In "In the Shadow of Man", Jane Goodall introduced us to the Chimpanzees of Gombe. If anything, this sequel is even more fascinating.

The whole study reads like a sweeping saga. As "Shadow" closed, the "main characters", the Flo family, were thriving, though there was a tinge of sadness with the realization that Flo wasn't getting any younger.

As "Window" opens, the inevitable happens, and we learn how each of Flo's children coped with her death - including a foreshadowed tragedy. We then watch her sons find their place in the male hierarchy and see what her daughter has learned about successful parenting from her mother.

The "supporting cast" is as interesting as that of "Shadow" - like Jomeo, a large male who never reached the high position one would have anticipated; Goblin, the Machiavellian politician who works his way up the ranks by befriending Alphas; Evered, who never reached a particularly high position but may have had the last laugh on all the males by quietly fathering the most children of the lot of them and Passion, the psychotic, nightmarish baby cannibal who sounds like something out of a horror movie.

The book also documents the brutal, disturbing territorial war that proved that Chimpanzees are capable of violence against eachother. This is a war that would have never been recorded had the study ended when originally scheduled - showing why long term studies are needed for long lived animals like chimps and elephants.

Both books should be among the first in the collection of everyone with the slightest interest in animal behavior. I keep up with the continuing story on internet, but I still can't wait for Ms. Goodall to continue with another book about what happened next.

This book clearly deserves more than five stars.

Through a Window is the popular version of the first 30 years of Dr. Jane Goodall's pioneering primate research at the Gombe reserve in Africa. Arriving in Africa as a young woman who found she did not like office work, she looked for something to do. The legendary Dr. Louis Leakey became interested in the idea of doing parallel research on chimpanzees in the wild to shed light on the development of early man. He persuaded Dr. Goodall to trek into Gombe, and helped her raise money and respectability for the project. From the beginning, he knew it had to go on for at least 10 years. Overcoming great deprivations and dangers, Dr. Goodall turned this into one of the most important animal observation studies ever. In this book, you will get the highlights of what has been learned from that research.

The book emphasizes the closeness between humans and chimpanzees. The two species have 99 percent genetic similarity. Each can catch diseases that no other species can. In fact, Gombe was overwhelmed by a polio epidemic that affected the chimpanzees and the humans in the 1960s.

As you walk through the forest with Dr. Goodall, you will find behaviors that are very similar to what humans do. Is it any wonder that she supposes that chimpanzees feel many of the same emotions that humans do? The only major difference she finds is that chimpanzees never torture each other or other animals like humans do.

You will follow along with families of chimpanzees over three generations, and find out about what works well and what doesn't for them. There are even chapters about memorable individuals who had a large impact on the chimpanzee community.

Before Dr. Goodall did her work, people thought of chimpanzees as being insensate animals. She soon observed that they made and used tools, ate meat, and cooperated with one another in very sophisticated ways both for hunting and child rearing. They have very complicated social rituals designed to keep everyone in place, but feeling friendly towards one another. As Dr. Goodall says, there are some chimpanzees she has liked more than some people and vice versa, because each one is so different.

Having developed a better understanding of and sympathy for chimpanzees, Dr. Goodall then turns her attention to making the case for more preserves for wild living (and observation), eliminating the trade in chimpanzees (which lead to much death, suffering, and disaster for chimpanzees and humans), eliminating and improving the way research chimpanzees are "tortured" and "mistreated," and improving zoo conditions. Chimpanzees are very social creatures and are highly intelligent.

She likens the treatment of chimpanzes by animal researchers, trainers, and zoos to modern day concentration camps. I must admit that she more than convinced me. Clearly, much can and must be done to improve the lot of chimpanzees. If we cannot treat our nearest animal relative well, what does that say about us? Who are the brutes?

The book's title is a reference to the limited perspective we can get by only studying behavior. We do not know what goes on in a chimpanzee's mind. Perhaps someday we will because experiments are showing that chimpanzees rapidly learn to use sign language.

You will laugh a lot about the problems that Dr. Goodall has had in convincing scientists that chimpanzees are advanced and sensitive. It's as though psychologically our self-image depends a lot on making animals "dumber" than they are.

Since I will probably never get to see chimpanzees in the wild, I was delighted that this very interesting book was available to me. It will make you feel like you are on a long hike chatting with Dr. Goodall (but minus the danger and deprivation).

