In this riveting portrait of George B. Schaller, the world’s leading field biologist, Miriam Horn captures the seventy years he spent living among wild animals in the world’s remotest regions, forever altering how we see--and save--the natural world In 1959, at just twenty-six years old, the biologist George B. Schaller shrugged off warnings of mortal danger and set off for the Belgian Congo to do what his peers wouldn’t dare: conduct the first sustained field study of mountain gorillas by living alongside them. Boldly refusing arms and retinue, Schaller and his wife, Kay, established a home in the jungle and came to share the apes’ rhythms and rules. After more than two years of immersive study--a groundbreaking methodology he would spend his life honing--Schaller transformed how the world viewed gorillas; they were not murderous brutes but tender creatures, and more like humans than any twentieth-century scientist had recognized. His mission to revolutionize our perceptions of wild animals would propel him across four continents and inspire generations of scientists. In In the decades following his work in the Congo, Schaller went on to conduct the earliest studies of Indian tigers, Serengeti lions, Brazilian jaguars, Chinese pandas, and Tibetan brown bears, meticulously cataloging their private lives. He navigated acute danger and political unrest in pursuit of empathy for and preservation of creatures big and small. It was Schaller who first guided Jane Goodall on her chimp study in Tanzania and led Peter Matthiessen into Nepal in search of the snow leopard. His impact radiated far beyond the scientific realm: He secured protections for vast national parks and partnered with local communities to protect the homes they share with these animals. A vivid and captivating account of the adventurous life of George B. Schaller, here is the definitive portrait of the man who dared to challenge us to rethink our place in the natural world....

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Miriam Horn is a bestselling author, environmental advocate, journalist, and filmmaker. Her previous books include Rebels in White Gloves, Earth: The Sequel (coauthor), and Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman. She produced two as documentary films, with one premiering at Sundance. Before turning to books, Horn worked at the Environmental Defense Fund and the US Forest Service, and wrote for magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times. She lives in Colorado, in the South San Juan Mountains.

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Contents

Prologue 1

1. A Box of Eggs
Europe, 1933–47

2. Coming Into the Country
US, 1947–59, Raptors, Ravens, Grizzly Bears, Caribou

3. Gorilla Honeymoon
Congo, 1959–60, Mountain Gorillas

4. Burning Bright
India, 1963–65, Tigers and Their Prey

5. A Peaceable Kingdom
Serengeti, 1966–69, Lions, Wild Dogs, Cheetah

6. Into the High and Magical Realms *Pakistan and Nepal, 1970–75, Snow Leopard, Punjab Urial, Blue and Marco Polo Sheep, Markhor and Wild Sindh Goats

• 7. New‑World Jungles
  *Brazil, 1975–79, Jaguars, Caiman, Capybara

8. Rescued to Death
Sichuan Province, China, 1980–85, Giant Pandas

9. Forty Years in Tibet
Tibetan Plateau, 1980–2020, Tibetan Antelope, Tibetan Brown Bear, Snow Leopard

Epilogue
North, South, and West of China, 1989–2020, Gobi Bears, Mongolian Gazelle, Wild Bactrian Camels, Indochinese Warty Pig, Saola, Asiatic Cheetah