Jane Goodall’s account of her life among the wild chimpanzees of Gombe is one of the most enthralling stories of animal behavior ever written. Her adventure began when the famous anthropologist Louis Leakey suggested that a long-term study of chimpanzees in the wild might shed light on the behavior of our Stone Age ancestors. Accompanied by only her mother and her African assistants, she set up camp in the remote Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanzania. For months the project seemed hopeless; out in the jungle from dawn until dark, she had but fleeting glimpses of frightened animals. At last came the day when she was accepted and no longer feared. She was able to record previously unknown behavior, such as the use—and even the making—of tools, until then believed to be an exclusive skill of man. As she came to know the chimps as individuals, she deciphered their complicated social hierarchy, their rituals, and many other extraordinary behaviors, which have forever changed our understanding of the profound connection between humans and chimpanzees.
In the Shadow of Man is “one of the Western world’s great scientific achievements” (Stephen Jay Gould) and a vivid, essential journey of discovery for each new generation of readers.
