African Silences

Chronicles the author's travels through Senegal, Gambia, the Ivory Coast, Gabon and Zaire in search of disappearing animal species during the 1970s and 1980s. Matthiessen also focuses attention on the ways of life being threatened by the disappearance of species and by bankrupt political regimes.

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In the tradition of his earlier books, "The Snow Leopard" and "The Tree Where Man Was Born", "African Silences" chronicles Matthiessen's travels through Senegal, Gambia, the Ivory Coast and Zaire in search of the "forest elephant" and other disappearing animal species in the 1970s and to Zaire, Central African Republic, and Gabon in 1986. While conveying his excitement and delight in these great endangered animals - white rhinos, elephants and gorillas amongst them - Matthiessen also counts the human cost, focusing attention on ways of life that are now threatened equally by the disappearance of these animals and by bankrupt political regimes. Peter Matthiessen was born in New York City in 1927 and graduated from Yale in 1950. He is the author of six works of fiction including "At Play in the Fields of the Lord" and "Killing Mister Watson", together with many works of non-fiction.