White African: An Early Autobiography by L.S.B. Leakey

New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1973. Mass Market Paperback. Near Fine. First Edition. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Rare book. Collectible. First published in 1937, this is the early autobiography of a wholly original man, L.S.B. Leakey, whose anthropological researches in Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere have revolutionized our knowledge of our hominid ancestors. Born in Kenya of missionary parents, Leakey grew up among the Kikuyu and became, as one of their chiefs has put it, "the black man with a white face." Like others of his tribe, he was taught the skills of patient observation in the wild, but unlike them, he was given a British education. The combination of academic and tribal skills gave him a peerless background for archeological and anthropological researches that he undertook when he returned to his homeland. This autobiography covers his first thirty years, the years of growing up on the mission station and among the Kikuyu, the years of British schooling and… Read More