I had heard, of course, of Jane Goodall. And I had passing familiarity with Dian Fossey. Birute Galdikas was entirely new to me, though. It was fascinating to me to see how their stories parralleled and intersected. We tend to think of celebreties, even intellectuals, as almost inhabiting their own worlds. When those worlds collide it can be a little jarring for the outside observer. I loved seeing how each of these women went from interested novices to passionate, groundbreaking scientists.
Evaluating this book strictly from a storytelling perspective (rather then just fan-girling about scientists) the writing was a bit confusing at times. It may be that Otavani was trying to protect younger readers, masking some of the less savory parts of the story. I wasn't always sure what had happened. BUt the illustrations are charming and engaging. This books serves as a great introduction to some natural science ideas. Use this in conjunction with a documentary or more scholarly book and you could really learn a lot.
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