You will also come away vastly impressed by the dedication of Dr. Goodall and her colleagues at Gombe. They have done a marvelous piece of work here that will continue to pay important knowledge dividends in future years.

After you finish enjoying this superb book, I suggest you think about where else you assume that a person or animal is "dumb." For example, children have quite sophisticated ability to understand emotional situations at a young age, but cannot speak about them well. So adults often "talk down" to them, making the child lose respect for the adult.

Why not assume that everyone and every creature has vast reservoirs of understanding that you do not have? Then, you will start noticing what you can learn from them. The many ways that chimpanzees give solace and reassurance would improve the quality of life for almsot any human, for example.

Live more beautifully by grasping all of nature's intelligence, wherever it is!

Goodall is a great writer and will be remembered as something of a scientist. More so than any other, she has been a champion and a poularizer of the study of chimpanzees and baboons; Richard Wrangham and others who are at the forefront of ape-research studied under her at Gombe-- and there is something about the myth of a little lady devoting her life to study in the forest that catches people's imaginations...

The thing that makes this book so compelling, though, is the insight that it gives into the human condition-- not into that of chimps. Goodall forces people to feel because she can show-- minus the scientific dispassionate inquiry-- how these monekys behave-- and how much like us they act. She feels for them, she identifies with them-- and this book, in the end, forces one to see the human condition in a different light....

This is a worthwhile read and fully worth the money it costs. There are times when you can read Goodall's almost religious zeal-- and it is really neat. I highly recommend this book....

Featuring a foreword by Jane Goodall of chimpanzee research fame, Africa: Photography is tremendous, spectacular display of truly lush, wondrous color photographs of natural wildlands and wildlife taken by Art Wolfe . A few pictures of African tribes people are also to be found amidst captures of lions, elephants, monkeys, pelicans, and so much more. Natural splendor abounds in this captivating gallery, and the highly informative text commentary adds depth and understanding to the many eye-catching images. With a foreword by Jane Goodall and an informative text by Michelle Gilders, Africa is enthusiastically recommended for armchair travelers, nature lovers, and anyone with an interest in the majestic splendor and majesty of the African wildlands.

You won't be disappointed. Wolfe is a master, and these images are amazing. Great book, decent price.

This is positively one of the most amazing books I own. The photographs, color and clarity are remarkable -- Art Wolfe truly captures the spirit of Africa. As you flip through the pages, each image more stunning than the next, you begin to feel like you are IN Africa. A must for any safari adventurer, animal lover or anyone curious about the continent.

I didn't believe that a second volume of Jane Goodall's letters could be as good as the first (Africa in My Blood), but this one is even better. The first volume contains the better-known parts of her life: the young woman going out to Africa, her apprenticeship with Leakey and at Gombe, her courageous research and amazing discoveries about chimpanzee intelligence, tool use, and warfare. Less familiar but no less compelling is the story of her life-beyond-science, her new and powerful role as a citizen-activist for the preservation of endangered species and their fragile environments. In her efforts to educate the world about the plight of this species that shares so much genetic material with humans, Goodall has never flagged in her perseverance. Her efforts have taken her from the village schoolroom to the halls of congresses and government palaces all over the world, and her correspondence reflects the intensity of her political activity, her untiring attempts to make people see their planet anew and to assume responsibility for their environments, whether in Africa or in LA. At the same time that the second volume shows the world of her correspondence opening up to include a much wider audience, though, she still writes her chatty, witty, delightful letters to family and friends.

Jane Goodall is a much more complex person than either her books or the popular conceptions of her, generated by the media, would suggest. These letters show a woman who endured considerable suffering and stress, who maintained her faith and optimism in the face of crushing realities, and who has inspired multitudes to change their views of Africa, of science, of women, and of chimpanzees, but in these letters you feel that she's at kitchen table in your house scribbling away, or that you've received a wonderful letter in your real, not virtual, mailbox. Read this book! You'll be surprised by what you find.

