The Tree Where Man Was Born (Classic, Nature, Penguin) | 
| Author: Peter Matthiessen
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
Buy New: $8.43
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New (19) Used (13) Collectible (1) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 85564
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0140239340
Dewey Decimal Number: 508.676
EAN: 9780140239348
ASIN: 0140239340
Publication Date: April 1, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Minor aging
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Book Description
On the great East African plain it is the human who feels himself the intruder. Here, and perhaps only here, the world is that of the animals. It is they who belong, as humans do not. In the more sensitive traveler this evokes a feeling of being privileged to observe ancient forms, settings and behavior that have survived intact from pre-history. "Matthiessen has the language to express this feeling of awe...Matthiessen also goes into the relationships between humans past and present in East Africa's great fauna with many a flash of insight into the instincts each has bred in the other...This is the Africa book par excellence." (Saturday Review)
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| Customer Reviews:
Transcendent Prose February 8, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is one my very favorite of Matthiessen's impressive canon, ranking easily with Far Tortuga and The Snow Leopard. Indeed, I think some of the passages in The Tree Where Man Was Born might surpass the stunning Himalaya descriptions in the latter book. Matthiessen's eye for landscapes is unparalleled, and his lyric evocations of beast and horizon have an otherworldly quality. A prime example, and one to look out for, is his account of finding rhinoceros tracks on the high volcanic slopes of Mt. Lengai. Another highlight are his crystalline observations of ecological moments during a vigil atop an East African kopje.
Good combination of natural atmosphere and history July 18, 2001
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
I wasn't certain what to expect when I got this book. I was a bit concerned that since it was written about experiences in the 1960's that it would feel a bit dated. Although the 1960's view of the future of East Africa's peoples and wildlife is not entirely accurate, I am finding the book to be an excellent way to prepare for a trip to Tanzania--for someone wanting a combination of background on the peoples, landscape and wildlife. Matthiessen's usual subdued, to me, dry style seems leavened a bit by his awe. And the account of the elephant researcher who's 'close encounter' approach puts Matthiessen off his feed, was really enjoyable to me--a departure from his usual, very dry approach. I recommend this one to anyone interested in the peoples and wildlife of Eastern Africa.
A loving and detailed account of a difficult journey June 27, 2000
35 out of 39 found this review helpful
Is there anyplace wild enough to lift the weight that Occidental culture has placed on our shoulders? Africa, where the first man walked erect, may be the last place where man can feel awed enough by Nature to try and remember that he, also, is just another among the millions of other species that populate the planet. Paul Bowles, Bruce Chatwin, Doris Lessing, Isaak Dinesen and Peter Mattieshen found that answer, and shared the experience. In Mattieshen's poetic account, the tragic and fabulous beauty of a continent that has been devastated by greed and war is revealed, as the impossibility of traveling Africa and not falling in love with it and being changed by it forever.
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