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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
It appears that I am one of the few people who enjoyed this book. I will admit to struggling a bit at the beginning due to the very poetic (?) nature of Rick Bass' writing, but as I kept reading I really enjoyed how lyrical it was and now I could actually picture Namibia and the rhinos - and the people who love and cherish them. Recommended.
*And yet, would it not also be an act of worship, respect and even obeisance to seek to examine and celebrate the magic, not just the magician? And would it not be a matter of great profanity to willfully erase - or even allow to be erased - some of the very creations upon which the magician labored longest?*
*And how much of the rest of the world is this way: completely unseen, but completely present, just beyond the short lines of our sight and knowledge?*
*And what else might that be, then, but the definition of love? The world, and its maker, loved, and loves, the rhinos and the Namib: loves them.*
*There are strange days when it seems that we are so new in the world as to be ridiculously helpless and hopeless, and other days when the opposite feels true: that already, despite our incredible newness - not even two hundred thousand years under our belt - it feels as if we have been here too long.*
*And yet, would it not also be an act of worship, respect and even obeisance to seek to examine and celebrate the magic, not just the magician? And would it not be a matter of great profanity to willfully erase - or even allow to be erased - some of the very creations upon which the magician labored longest?*
*And how much of the rest of the world is this way: completely unseen, but completely present, just beyond the short lines of our sight and knowledge?*
*And what else might that be, then, but the definition of love? The world, and its maker, loved, and loves, the rhinos and the Namib: loves them.*
*There are strange days when it seems that we are so new in the world as to be ridiculously helpless and hopeless, and other days when the opposite feels true: that already, despite our incredible newness - not even two hundred thousand years under our belt - it feels as if we have been here too long.*
Reading this book, for me, was sort of like opening a bag of potato chips for a snack and finding that someone had replaced them all with dried apple chips instead. Both tasty in their own way, but certainly not what was expected.
My expectation for this book was that I would read about the Black Rhinos of Namibia. About the "human intervention" and the "cutting-edge conservation" that has, so far, saved the rhinos. I hoped to read more about the animals themselves - facts and information, how the human intervention is working, and what else can be done for these amazing animals. What I got was a very beautifully written book about Namibia, Africa, and Mike. When the back blurb says, "...meditates...", it isn't kidding.
Counting the epilogue, there are 269 pages in the book. The rhinos did not actually make a substantive appearance until page 151. That was the first of only three small bits that discuss actual sighted rhinos. They are mentioned elsewhere, but more within the scope of animals that belong to Namibia. Mostly, the book spent a lot of time ruminating on Namibia as a whole - all the animals, a bit about how people are trying to make conservation efforts work, and quite a lot about one of the conservationists (Mike). I can understand the desire, possibly even the need, to make Mike a central part of the book - but that should have been a different book. Actually, the whole book should have been a different book - or been titled/described more realistically.
Don't get me wrong - it was interesting, and is very elegantly written. It is certainly a book that I might have enjoyed reading at any point - if I knew that is what I was getting. As it was, I felt like my snack had been switched in the middle of a craving and so I left the table still feeling somewhat frustrated and a bit hungry.
My expectation for this book was that I would read about the Black Rhinos of Namibia. About the "human intervention" and the "cutting-edge conservation" that has, so far, saved the rhinos. I hoped to read more about the animals themselves - facts and information, how the human intervention is working, and what else can be done for these amazing animals. What I got was a very beautifully written book about Namibia, Africa, and Mike. When the back blurb says, "...meditates...", it isn't kidding.
Counting the epilogue, there are 269 pages in the book. The rhinos did not actually make a substantive appearance until page 151. That was the first of only three small bits that discuss actual sighted rhinos. They are mentioned elsewhere, but more within the scope of animals that belong to Namibia. Mostly, the book spent a lot of time ruminating on Namibia as a whole - all the animals, a bit about how people are trying to make conservation efforts work, and quite a lot about one of the conservationists (Mike). I can understand the desire, possibly even the need, to make Mike a central part of the book - but that should have been a different book. Actually, the whole book should have been a different book - or been titled/described more realistically.
