Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo

Patrick Colgan is the executive director of the Canadian Museum of
Nature in Ottawa.

Biruté Galdikas, famed protégé of anthropologist Louis Leakey (along
with Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall), writes candidly and with humor about
her personal history and about her study of orangutans. Her fascinating
portraits of individual apes are complemented by reflections on a wide
range of subjects, including the biological roots of human behavior and
the phenomenon of emotional bonding between humans and apes.

Most impressive is Galdikas’s dedication to the apes amid
difficulties and dangers, both physical and political. Due to her
efforts, large numbers of apes have been saved or rehabilitated to the
wild, while valuable first-hand information has been gained on such key
topics as social interactions, reproductive strategies, individual
variation, and demography. References to mystical experiences and to God
indicate the spiritual depth from which this leader in the study and
conservation of the great apes is operating. Her book includes
monochromatic photographs but, alas, no index or references.