The Tree Where Man Was BornA timeless and majestic portrait of Africa by renowned writer Peter Matthiessen (1927-2014), author of the National Book Award-winning The Snow Leopard and the new novel In Paradise A finalist for the National Book Award when it was released in 1972, this vivid portrait of East Africa remains as fresh and revelatory now as on the day it was first published. Peter Matthiessen exquisitely combines nature and travel writing to portray the sights, scenes, and people he observed firsthand in several trips over the course of a dozen years. From the daily lives of wild herdsmen and the drama of predator kills to the field biologists investigating wild creatures and the anthropologists seeking humanity's origins in the rift valley, The Tree Where Man Was Born is a classic of journalistic observation. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by groundbreaking British primatologist Jane Goodall. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 64
Page xiii
... dark and formidable, into the low, shrouding clouds; soft alpine meadows glorious with flowers and fragrance and the calling of birds. He writes, from experience, of the dread excitement, the tension, of walking through bush country ...
... dark and formidable, into the low, shrouding clouds; soft alpine meadows glorious with flowers and fragrance and the calling of birds. He writes, from experience, of the dread excitement, the tension, of walking through bush country ...
Page xvi
... darkness the old belief in witchcraft lives on, strong as ever, though usually guiltily concealed, not admitted to the passing tourist. Yes, the ancient mystery of this vast continent still reaches into the unwary traveler's mind ...
... darkness the old belief in witchcraft lives on, strong as ever, though usually guiltily concealed, not admitted to the passing tourist. Yes, the ancient mystery of this vast continent still reaches into the unwary traveler's mind ...
Page 2
... dark glasses, and gold earring—as well as sixteen mission tribesmen, mostly Dinka and Shilluk, with a pair of Nuer. No matter how we arranged ourselves, we were never in close physical contact with less than five companions, and in the ...
... dark glasses, and gold earring—as well as sixteen mission tribesmen, mostly Dinka and Shilluk, with a pair of Nuer. No matter how we arranged ourselves, we were never in close physical contact with less than five companions, and in the ...
Page 3
... dark like souls departing. As the night passed, the way grew less distinct. Random tracks leading off into the void were followed faithfully by the driver, who was no Bedouin and knew nothing of the stars. Once the truck halted, and the ...
... dark like souls departing. As the night passed, the way grew less distinct. Random tracks leading off into the void were followed faithfully by the driver, who was no Bedouin and knew nothing of the stars. Once the truck halted, and the ...
Page 5
... our faces to masks of leather. The Sudanese went bareheaded without complaint, but the Israeli veteran turned a dangerous color: with his dark glasses and rag-tattered head, he glared out over the land like THE TREE WHERE MAN WAS BORN 5.
... our faces to masks of leather. The Sudanese went bareheaded without complaint, but the Israeli veteran turned a dangerous color: with his dark glasses and rag-tattered head, he glared out over the land like THE TREE WHERE MAN WAS BORN 5.
Contents
White Highlands I | 18 |
Northwest Frontier | 37 |
Siringet | 72 |
WI Rites of Passage | 112 |
Elephant Kingdoms | 129 |
Great Caldron Mountains | 161 |
Red God | 189 |
Notes | 255 |
Glossary | 261 |
Index | 267 |
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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 live Llo-molo Maasai Maasai Land Magandula Mangati Manyara Mbulu Meru miles mountain Myles Nairobi Nangai Natron Ngorongoro night Nile numbers Ol Doinyo Lengai park plain rain region rhino Rift river road rock safari Samburu Schaller Serengeti Seronera shadow Sipunga Sonjo spears stone stood strange Sudan Tanzania thorn track trees tribes truck Tsavo tsetse Turkana turned valley Vesey volcano vultures wild wildebeest wind Yaida Chini zebra