Many people may take up Beyond Innocence because they loved Africa in My Blood, because they think highly of Jane Goodall as a woman, scientist, and activist who commands an enormous presence in the world of animal and environmental studies. I came to the book, though, because of the writing, both the lucid, witty, warm letters themselves, with their brilliant details and insights, and also the superb editing and contextual work by Dale Peterson, who gives us the complete person, with her strengths and weaknesses, the myths and the truth. This is a literary achievement of the highest order, a poignant reminder of what we've lost in the era of electronic communication. Jane Goodall wrote constantly, and she wrote beautifully, and her letters reveal worlds and worlds--the worlds of her subjects, her subjectivity, and her readers. You will get a completely different Goodall here from the one you see in her books and in the biographies. This is an indispensable book, one that deserves to stand among the monuments of correspondence as a literary form.

Who has not heard of Jane Goodall and her life-long devotion, research and protection of chimpanzees? During the years Goodall has spent in Tanzania, she has lived a life many in today's society would have an extremely difficult time comprehending, let alone actually living.

In this book, the reader learns through Goodall's letters about the inner persona of Jane Goodall, her personal blessings and tragedies. While this book is not written with the distinct powerful exuberance of "Africa in My Blood," I do prefer this one simply because to me it revealed more about the woman who lurks beneath the surface. She reveals her deep sense of purpose and her relentless devotion to the chimps shines through. She is, indeed, a woman with a mission. She is also a woman who, like the chimps she has studied for so many years, has come to understand the meaning of love, loss, hope, fear, happiness, heartbreak and enormous setbacks. Goodall's letter writing is superb, with eloquent English undertones which add to the book's quality and style. She has a knack for expressing herself in a poignant and impressive manner. One other book by the same author, also deserving of a five-star rating and highly recommended is "Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey."

In The Eagle & The Wren, naturalist, conservationist, and wildlife activist Jane Goodall retells the classic fable of the Eagle and the Wren who once disputed who could fly the highest. The two birds held a glorious contest to determine the issue once and for all. But the outcome surprised them all -- especially the might eagle! Alexander Reichstein's superbly presented artwork is a perfect showcase and complement to Jane Goodal's exceptional story that will enchant young readers preschool through first grade. Also very highly recommended are Goodal's three earlier children's books available from North-South Books: The Chimpanzee Family Book, With Love, and Dr. White.

This book contains the retold fable of the eagle and the wren, which was a favorite bedtime story of Dr. Jane Goodall and her sister, Judy, when they were girls. In addition, Dr. Goodall has an epilogue in which she describes her interpretation of the fable in terms of her own life. The book also contains luscious, detailed pastel drawings that add a majesty and grandeur to the tale. You will feel like you are seeing the world from a bird's eye view . . . way up on high! It's beautifully peaceful there. That's a nice way to end a bedtime story.

The story begins when all the birds have an argument about who can fly the highest. Everyone loudly proclaims their superiority. Finally, owl points out that a contest can quickly settle this dispute.

Off they go. Many of the birds don't actually go very high. When they return to Earth, they are comforted by the ostrich (who, of course, cannot fly at all) who notes that they have each done the best that they can. Some are distracted (like the vulture) and don't continue the contest.

Finally, there seems to be a winner. Just then, an O. Henry style twist occurs to turn the contest onto its head.

"How can you fly so high?"

The answer to that question will open up important lessons about the potential for cooperation. What is impossible for one is often easy for several. Many people go throughout their lives without ever understanding that point. Anyone who has read this story will always know differently. That can be the beginning of many wonderful joint accomplishments and collaborations in life.

Dr. Goodall's epilogue uses the eagle in the story as a metaphor for her life as an outstanding scientist. "We all need an eagle." "I like to think of all these people [who helped me] as the feathers on my eagle." "Each one has played an important role." " . . . [M]y eagle is part of the great spirit power that is all around us."

Almost all children's stories emphasize individual competition. This one celebrates cooperation. Every child deserves a chance to hear the cooperative side of that choice. This book is a superb way to open up that understanding.

After you finish enjoying the story together with your child, I suggest that you think together of places and situations where two or more animals, people, or combinations thereof can accomplish more together than singly. Let you child come up with the examples. That will deepen the significance of the lesson for her or him. You can cooperate by praising the ideas.

Like Dr. Jane Goodall, her staff, and the chimpanzees in the Gombe Preserve in Tanzania, may you and your child live in peaceful cooperation with all the living creatures around you!

