is not Maasai at all, but belongs to a distinct if related ethnic group, the Samburu people, is just one of many glaring oversights in this book.
Hoffman experiences Lketinga's culture entirely through her own eyes and experience, without depth, context, or critical self-reflection. In her eyes, Lketinga is to be consumed like a product, and then discarded when he fails to please her based on her culture's standards.
This book is an appalling recapitulation of colonialism. The fact that it is cast as an "exotic" love story simply makes Hofmann's conquest, consumption, betrayal, and desertion of Lketinga that much more gut-wrenching.
Customer Reviews:
The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior: An Autobiography.......2006-11-07
Very interesting first person account of a Maasai man who becomes western educationed and gives insight to what growing up in a Maasai village was like. Quick read - powerful story. You must read this book if you plan on going to Kenya or Tanzania.
Excellent.......2006-03-23
After having just visited Africa, I wanted to get a better feel for what it's really like to be Maasai. This book is very real, and gives interesting insights from the "inside". I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Bridging two worlds........2002-09-29
There couldn't be two more different places than New York City and the lands of the Maasai in Tanzania. Tepilit Ole Saitoti's story of his journey in and between these two worlds is fascinating. I am looking forward to the update he is writing now that he is a Maasai Elder. This insight into another land and culture is a gift.
The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior: An Autobiography.......2002-02-04
Excellent book, very accurate and really worth the money. It gives the picture of a boy growing up as a real Maasai and the new life in civilized world of Germany and USA - a man between two cultures and the difficult question to decide which way to go along. Makes yourself wondering about the way we Western people are living and gives a chance to see our world with other eyers.
After having visited the Maasai area some months ago a good opportunity to compare facts with my own experience and found it even more interesting. Go for it!
sitting here with the author.......2001-12-22
I read this book 12 years ago and was so moved that I wrote a letter to to the author - something I have never done before or since. I was so struck by his ability to navigate between two cultures that seemingly had little in common. His book is a testimonial to the flexibility of the human spirit and the power of education. Last week, out of the blue, I received a telephone call from the author. Apparently, he had saved my address all these years. Saitoti is currently in the US as a visiting scholar. He will be speaking in various institutions and he has just started writing a follow up to The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior (The Worlds of a Maasai Elder). I have just shown him these amazon reviews. He is sitting here beside me and
would like to take this opportunity to say: "Thank you to the reviewers of my book for such beautiful reviews and to amazon.com for posting such a wonderful display of my work."
Book Description
"Deftly written . . . Patterson's book must now be considered the definitive Tsavo lion study... one of the world's leading experts on lions as well as an important conservationist."--Publishers Weekly
Through field research and forensic evidence, a scientist reveals his theory on why two Kenyan lions killed humans and then ate their prey
In March 1898, the British began building a bridge over the Tsavo River in East Africa. In nine months, two male lions killed and ate nearly 135 workers, halting construction.
After a long hunt Colonel J. H. Patterson killed the lions, which are now on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
As codirector of the Tsavo Research Project, Bruce Patterson has conducted extensive fieldwork throughout the region on these lions. In The Lions of Tsavo, Patterson retells the harrowing story of those bloody nights in Kenya. He presents new forensic evidence on these maneless lions and argues that the man-eating behavior exhibited in 1898 came from the encroachment of human populations on wild habitats.
Patterson continues this theory by exploring man's interaction with the changing Kenyan environment, creating a complete, up-to-date, and scientific look behind this intriguing murder mystery.
Customer Reviews:
Well Done.......2006-08-19
The author does an excellent job of making the subject matter readable for the layman. This is based on a series of scientific studies which are often laborius reading for most but it is presented in an easily understood form.
No definite conclusions are drawn but anyone with an interest in the big cats will find this a valuable source of information.
Very Interesting.......2005-09-21
It is not the complete history of the how Col. Patterson killed the Tsavo Lions, but a very good and more recent report of a sciencific investigation trying to explain those animal's behavior and the causes that lead them to kill so many people.
I found it very interesting.
Informative and a shade biased.......2004-12-24
The book is filled with informative scientific hypothesis' about the man eaters. I found it to be very good reading until the the chapter when the author started bashing the hunters he had quoted through out the book. Throughout the world hunters are usually amoung the first to call for conservation of a species, not the enemy of conservation. Over all I would say the book is educational and worth reading just skip chapter 9 if you are a hunter.
A passion for the big African cats..........2004-04-14
For all of us with a passion for the big African cats, this book is a must read. The author, B.D.Patterson, combines his years of field research with an obvious love of the African continent to produce a scientific yet readable and ultimately fascinating review of lion behavior, biology, and evolution.
Starting with an historical review of `man-eater lion' stories Dr. Patterson clarifies facts and debunks myths. He provides a comprehensive review of related factors - from dentition to drought - from game scarcity to human burial practices. No stone is left unturned as he investigates aggressive behavior where the territories of human and lion overlap (and there is aggressive behavior on both sides of this equation!!). He continues his analysis with a succinct review of the latest biological and evolutionary information of the Panthera genus, covering the latest findings in DNA studies, historical range analysis, behavioral studies, and much more. Finally, he concludes the book with a review of conservation efforts in the Tsavo region and plea for continued assistance for this increasingly endangered species.
Readers who are tired of the dumbed-down approach many authors follow in order to cater to the broadest audience possible will be presently surprised by this book. It is thoughtful and intelligent throughout - readable and enjoyable - give it a try.
A Fascinating Study.......2004-02-11
Bruce Patterson's brilliant new book shines a much-needed scientific light on the lions of Tsavo. First made infamous by Colonel John Patterson (no relation to the author of this book), after he wrote "The Man-eaters of Tsavo" almost a century ago, and then re-introduced to modern audiences when the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" came out in 1996, the lions of the barren East African region have been much speculated on. Their unusual physical characteristics and habits, including a reputed inclination to prey on men with greater frequency than other lions, have added to the interest about them.
Unfortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, little is known about the Tsavo lions. Are they a separate species from the lions found elsewhere in Africa or a subspecies? How does their social behavior differ from that of other lions? Why are the male lions of Tsavo typically maneless? Was the trait selected by evolution for some reason or determined by the tough physical environment of Tsavo?
Bruce Patterson, a naturalist with extensive experience studying these beasts, informs the debate on them to such a degree that even where he does not provide definitive answers to these questions about the lions - and he sometimes does -- he provides the definitive framework for understanding them. He approaches the creature from every angle. He has studied them in the field. He has worked on them in the laboratory. And he has extensively read both the scientific and popular literature on the lions.
Despite his impressive scholarship, Patterson is not afraid to tell the reader when he doesn't know something. He often writes that some area on the lions needs further study. I also appreciated how he took seriously what any source (white hunters, local tribesmen, etc.) had to say about the lions. Patterson does not snobbishly discount what a source says just because it was not written by a fellow scientist. He makes note of it in his ledger and considers it in the context of other information on the subject.
This is a delightful book. If you have any interest in lions in particular or big cats in general, you will find it fascinating and informative.
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- Rock Climbs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, 3rd edition (East Volume)
- Russell Lee Photographs: Images from the Russell Lee Photograph Collection at the Center for American History (Focus on American History Series,Center ... History, University of Texas at Austin)
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- Scanning Negatives and Slides: Digitizing Your Photographic Archives
- Shadowed Lives: Undocumented Immigrants in American Society (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology)
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Books Index
Books Home
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Nonfiction
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| Children's Books
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| Books
Owen & Mzee: Language Of Friendship
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Zen Shorts (Caldecott Honor Book)
Fancy Nancy
Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book)
