The tree where man was bornIn 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. |
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Page 53
crossed a stone ridge where, in winter, a fine lion had made way for my Land
Rover; I stared about me. In every distance the plain was sparse and bare.
Strange pale shimmers were far oryx and gazelle, and an eagle crossed the sky,
and a ...
crossed a stone ridge where, in winter, a fine lion had made way for my Land
Rover; I stared about me. In every distance the plain was sparse and bare.
Strange pale shimmers were far oryx and gazelle, and an eagle crossed the sky,
and a ...
Page 115
Like the Kamba, the Maasai believe that a comet foretells the coming of disaster,
and they say that a comet crossed the sky just before the appearance of l'Ojuju:
the great laibon Mbatien had also prophesied the advent of the white man in a ...
Like the Kamba, the Maasai believe that a comet foretells the coming of disaster,
and they say that a comet crossed the sky just before the appearance of l'Ojuju:
the great laibon Mbatien had also prophesied the advent of the white man in a ...
Page 212
The light plane skirted Lake Manyara and the dusty flats of the witch-ridden
Mbugwe, then crossed Mbulu Land, on the Kainam Plateau. Soon it passed over
a great silent valley. "That's the Yaida," Turner told me. "That's where those
Bushman ...
The light plane skirted Lake Manyara and the dusty flats of the witch-ridden
Mbugwe, then crossed Mbulu Land, on the Kainam Plateau. Soon it passed over
a great silent valley. "That's the Yaida," Turner told me. "That's where those
Bushman ...
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User Review - ljhliesl - LibraryThingI saw this title in my goodreads feed because a goodsreads-only acquaintance added it her to-read list without commentary. I immediately requested it from the library. Most of the books I read before ... Read full review
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User Review - satyridae - LibraryThingLovely prose, absolutely gorgeous words. Why did I have to stumble over this? Why did no one ever say to me, "Hey, you read all that nature stuff, there's this guy you positively have to read!" I ... Read full review
Contents
The Tree Where Man Was Born | 21 |
White Highlands | 31 |
Northwest Frontier | 49 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
acacia animals arrow Bantu baobab Barabaig birds buffalo bush camp cattle century climb clouds Crater Highlands crossed dark dead desert dogs Dorobo ears earth East Africa elephant Enderlein Engaruka escarpment eyes feet fire forest gazelle George Schaller Gidabembe Giga grass Hadza Hamitic head herd herdsmen hide hills hunters hunting huts hyena Iain Isanzu Kamba Kenya Kikuyu killed Kopjes Lake Lake Natron Land Rover Lengai leopard light lion Llo-molo Maasai Maasai Land Magadi Magandula Mangati Manyara Mbulu Meru miles mountain Myles Nairobi Nangai Natron Ngorongoro night Nile numbers Ol Doinyo Lengai park plain rain region rhino river rock safari Samburu Schaller Serengeti Seronera shadow Sipunga Sonjo spears stone stood strange Sudan Tanzania thorn tion track trees tribes truck Tsavo tsetse Turkana turned valley Vesey volcano vultures wild wildebeest wind wood Yaida Chini zebra
Bibliographic information
| Title | The tree where man was born |
| Authors | Peter Matthiessen, Eliot Porter |
| Illustrated by | Eliot Porter |
| Publisher | Dutton, 1972 |
| Original from | the University of Virginia |
| Digitized | 1 Oct 2008 |
| Length | 247 pages |
| Subjects | › › Africa Africa, East Animal ecology Animals History / Africa / General Natural history Nature / General Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural Zoology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |