African Silences
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African Silences
''African Silences'' is a 1991 book by Peter Matthiessen published by Random House. It recounts journeys through Equatorial Africa to study the situation of elephants and other wildlife and is a meditation upon the natural world and mankind's relationship to it and effect upon it. Content The book recounts two sets of journeys: firstly, trips in the 1970s to Senegal, Gambia, and the Ivory Coast (with the primatologist Gilbert Boese) and secondly a 1986 trip to Gabon and Zaire. In different areas he explored different animals - for example, in Zaire, he was concerned primarily with the Congo peacock The Congo peafowl (''Afropavo congensis''), also known as the African peafowl or ''mbulu'' by the Bakôngo, is a species of peafowl native to the Congo Basin. It is one of three peafowl species and the only member of the subfamily Pavoninae nati .... Matthiessen observed that the situation in terms of animal populations and their sustainability was often far worse than anticipated ...
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Peter Matthiessen
Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher and CIA Operative. A co-founder of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'', he was the only writer to have won the National Book Award in both National Book Award for Nonfiction, nonfiction (''The Snow Leopard'', 1979, category Contemporary Thought) and National Book Award for Fiction, fiction (''Shadow Country'', 2008)."Washington Post Obituary"
Obituary, Washington Post, April 6, 2014.
He was also a prominent environmental activist. Matthiessen's nonfiction featured nature and travel, notably ''The Snow Leopard'' (1978) and Native Americans in t ...
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Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House. In 1934 they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' in the Anglophone world. ''Ulysses'' transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it absorbed the firm of Smith and Haas—Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 19 ...
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Gilbert Boese
Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South Australia) Kiribati * Gilbert Islands, a chain of atolls and islands in the Pacific Ocean United States * Gilbert, Arizona, a town * Gilbert, Arkansas, a town * Gilbert, Florida, the airport of Winterhaven * Gilbert, Iowa, a city * Gilbert, Louisiana, a village * Gilbert, Michigan, and unincorporated community * Gilbert, Minnesota, a city * Gilbert, Nevada, ghost town * Gilbert, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gilbert, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Gilbert, South Carolina, a town * Gilbert, West Virginia, a town * Gilbert, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Mount Gilbert (other), various mountains * Gilbert River (Oregon) Outer space * Gilbert (lunar crater) * Gilbert (Martian crater) Arts and ente ...
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Congo Peacock
The Congo peafowl (''Afropavo congensis''), also known as the African peafowl or ''mbulu'' by the Bakôngo, is a species of peafowl native to the Congo Basin. It is one of three peafowl species and the only member of the subfamily Pavoninae native to Africa. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. History Dr. Chapin noticed that the native Congolese headdresses contained long reddish-brown feathers that he could not identify with any previously known species of bird. Later, Chapin visited the Royal Museum of Central Africa and saw two stuffed specimens with similar feathers labeled as the 'Indian peacock' which he later discovered to be the Congo peafowl, a completely different species. In 1955 Chapin managed to find seven specimens of the species. The Congo peafowl has physical characteristics of both the peafowl and the guineafowl, which may indicate that the species is a link between the two families. Description The male (pea''cock'') of this species is a large ...
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Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. Her widely praised 1951 bestseller '' The Sea Around Us'' won her a U.S. National Book Award, recognition as a gifted writer and financial security. Her next book, ''The Edge of the Sea'', and the reissued version of her first book, '' Under the Sea Wind'', were also bestsellers. This sea trilogy explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to the depths. Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially some problems she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was the book ''Silent Spring'' (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedente ...
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Silent Spring
''Silent Spring'' is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting the industry's marketing claims unquestioningly. In the late 1950s, Carson began to work on environmental conservation, especially environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result of her research was ''Silent Spring'', which brought environmental concerns to the American public. The book was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, but it swayed public opinion and led to a reversal in U.S. pesticide policy, a nationwide ban on DDT for agricultural uses, and an environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Paull, John (2013"The Rachel Carson Letters and the Making of Silent Spring", Sage Open, 3 ( ...
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David Western
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel. In the Books of Samuel, he is described as a young shepherd and harpist who gains fame by slaying Goliath, a champion of the Philistines, in southern Canaan. David becomes a favourite of Saul, the first king of Israel; he also forges a notably close friendship with Jonathan, a son of Saul. However, under the paranoia that David is seeking to usurp the throne, Saul attempts to kill David, forcing the latter to go into hiding and effectively operate as a fugitive for several years. After Saul and Jonathan are both killed in battle against the Philistines, a 30-year-old David is anointed king over all of Israel and Judah. Following his rise to power, David c ...
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