Dangerous Beauty: Life and Death in Africa: True Stories from a Safari Guide FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
This gripping memoir encompasses rich details about East Africa's wildlife as well as harrowing tales of its turbulent political climate. Safari guide Mark Ross, who originally published a short version of Dangerous Beauty in The Best American Travel Writing 2000, leads readers through his encounters with elephants, leopards, nomadic tribes, and ultimately, armed terrorists in this unforgettable blend of travelogue and nature study.
Ross grew up on a wildlife reservation in Illinois, where his lifelong fascination with nature -- and Africa in particular -- was born. He first arrived in East Africa as a college student working on a degree in wildlife biology, and before long he was permanently settled in Kenya, having realized he could no longer resist the pull of the vast open skies. His enthralling reminiscences of this golden period, when the African landscape was new to his eyes, and his first years as a safari guide, learning to track animals and anticipate their movements, make up the main portion of Dangerous Beauty. Ross learns everything he can about the animals in the game reserves of East Africa, from recognizing the whisker patterns and ear notches of particular felines to reading and interpreting tracks to finding the perfect spots for photographing the wildlife. As a likable and trustworthy safari guide, committed to teaching visitors about the ecology of East Africa, Ross works hard to get his clients out of the Land Rover and into the living, breathing, and, yes, dangerous world they've come to see. When things get rough -- like the elephant stampede that nearly killed him -- Ross is quick to put himself between his clients and the source of the threat. Chapter after chapter unfolds as Ross regales readers with captivating tales of encounters with leopards, crocodiles, Cape buffalo, cheetahs, lions, and elephants. Each exciting anecdote is a new adventure as Ross and his clients set off into the game parks, cameras in hand, ready to come face-to-face with the wildlife.
As political unrest began to alter the face of the continent he knows so intimately, Ross continued to eke out a living much as he always had, guiding clients, tracking animals, and constantly learning about the fierce natural environment of the bush. Throughout the 1990s, vast numbers of people were killed in East Africa (most notably in Rwanda in the spring of 1994) during rebel uprisings or tribal conflicts. Inevitably, Ross's world intersected with this harsh political reality. In the spring of 1999, Ross camped with a group of clients near Uganda's Impenetrable Forest, which harbors endangered mountain gorillas. Attacked and taken hostage by a group of Rwandan terrorists, Ross and his clients, along with other groups of tourists camped in the area, were forced to march at gunpoint for several hours without food or water. Mired in this hostage situation, Ross again assumed the role of go-between, translating the words of the terrorists and doing his best to keep the hostages alive. The skills Ross learned as a safari guide contributed greatly to his survival during the hostage situation. His ability to listen, observe, and remain calm helped immensely, securing food for the hostages and the release of those in ill health. Ross could not prevent the brutal killing of several tourists, however, and his description of the day's tragic events provides an almost unbearably intense ending to the memoir.
The lingering effect on Ross and those of his clients who survived the ordeal cannot be fully expressed. The attack also took its toll on the tourist trade in Uganda, a source of much-needed revenue for the country. Instead of keeping more tourists away, perhaps Dangerous Beauty will entice travelers back into the area, lured by Ross's evocative prose -- and the possibility of getting close to a rare mountain gorilla, a leopard with its cubs, or a lion resting in the shade of an acacia tree. (Julie Carr)
A Discover Great New Writers Fall 2001 Selection
FROM THE PUBLISHER
On March 1, 1999, veteran safari guide Mark C. Ross was camped with four clients in Uganda searching for endangered mountain gorillas. By day's end two of his clients and six other tourists were murdered by Hutu rebels crossing the Congo border. The tragedy made headlines around the world and changed Ross's life forever. He writes, "The continent has always been the love of my life. Now there is trouble between us." Dangerous Beauty is the story of that love and trouble. Ross details the terrible events of 1999 and his encounters with danger and natural beauty in East Africa. He brings to life the deadly charges by elephants, the encounters with lions, cheetahs, and Cape buffalo, and the electric excitement of witnessing the mass migrations of wildebeest and zebras. Ross's passion for East Africa creates an extraordinary account of a life of remarkable adventures, and a memorable vision of a beautiful, deadly, and fragile world.
FROM THE CRITICS
Outside Magazine
His memoir moves well beyond the tragic events that inspired it to give a visceral sense of Africa's ambiguities.
USA Today
High adventure [that] leaves the reader breathless. Dangerous Beauty is
filled with loving descriptions of the wildlife and landscapes that define
Africa...framed by wrenching sorrow.
The Stranger, Seattle
Amazing memoir...with gorgeous detail.
Kirkus Reviews
As might be expected, Ross's memoirs are filled with adventures and close calls with wild animals in beautiful, natural settings-but what makes it memorable is his vivid account of surviving an attack by murderous Hutus armed with machetes. A wildlife biologist who has been working full-time as a safari guide since 1986, Ross has had his clothes stolen by hyenas, been chased by lions and buffaloes, and once made a narrow escape from a herd of charging elephants. He specializes in leading small groups into the East African bush-armed with cameras, however, rather than guns. With the aid of his trusty Land Cruiser and a six-seater Cessna, he takes his clients to private wildlife reserves and mobile campgrounds in national parks, where he makes sure they get close to the wildlife they have come to see. They make their way to the banks of the Mara River, where they watch 1,500-pound crocodiles turn the annual migration of zebras and wildebeest into a horrific feeding frenzy; they hike into Uganda's Impenetrable Forest for close-up views of rare mountain gorillas. It was there, in 1999, that he and members of his group were attacked by a rebel army of Rwandans who had crossed the Congo border. Caught by surprise in the pre-dawn attack, he was taken captive and beaten, two of his clients were hacked to death, and many others were either murdered or kidnapped-a tragedy that is unmatched by any of Ross's life-and-death encounters with wild animals in the bush. The wildlife stories reveal a quiet humor, an observant eye, and a deep love of and respect for nature-but the massacre in the Impenetrable Forest and its aftermath change the tone of this account from an appealing selection aimed atnatural history buffs and armchair adventurers to an appalling reminder to all that the most dangerous beasts out there are human. A harrowing and somewhat surreal account of life on the distant fringes of civilization.
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