Quick, children! Jump right into your jammies and hop into bed for a heartwarming bedtime story - a real "Once Upon a Time" treat. It's Dr. Jane Goodall's nifty version of a timeless fable, THE EAGLE & THE WREN. You'll witness an exciting contest to determine which kind of bird can fly the highest. Here's a hint as to how it turns out: With amazing results, one of the birds counts on another for help, just the way people do. But what's more, we can all be winners even without the ability to fly the highest. We just need to strive to do our best. Take it from the ostrich in the story, "You have all done as well as nature intended...You all have wings, but each of you flies to a different height for a different purpose..." Throughout the story, be sure to keep your eyes wide open and the lights turned way up, so you can thoroughly relish the accompanying delicate, feathery pastel illustrations by Alexander Reichstein. Isn't that a gruff, menacing-looking eagle on the cover? Not to worry! He plays a very gentle and caring role in this story. THE EAGLE & THE WREN is bound to peacefully and happily carry you soaring off to dreamland.

Sheila Siddle and her husband, David, are an amazing couple. They show that life is not over when you are at a "retirement" age. They created a whole chimpanzee sanctuary at such an age. Love, compassion, determination, and strong opinions of what is right and wrong all allowed the Siddles to reach out to animals in desperate need. In doing this, they also touch everyone with whom they come in to contact. Mrs. Siddle's book allows them to touch a great deal more of us. Thank you for all of your efforts and for this great book Mrs. Siddle!!

An exhilarating-even heroic-life caring for orphaned chimpanzees (and antelopes, monkeys, parrots, whathaveyou, even a hippo) on a farm in Africa, by Siddle, the caregiver herself. October 18, 1983: "I held a dying chimpanzee in my arms that day and it changed my life forever." So started the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage on Siddle's farm in central Zambia. There, she and her husband and a slowly gathering company of helpers have sought to rehabilitate chimps and return them to the wild. It was very much a seat-of-the-pants operation, relying on instinct with their first charge ("You might say we went a bit too far and nearly humanized' him-something I am careful to avoid now"), but they were good, loving instincts. Word soon flashed through the wildlife community, and the Zambian government, which at that date was cracking down on illegal trade in endangered species, that the Siddles were taking in orphaned chimps. Then they started to appear: chimps confiscated from poachers, chimps neglected or abandoned when their entertainment quotient sagged, chimps turned out by their owners when the novelty wore off. Siddle gives many of the chimps full biographical treatment: their physical and emotional recovery chronicled, their antics retold with obvious affection. She also charts the evolution of their compound, from its original five-acre enclosures to the two 500-acre areas of today. Though the chimps are the focus of her work, the anecdotes Siddle relates cover all their creatures, from the vervet monkey that tore into her husband, to the hippo, Billy, who attended a gathering at the ranch of seminarians from the local mission: "During the scripture reading, Billy seemed content to just stand there, listening meditatively." Then Billy ate the altar cloth. If the orphanage has but a fraction the warmth and gentleness of Siddle's voice in this story, then the word sanctuary would fit well. Beautiful acts, elegantly rendered.

In this beautiful memoir, Sheila Siddle takes readers on magical journey--to Chimfunshi, a wildlife sanctuary Sheila and Dave Siddle founded in Zambia in 1983. Siddle's honest account of their work on behalf of chimpanzees will make you laugh out loud at the wonder and joy of working with wildlife. Siddle's prose also brings the battle for chimpanzees, which is far from won, into vivid and tragic relief. Filled with both humor and profound courage, this book is an inspiring must read for anyone who loves chimpanzees and all wildlife.

You can learn more about Chimfunshi at [the website]

Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, Said the Sloth, written by Eric Carle, is a delightful children's picture book about the joys of learning to march to one's own drum. A sloth lives alone in the rain forest. The sloth does nothing but hang from the branches of his tree and sleep all day. During the course of the story various animals ask the sloth questions about his habits. "Why are you so slow?" "Why are you so lazy?" The sloth finally responds one day with the following rather simple but effective defense of his life style, "That's just how I am. I like to do things slowly, slowly, slowly." The illustrations are bright and colorful. Eric Carle's collage style is perfectly suited for creating the sloth's rain forest home and the many other animal denizens who populate its landscape. Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, Said the Sloth is an excellent book with a gentle and heart felt message for children.

