The Year of The Gorilla

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1964. This book is a unique description of that gentle beast, the upland gorilla, and of the African terrain and people. For those who enjoy reading of wild animals and primitive places - Mr Schaller has written an informal and exciting story of his two years of travel and observation in East and Central Africa. This is far more than a "Gorilla Book". The author shares his joy in the awesome beauty of the African countryside, in the people he met and in the enforced yet splendid solitude of the naturalist. The dramatic climax to the expedition comes with Congolese independence, when George Schaller successfully defies the attempts of Watusi tribesmen to over run the wild-game sanctuaries. Ten very interesting chapters, epilogue, select reading, and a generous list of illustrations. Delightful line drawings by the author are present. Some of the illustrations contained in the list: Our Hut at Kabara, The Echuya Forest of Uganda, The Slopes of Mt. Muhavura, A Batwa Village, The Virunga Volcanoes, The Uses of Bamboo, A Village in the Lowland Rain Forest, Bantu Women and Children, A Gorilla Nest, etc. Two maps (1) Regional map of the Eastern Congo, Western Uganda, and Western Rwanda (2) Distribution of the mountain gorilla. Photographs accompany text. Bookplate to ffep. A most respectable book in a price-intact dust jacket.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good.