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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
Author Doug Abrams is a brilliant interviewer and biographer. He has a great knack for presenting Jane Goodall's words from their conversations and drawing out when it's important to be personal versus global. "Hope" is a broad subject; and Goodall, herself, has had such a full and meaningful life -- yet the subjects are one cohesive message. Abrams brings four specific missions to the table and presents them clearly.
Interviewing and for that matter, answering, can easily off on tangents. Abrams and Goodall work so well together in keeping this collection of personal stories linked to all of the missions of the Jane Goodall Institute and Jane's individual work.
Goodall is a trailblazer in science and especially for women. She was the first person to study chimpanzees in the wilds of Africa to which she credits her friend/employer/mentor Louis Leakey (the man who also provided the opportunities for Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas to conduct their research). The most fascinating characters of Goodall's life are woven through the chapters on hope, science, activism, resilience, and the human spirit. Characters like David Greybeard, one of the most important primates in the history of biological research. He was the chimpanzee that Jane noticed fashioned tools to get food. It was a breakthrough like many of her other benchmarks.
Much of Abrams and Goodall's conversations take place over her ritual evening dram of whiskey (her favorite being Johnnie Walker green). Readers may be transported to Africa, to the Netherlands, or to the virtual space when these two had to remain separated during the pandemic. In Dar es Salaam at Jane's house where used to spend much of her time but now only visits on her short trips, Abrams asked one of the most pressing questions one could ask such a historical figure: Have you ever lost hope? The way Goodall answers Abrams in this and all his thoughtful questions is that she explains where things when she began, the traumas or tragedies along the way, and then solidifies her own stubbornness in not being willing to give up or give in when there is a problem to solve.
Of the four reasons Jane Goodall has hope, the second -- the chapter on the resilience of nature -- is quite honestly, something everyone should read. The traumas that humans have done to the planet may be irreparable. Yet, hope is seen when trees in areas of bombings/man's attacks manage to bloom one fresh leaf or eventually grow a new branch in time. This regrowth is explained in somber detail about Jane's time in New York City with the Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial and in her visit to Nagasaki where two five-hundred-year-old sister trees still fight to stand despite their burned damage. Abrams includes photos of these trees and many other key factors in Goodall's reasons for hope.
Education is something else Goodall emphasizes and works to improve with JGI's children's program, Roots and Shoots. The first Roots and Shoots group of kids was ridiculed for working without compensation. They cleaned a beach and not because their parents told them to, but because it needed to be done. They persevered and showed the people of Tanzania what volunteerism is and how can be effective.
Summary:
While there are plenty of sad stories from Goodall about the world, the treatment of animals, the death of her dear husband Derek, and her own time living through World War II, Doug Abrams lifts the veils of sorrow in order to show Goodall's heart.
As she says about approaching life in her nineties, "...we must defeat two enemies, one against invisible, microscopic enemies; the other -- our own stupidity, greed, and selfishness."
Rating: 5 stars
Interviewing and for that matter, answering, can easily off on tangents. Abrams and Goodall work so well together in keeping this collection of personal stories linked to all of the missions of the Jane Goodall Institute and Jane's individual work.
Goodall is a trailblazer in science and especially for women. She was the first person to study chimpanzees in the wilds of Africa to which she credits her friend/employer/mentor Louis Leakey (the man who also provided the opportunities for Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas to conduct their research). The most fascinating characters of Goodall's life are woven through the chapters on hope, science, activism, resilience, and the human spirit. Characters like David Greybeard, one of the most important primates in the history of biological research. He was the chimpanzee that Jane noticed fashioned tools to get food. It was a breakthrough like many of her other benchmarks.
Much of Abrams and Goodall's conversations take place over her ritual evening dram of whiskey (her favorite being Johnnie Walker green). Readers may be transported to Africa, to the Netherlands, or to the virtual space when these two had to remain separated during the pandemic. In Dar es Salaam at Jane's house where used to spend much of her time but now only visits on her short trips, Abrams asked one of the most pressing questions one could ask such a historical figure: Have you ever lost hope? The way Goodall answers Abrams in this and all his thoughtful questions is that she explains where things when she began, the traumas or tragedies along the way, and then solidifies her own stubbornness in not being willing to give up or give in when there is a problem to solve.
Of the four reasons Jane Goodall has hope, the second -- the chapter on the resilience of nature -- is quite honestly, something everyone should read. The traumas that humans have done to the planet may be irreparable. Yet, hope is seen when trees in areas of bombings/man's attacks manage to bloom one fresh leaf or eventually grow a new branch in time. This regrowth is explained in somber detail about Jane's time in New York City with the Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial and in her visit to Nagasaki where two five-hundred-year-old sister trees still fight to stand despite their burned damage. Abrams includes photos of these trees and many other key factors in Goodall's reasons for hope.
Education is something else Goodall emphasizes and works to improve with JGI's children's program, Roots and Shoots. The first Roots and Shoots group of kids was ridiculed for working without compensation. They cleaned a beach and not because their parents told them to, but because it needed to be done. They persevered and showed the people of Tanzania what volunteerism is and how can be effective.
Summary:
While there are plenty of sad stories from Goodall about the world, the treatment of animals, the death of her dear husband Derek, and her own time living through World War II, Doug Abrams lifts the veils of sorrow in order to show Goodall's heart.
As she says about approaching life in her nineties, "...we must defeat two enemies, one against invisible, microscopic enemies; the other -- our own stupidity, greed, and selfishness."
Rating: 5 stars
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Could have been a large newspaper article
inspiring
medium-paced
It wasn’t what I was expecting. But it was good. I’m glad I listened. I mean, she’s Jane Goodall. Pretty much a perfect example of a human.
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Best known for her groundbreaking research with chimpanzees in Tanzania, Jane Goodall shares decades of wisdom with Douglas Abrams in
A reporter shares his conversations with Jane Goodall, focusing on hope. How she transitioned from her work on chimpanzees to larger environmental and humanitarian issues, what has sustained her through personal tragedies and aging. Thought-provoking, occasionally profound.
Nature plays the long game, nature will heal itself we just might not be around for it. So much quotable material and very uplifting
There were definitely some good insights about maintaining hope in hard times in this book, plus Jane has some inspiring stories. Although I didn’t like the conversational format of this book. Also, I felt like at times she was almost too optimistic about the future our planet, and down-playing huge problems like racism and climate change.