Unforgotten: The Wild Life of Dian Fossey and Her Relentless Quest to Save Mountain Gorillas - Hardcover

by Anita Silvey (Author)

Explore the fascinating life and legacy of groundbreaking primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey, who made it her life's mission to study and protect mountain gorillas, in this powerful biography from award-winning author Anita Silvey.

In 1963, young American Dian Fossey spent all her savings and took out a loan to realize her dream--to go to Africa. It soon became her life's mission to study and protect the few mountain gorillas left on Earth. Fossey had no experience or formal scientific training, but she was smart, passionate, and strong-willed--and she just happened to meet paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, who helped her pursue her goal of studying animals in the wild. Fossey set up a research camp and threw herself into tracking and observing mountain gorillas. Over the next 18 years, Fossey got closer to gorillas than any human ever had before. As she learned to mimic their behavior and became accepted by them, Fossey's studies grew into a labor of love and a mission to protect her beloved gorillas from poachers and other threats--no matter what the cost.

Sadly, Fossey was murdered at her camp in 1985, and to this day, her death remains a mystery. But her legacy lives on through the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund: In 1973 Fossey recorded only 275 gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park; there are about twice that many today. Fossey's story is one of tragedy, but also passion, science, and preservation. As Jane Goodall, once said, "If Dian had not been there, there might be no mountain gorillas in Rwanda today." Unforgotten is the dramatic conclusion to Silvey's trilogy of biographies on Leakey's "Trimates." With unparalleled storytelling, sidebars, maps, and an award-winning design, Unforgotten will inspire the next generation of budding scientists and conservationists.

Author Biography

As the author of 100 Best Books for Children, 500 Great Books for Teens, and Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book, ANITA SILVEY has devoted more than 50 years of her career to championing book that turn casual readers into lifelong book lovers. Books in this National Geographic series are Undaunted: The Wild Life of Birute Mary Galdikas and Her Fearless Quest to Save Orangutans and Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall. Recent books include Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger. Silvey has been a guest on NPR, The Today Show, 60 Minutes, and various radio programs to talk about the best books for young people. In a unique career in the children's book field, Silvey has divided her time equally between publishing, evaluating children's books, and writing. Her lifelong conviction that "only the very best of anything can be good enough for the young" forms the cornerstone of her work. Formerly publisher of children's books for Houghton Mifflin Company and editor in chief of The Horn Book magazine, she currently teaches modern book publishing, Modern Book Publishing and the History of Children's Book Publishing at Simmons University.