Table of Contents

Foreword - Hilary Bradt Introduction: My Adventurous and Astonishing Mother - Margaretta Jolly Chronology of events Dramatis Personae Map of Madagascar 1. 'Our country is committing suicide' Part I: Villages 2. Dancing in the Rainforest 3. Burning Baobabs, Death of Children 4. David Attenborough, Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur, and School Among the Baobabs 5. Eleanor and the Aye-Ayes Part II: Politics 6. Where Indri Sing 7. Napoleon Versus the Zoos 8. The Bank Corrals the Donors 9. Dishing out the Dough 10. Our Cash Killed Bedo 11. The Bank Goes to the Forest Part III: Environment and Development 12. Golden Bamboo Lemurs of Ranomafana 13. Patricia Walked the Boundaries 14. The Village of the Fig Tree 15. Development Meltdown 16. Real Life and DreamWorks 17. President Ratsiraka 18. Madame Berthe was Dancing Part IV: Weather 19. Famine in the South 20. Lemurs Coping 21. Scientists, People, Lemurs: Berenty, Bezà Mahafaly and Tsimanampetsotsa 22. Climate Change Part V: Money 23. Durban Vision; Rosewood Massacre 24. The New Mines 25. Where are We Now? References Photographic credits Index

Promotional Information

An eyewitness account of First World conservationists' attempts to rescue the extraordinary biodiversity of Madagascar, and the environment of its people.

About the Author

Alison Jolly (May 9, 1937–February 6, 2014) was a world renowned primatologist known for her studies of lemur biology. She wrote for both popular and scientific audiences and conducted extensive fieldwork on lemurs in Madagascar.

Reviews

[An] enchanting book… The tone is, by turns, lyrical, comic and irreverent while musings on the biggest issues sit beautifully alongside family moments, parties, and times when, confronted by tragedy, there was a need "to write all the feelings away". This is a poignant and passionate record of a life well lived and a timely reminder of the challenges Jolly’s beloved island still faces.
*Geographical*

The brutal honesty exhibited in her personal diaries and letters include both the successes and struggles of undertaking conservation in a developing country....vivid and beautifully written. So much so that it brought me to tears more than once, from both sadness and laughter.
*Progress in Development Studies*

We thank you, Alison Jolly, for your contribution of numerous books and articles as well as giving us these diaries and insights into Madagascar conservation and, above all, for your impassioned commitment to Madagascar, an example for the whole world.
*Quarterly Journal of Biology*

Without a doubt one of the very best books about conservation. It ranges from the author's work with Madagascar's fascinating and unique lemurs, efforts at all levels to protect their habitat, sympathetic descriptions of village life, and the often highly amusing stories of what goes on behind the scenes during high level meetings. The information presented in diary form makes you feel you were present, sharing the excitements, disappointments and triumphs that are part of the on going struggle to save the environment. And for those of us who knew and loved Allison, it is as though she is with us still, suggesting we do our best to save this planet for our children. I was truly absorbed from start to finish.
*Dr. Jane Goodall, UN Messenger of Peace*

Alison Jolly’s amazing eyewitness account takes us from the halls of the World Bank to the huts of forest villagers - and even to the ethics of mining companies. I recommend it especially to the Malagasy friends and colleagues who struggle for sustainability for our country.
*Leon Rajaobelina, Conservation International*

A gripping tale of the birthing years of the environmental movement in Madagascar. Alison Jolly is a great story-teller, and brings to life the first studies of the unique wildlife of Madagascar. Sometimes provocative, often funny and always with wisdom about human nature, this tale is history at its best, a first hand view of the intrigues of complex politics and the drive of determined researchers at the frontiers of wild science. The pathos of human poverty and the richness of wildlife are one story, and Alison Jolly brings you Madagascar with all its complexities.
*Patricia Wright, distinguished professor of anthropology, Stony Brook University, and founder of Centre ValBio in Madagascar*

A captivating and absorbing account that reveals how the people and the land of Madagascar captured her heart.
*Sir David Attenborough*