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A review by sammy234
Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall
5.0
I found this memoir absolutely fascinating. Adding it to my favorites list. It's nothing like what I usually read, but even so, it completely sucked me in. It read less like a book about chimpanzee behavior and more like a story about a multigenerational family.
Jane Goodall's love and respect for these animals was evident as I read, and it made me connect to them, when before I had honestly found chimpanzees very frightening and strange. That's not to say she romanticizes them at all. She's very candid about the fact that they are a violent species, capable of great cruelty, but also capable of empathy and love.
I watched the documentary based on this book a couple days ago out of curiosity, and while it is very beautiful visually, I don't really recommend it. It only gives surface information and the book is much more informative and engrossing, though it focuses less on Jane's life and more on the lives of the chimpanzees.
Jane Goodall's love and respect for these animals was evident as I read, and it made me connect to them, when before I had honestly found chimpanzees very frightening and strange. That's not to say she romanticizes them at all. She's very candid about the fact that they are a violent species, capable of great cruelty, but also capable of empathy and love.
I watched the documentary based on this book a couple days ago out of curiosity, and while it is very beautiful visually, I don't really recommend it. It only gives surface information and the book is much more informative and engrossing, though it focuses less on Jane's life and more on the lives of the chimpanzees.