Preston McClear,

Slowly, slowly, slowly...that's the way of the sloth. Whether crawling along a branch, or eating a leaf, the sloth never hurries, but spends most of his life hanging upside down from a tree branch in the rain forest, and sleeping, rain or shine. "Why are you so slow?" the howler monkey asked one day." And why so quiet and boring, other animals want to know. The sloth didn't answer. He just hung, silently, and slept. But when the jaguar asks why he's so lazy, the sloth finally sees the need to set the record straight. He may be many things, among them lackadaisical, unflappable, sluggish, calm, and laid-back. "I am relaxed and tranquil, and I like to live in peace. But I am not lazy." Then the sloth yawned and said, "That's just how I am. I like to do things slowly, slowly, slowly." Beginning with an intriguing forward by Jane Goodall, detailing the life and habits of the sloth, Eric Carle's wonderfully creative picture book pays homage to an unlikely and endearing hero. His spare and slothlike, repetitive text is quiet, soothing and engaging. But, as always, it's Mr Carle's bold, bright, and imaginative cut-paper collage illustrations that make this book stand out and sparkle. Each two page spread dazzles with vibrant color and clever detail as the many animals who live in the rain forest march by, and youngsters can find all their pictures and names displayed on the endpapers for further reference. Perfect for preschoolers, "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said The Sloth is a captivating masterpiece that entertains and enlightens with its gentle message. As the sloth would tell you...Slow down, set your own pace, and enjoy life!

After all these years of presenting us with fabulous children's books, Eric Carle has outdone himself. "Slowly, Slowly," a beautifully written and illustrated tribute to the world's rain forests, will bring a tear to an adult's eye, and will appeal to children of ALL ages, despite its picture-book presentation.

Beginning with the thoughtful, simply written but heartfelt introduction by Jane Goodall, in which she explains the world of the sloth in terms anyone can understand, to the lovely wording of the book (the sloth does everything slowly, slowly...languid and lovely) to the trademark Carle collage illustrations, this book has something for everyone. And it educates in such a subtle way that even the most recalcitrant child will come away with a strong sense of who lives in the rain forests and why they must be preserved.

Every page features not only the sloth, but another animal as well, illustrated in the most enchanting of collage pictures. At the end of the book, each of these "extra" animals is listed by its special picture, and identified. And each is native to the rain forest.

What more can I say? I predict this will become Carle's legacy, outdoing all the rest of his work combined. I love it so much that I am ordering it for my college-age daughter, whose love of all things wild survived into her young adulthood.

I read this book in a day, though I didn't plan to--as soon as I began reading, I found myself unable to put it down. This is the story of both Dr. Fouts' study of chimpanzee language abilities, and his struggle to find a home for the chimps where they will be treated with the respect they deserve. Engagingly written and humanely told, his story is a direct challange to the cruel legacy of Descartes, one that will change your view of our primate relatives forever. Frequently funny, oftentimes heartbreaking, this book will leave no reader unmoved and unchanged.

No matter your philosophy on the feelings and intellect of animals, this book will change it. I believe that animals have emotions and cognitive skills, but this book really enhanced and helped direct my own personal creed.
The book tells story of a young grad student who falls into a cross-fostering experiment with a young chimpanzee named Washoe. Two professors are raising her as a human child and teaching her sign language. Fouts ends up as Washoe's lifelong caretaker and friend, traveling with her as she is moved from university to university, trying to protect her against a system that views her as an unfeeling piece of property. Along the way other chimpanzees join him and Washoe, until he has a small family of chimps, all capable of sign language, to care for.
The book is remarkable for many reasons. The narrative is interesting, clearly explained, and easy to read, even when Fouts discusses the physiology of language and evolution. The story is fascinating, the antics of the chimps are hilarious and eye-opening, and Fouts' journey to find Washoe and her family a good home (from Reno to Oklahoma to Washington) is determined and inspiring. The subject matter is phenomenal. Reading about Washoe's son, Loulis, learning sign language from her (the first animal to be taught a human language by another animal), the interactions between the chimps and humans (Lucy, who brews tea and serves it to Fouts every morning) and the brief legal history of the chimpanzees as research subjects, is incredible.
Read this book with an open mind. It will change you.

Roger Fouts tells a sometimes shattering sometimes uplifting-but always compelling-story of his life with signing chimpanzees. Using simple, accessible prose, Fouts is able to focus on the scientific aspects of his research with the chimps, but more importantly, he is able to create a palette of basic truths about all living things. This book, unless you have an unreachable mind or heart, will permanently challenge your beliefs about human beings and animals. I cannot recommend it more strongly.

