Madagascar is bigger than Texas. This fourth biggest island in the world, also known as the "Eighth Continent", is located 200 miles off Southeast Africa. It's as remote from the United States as you can get.

In an absolutely scintillating, evocative photo essay, prominent wildlife and nature photographer Frans Lanting explores the essence of this little-known land. Lanting's four-color photographs, in large format, are almost surrealistic at times, ever exciting, and never repetitive. From the cover onward, the show chameleons, lemurs, bottle-shaped baobab trees, needlepoint karst landscapes, eroded fields, and matchless vistas in an unending procession of the strange, eerie, and beautiful. You will be amazed as each page turns to the next. An excellent written narrative compliments the effort well.

The title is double-edged for, as well as being a fascinating anachronism, Madagascar is running out of time in our generation. Human encroachment is rapidly destroying the habitat of numerous creatures found nowhere else. The Elephant Bird, Aepyornis, whose giant egg is being held in a man's arms in the book's cover photo is gone. So is the giant lemur. Others may soon go, as well. This was, and would be, an unspeakable tragedy.

So read the book and enjoy. Then see what you can do to save at least some of this fascinating paradise.

I rate this book very highly.

As a biochemist with an interest in origins of life research, I enjoyed the human evolution aspect of the book and recommend it for that reason.

Where she discussed molecular biology though, her attempt at making ideas accessible introduced irritating errors. One sentence mistakenly lumped Y chromosomes together with mitochondrial DNA as non-nuclear genetic material. She has the irritating habit of referring to eukaryotes and prokaryotes as 'cells' and 'bacteria', respectively, without defining what she means by 'cells' until later. I also found her account of chemical evolution and the origins of the first self-replicating systems to be somewhat incoherent and probably misleading to a lay reader.

Minor errors in molecular biology dotted the book and proved a distraction. Jolly is a primatologist, not a molecular biologist, but some good editing or advice from someone familiar with the field would have greatly improved the book. It's still worth reading though.

Jolly's basic thesis is that the portrayal of evolution as "red in tooth and claw" is overblown. Species survival requires at least as much co-operation as competition. There are continuous compromises made in nature, each of which is as likely to aid in survival of the participants as elimination of opposition would. Jolly isn't attempting to replace competition as the root of evolution so much as temper it. The tempering force is sex. Always a subject of mystery among biologists, the origins of sex remain shrouded in mystery. Only the legacy of its inception becomes clear in hindsight. Sex provides genetic variety and a melange of social orders among animals. According to Jolly, sex generates interactions between individuals and groups that likely wouldn't have arisen otherwise.

Jolly argues that the interactions have led to various forms of altruism. In turn, the social "games" needed to maintain co-operation and altruism have generated higher levels of intelligence. Co-operation requires communication, further stimulating intelligence. This is most clearly manifest in the primates, particularly humans, of course. The rise of sociobiology [deemed "evolutionary psychology" by the timid] has added fresh pointers to our natural origins. Jolly is adept at equalizing the contending forces in this field and fending off its more strident critics. In one chapter, she expresses admiration for the growing number and influence of women scholars in the field. She then spends time gently dissecting a "deconstructionist" view of primatology, her own field. Her balanced views and reasonable approach are among the more admirable aspects of this book.

Her narrative style is light and conversational. There are even personal asides to keep the presentation from becoming rigid or pedantic. Regrettably, her desire to reach many readers and avoid axe-grinding led her down an unfortunate path. She sprinkles poetry samples throughout the text, many of these of doubtful value to the narrative. Her choice of illustrations is even worse. In charity, we might blame this on faulty editing. The topic is far too important to distract the reader with empty non-sequiturs. She imparts the importance well, but erodes it with these asides. The importance is maintained when you reach her References. This is an admirably complete source list and repays a careful look. It reflects Jolly's aim at reaching the general reader new to the topic. If you are just starting in this area, this book is an exceptional starting point.
- Review by stephen a. haines, Ottawa, Canada

Jolly has written one of the most elegant examinations of ourselves from an evolutionary perspective. She dialogues with feminists, biologists and others while crafting a wonderful foray into "sex and intelligence in human evolution" (the book's subtitle). She covers a heterogeneous set of topics, from why to cooperate to how humans give birth. In the spirit of Diamond's The Third Chimpanzee, she shows what excellent writing and a fine choice of subject matter can do when put together. This wide-ranging topical focus leaves the book without an oft-repeated thesis, or a strong idea to take away from reading it. But it does succeed in producing a book well worth recommending.

I think the best part of the book is that it shows children the fun and excitement of doing primate research in the wild. It shows why Alison Jolly has returned to the same piece of forest for the last 30 years. It balances that by displaying some of the sorrow when you cannot help a dying animal.

And of course, it describes Lemur catta social organization at a level which should be entertaining to children, and mentions briefly some of the other lemurs found in Berenty reserve.

The book is nicely illustrated with photographs on every page.