Don't get me wrong - it was interesting, and is very elegantly written. It is certainly a book that I might have enjoyed reading at any point - if I knew that is what I was getting. As it was, I felt like my snack had been switched in the middle of a craving and so I left the table still feeling somewhat frustrated and a bit hungry.
This book was a fascinating read, for Mr. Bass gives his readers an experience that everyone that has not traveled can follow, and even entrance you into wanting to travel to Africa. For his wording is simple, but his descriptions are beautifully poetic, he expresses his feelings and his views of his first African experience. He details the fantastic encounters of the wild Rhino and the people who are trying to help these creatures. He shows us the wild side, the side of wanting to preserve these creatures natural habitats and the animals themselves. He also gives us a view of the tourist side, the money side of things, that keep partially the country afloat and somewhat the company or owner afloat. He also gives many details of the actual land its self, and how magical Africa is, and how you have never felt an outer world experience until you go there. This book is quite an eye-opener and gives a more civilian outlook on a world that we know exists, but never knew truly to an extent on its existing wonders.
I highly recommed reading
I highly recommed reading
Reading this book, for me, was sort of like opening a bag of potato chips for a snack and finding that someone had replaced them all with dried apple chips instead. Both tasty in their own way, but certainly not what was expected.
My expectation for this book was that I would read about the Black Rhinos of Namibia. About the "human intervention" and the "cutting-edge conservation" that has, so far, saved the rhinos. I hoped to read more about the animals themselves - facts and information, how the human intervention is working, and what else can be done for these amazing animals. What I got was a very beautifully written book about Namibia, Africa, and Mike. When the back blurb says, "...meditates...", it isn't kidding.
Counting the epilogue, there are 269 pages in the book. The rhinos did not actually make a substantive appearance until page 151. That was the first of only three small bits that discuss actual sighted rhinos. They are mentioned elsewhere, but more within the scope of animals that belong to Namibia. Mostly, the book spent a lot of time ruminating on Namibia as a whole - all the animals, a bit about how people are trying to make conservation efforts work, and quite a lot about one of the conservationists (Mike). I can understand the desire, possibly even the need, to make Mike a central part of the book - but that should have been a different book. Actually, the whole book should have been a different book - or been titled/described more realistically.
Don't get me wrong - it was interesting, and is very elegantly written. It is certainly a book that I might have enjoyed reading at any point - if I knew that is what I was getting. As it was, I felt like my snack had been switched in the middle of a craving and so I left the table still feeling somewhat frustrated and a bit hungry.
My expectation for this book was that I would read about the Black Rhinos of Namibia. About the "human intervention" and the "cutting-edge conservation" that has, so far, saved the rhinos. I hoped to read more about the animals themselves - facts and information, how the human intervention is working, and what else can be done for these amazing animals. What I got was a very beautifully written book about Namibia, Africa, and Mike. When the back blurb says, "...meditates...", it isn't kidding.
Counting the epilogue, there are 269 pages in the book. The rhinos did not actually make a substantive appearance until page 151. That was the first of only three small bits that discuss actual sighted rhinos. They are mentioned elsewhere, but more within the scope of animals that belong to Namibia. Mostly, the book spent a lot of time ruminating on Namibia as a whole - all the animals, a bit about how people are trying to make conservation efforts work, and quite a lot about one of the conservationists (Mike). I can understand the desire, possibly even the need, to make Mike a central part of the book - but that should have been a different book. Actually, the whole book should have been a different book - or been titled/described more realistically.
Don't get me wrong - it was interesting, and is very elegantly written. It is certainly a book that I might have enjoyed reading at any point - if I knew that is what I was getting. As it was, I felt like my snack had been switched in the middle of a craving and so I left the table still feeling somewhat frustrated and a bit hungry.