My first introduction to the Born Free books when I was a child learning to read in school. And what a great introduction to reading it was. The story of Elsa and the Adamsons who saved her life as a cub along with her sisters and raised her brought me into a world of wanting to be there with all the animals and see Africa. This seemed to be treated more as a children's book in my time than an adult book. The idea of the book was to teach people the importance of environmental conservation awareness. The first book, tells Elsa's early life from a cub raised by Joy and George Adamson and their pet rock hyrax, Pati. Joy is Elsa's surrogate mom and with great pains to teach Elsa the skills to survive in the wild. With lots of work Joy did it with success that Elsa was capable of living in the wild again. They released her near her birthplace and hoping Elsa would find and connect with her pride-in which she did. There is the tragedy not long afterward I had read this amazing story that Elsa had died in the Kenya bush of disease. Something of life that I learned early in my life that it was reality in the wilds of Africa or anywhere for that matter. But the cycle of life lives on in Elsa's pride. Still another grim incident ended the lives of Joy and George Adamson. Both were found murdered.

Joy Adamson has left behind a legacy of these fascinating books that moves us to treat our world with respect and have a better understanding between human-animal relationship. Joy Adamson before her death had also written, 'Living Free: Elsa and her Cubs' and 'Forever Free: Elsa's Pride.' Her family extended even further across the grasslands of Africa as she tells about them in her other books, 'The Spotted Sphinx' (about Pippa the Cheetah), 'Pippa's Challenge,' 'Pippa: The Cheetah and her Cubs,' 'Queen of Shaba: The Story of an African Leopard,' and 'Friends of the Forest.' Joy Adamson's book 'Peoples of Kenya' reflects upon the life of the Kenyan people, her concern for the people welfare there and their struggles to make an existence in a harsh, beautiful land. If you want to know more about Joy Adamson read her autobiography, 'The Searching Spirit.'

"Roooaarrr!" The ferocious lioness roared like thunder as the tiny bullet pierced through its thick golden hair. After the lioness fell to the rocky ground, a soft, almost scared, whimper rose from the deadly awkward silence. The lioness had had a cub. What should Joy Adamson do? Leave the cub on it's own where it could die easily in one night alone? Joy Ademson, the author of this book, Born Free, opened up a new wild door in my reading. She opened up a door into a room filled with real life problems, adventures, and emotions. This wasn't like any other book I'd read before. It was as if I was there, raising the tiny cub myself. I extremely loved this book. You'll read it in a flash, I did, and I'm not even a good reader. If you are an animal freak, you'll enjoy the little adventures this book fills in your head. Even if you're not an animal freak... well I didn't think I was either, until now.

"Born Free" is about an orphaned lion cub, named Elsa. Elsa grows up with a game warden, his wife, and thier safari crew in northern Kenya, Africa. Joy Adamson,the game warden's wife, mainly raises Elsa herself. The book describes thier strong bond and crazy adventures throughout Elsa's life.

This book is very enjoyable to read, and the pictures are a delight to look at. It is exciting to read about Elsa interacting with the other wild animals and then going home at night to a totally different world. This book was extremely hard to put down, and I would recomend it to all animal lovers.

I really didn't have much interest in beavers, but when I was given this book, Lily Pond, I decided to go ahead and read it. I finished it in 2 days, it was phenominal. The way she talked about the beavers was like a sitcom, but at the same time you learned so much. I didn't have to force myself to concentrate, like I normally do with text books, for one second, but the abundance of information I got from this book never fails to amaze me. I have to give Hope Ryden 2 thumbs up for this book. It's one you can't put down no matter how hard you try. I was really sad when it was over.

This is a wonderful book by a wonderful naturalist. Follow a beaver family through seasons of plenty and hardship. Ryden weaves a delightful and moving tale while at the same time maintaining her integrity as a keen observer of animal behavior.

An insightful look into the saga of a Beaver family. The lives of this Beaver family comes alive through the eyes of author Hope Ryden. You'll begin to feel you're right there with her as she studies this Beaver family over the course of four years painstaking work. Ms. Ryden does an excellent job of conveying what this family of Beavers is up to and you learn an outstanding amount of information about the natural history of Beavers. You become both attached to Ms. Ryden and the family of beavers, feeling both her joy and pain as you see their lives progress before you. I even shed some tears..it was that good. Thanks Ms. Ryden, for an outstanding piece of nature writing