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    Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm
    Unavailable
    Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm
    Unavailable
    Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm
    Audiobook10 hours

    Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm

    Written by Monte Reel

    Narrated by Bob Walter

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The unbelievably riveting adventure of an unlikely young explorer who emerged from the jungles of Africa with evidence of a mysterious, still mythical beast-the gorilla-only to stumble straight into the center of the biggest debate of the day: Darwin's theory of evolution

    In 1856 Paul Du Chaillu marched into the equatorial wilderness of West Africa determined to bag an animal that, according to legend, was nothing short of a monster. When he emerged three years later, the summation of his efforts only hinted at what he'd experienced in one of the most dangerous regions on earth. Armed with an astonishing collection of zoological specimens, Du Chaillu leapt from the physical challenges of the jungle straight into the center of the biggest issues of the time-the evolution debate, racial discourse, the growth of Christian fundamentalism-and helped push each to unprecedented intensities. He experienced instant celebrity, but with that fame came whispers-about his past, his credibility, and his very identity-which would haunt the young man. Grand in scope, immediate in detail, and propulsively readable, Between Man and Beast brilliantly combines Du Chaillu's personal journey with the epic tale of a world hovering on the sharp edge of transformation.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 12, 2013
    ISBN9780385362627
    Unavailable
    Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm
    Author

    Monte Reel

    Monte Reel lives in Buenos Aires with his wife and daughter. He was the South America correspondent for The Washington Post from 2004-2008 and previously wrote for the paper in Washington and Iraq. 

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    Reviews for Between Man and Beast

    3.5/5

    54 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Very fascinating history. If the description sounds in any way interesting to you, by all means give it a read. The book is exceptionally well-written.
    • 4/5
      Excellent book. The explorer Paul Du Chaillu usually isn't given much attention today but for a time he was the ultimate great white explorer and hunter. There were other African explorers besides Stanley, Livingston and Burton. Reel doesn't merely recount Du Chaillu's memoirs, but shows how his discoveries had a wide impact on culture and science. A fantastic book that brings the period alive with a deep and multidisciplinary view of the mid-19th century.
    • 2/5
      It seems difficult at times to appreciate how slowly knowledge grew and was shared prior to the 20th century. Africa, "The Dark Continent", remained mysterious to the enlightened Western mind,and largely unexplored well into the 19th century. When the opportunity to gain understanding did appear, prejudice, arrogance, and ignorance arose quickly to put out the light. While there was much I found interesting, it fell short of capturing the imagination or suspense of what each new discovery would bring. Likewise, the perspective and impact the explorer's work has on the arguments that rage on to this day, especially evolution, was disappointing.
    • 4/5
      An unknown story (to me) of a Victorian African explorer (Paul Du Chaillu) who seems to have been missed after Livingston, Stanley, Speke, Burton, et al. It fuses the Victorian ideal of the civilized explorer with the resulting changes in thoughtt/philosophy fro the additional scientific knowledge that these great explorations brought back to Europe. This book focuses on the discovery and capture of the great gorilla, its display in Europe and America, and the debate that it brought between Darwin and his detractors. A well written, poignant story of a man who rose to great heights and then fell back to earth.
    • 5/5
      Summary: Paul Du Chaillu was not a typical explorer of the Victorian age, but he did have a distinction that no other explorer of his age could claim: he was the first white man to see a gorilla. In the 1850s, orangutans and chimpanzees were familiar to naturalists, but the gorilla was at best a fragmented tale passed among African natives of giant man-eating beasts that lived deep in the continent's interior jungles, backed up by a few skulls that had made their way to Europe. Paul Du Chaillu grew up in coastal Gabon, and mounted an expedition to the tribes of that jungle, where he finally saw (and shot) the rumors made flesh: a gorilla. His discoveries barely made a stir in America, but they caused a sensation in England, catapulting Du Chaillu into the spotlight. However, Du Chaillu's discovery came at a time shortly after the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, when man's relation to the rest of the animal kingdom was a subject of hot debate, and the revelation of an ape with so many human-like qualities set the scientific community abuzz.Review: This was a great book; exactly the kind of history I love. I love stories of adventuring and exploration, so we've got that. I love the history of science, particularly in the Victorian era, with cabinet museums and scientific lectures being the fashionable places for the upper class to be seen. And finally, of course, I'm always interested in the history of evolutionary thought. I'd heard Du Chaillu's name before, as the discoverer of the gorilla, but I didn't really know much if anything about him. His is a fascinating story, from his origins which he tried so hard (and successfully, during his lifetime) to keep hidden, to his travels in Africa, America, and England, his rise and fall from grace, and the personalities of the era with which he interacted. So this book managed to tie a lot of my interests together into one very readable package. Reel does an excellent job telling his story, particularly in terms of balancing Du Chaillu's biography with a pretty comprehensive view of what was going on in the British scientific community at the time, and explaining why Du Chaillu and his gorillas caused the stir that they did. His prose is very readable; he neatly walks the fine line between keeping the story lively and personal without prefacing everything with a hypothetical, or speculating too far afield from his primary sources in terms of what people were thinking or feeling. It's really one of the best historical biographies I've read, in terms of keeping things moving, interesting, and in context, without having an obtrusive authorial presence or engaging in unwarranted speculation. It really feels like half adventure story and half history of science, and was just really engaging, informative, and fun to read. 4.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: If you like history of science, African exploration stories, biographies, or gorillas, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up.
    • 3/5
      This book has a lively style, and is written in short chapters. It fails on the front of promising to delve into the evolution controversies of the 19th century in some depths, and then doesn't. But as a narrative of the life of Paul Chaillu, the explorer of Gabon, and the discoverer of the Gorilla, it does an adequate job. It also has short bios of many of the figures of the evolution struggle, but not much depth on them. It does give an example of the general shape of academic conflicts, so has some value there. I'd call it good summer reading. the picture are adequate, and there could have been better maps.Du Chaillu provided sensationalist fiction with two stereotypes, The Great White Hunter and the Crazy Scientist.
    • 4/5
      In 1856, Paul Du Chaillu ventured into the African jungle in search of a mythic beast, the gorilla. After wild encounters with vicious cannibals, deadly snakes, and tribal kings, Du Chaillu emerged with 20 preserved gorilla skins—two of which were stuffed and brought on tour—and walked smack dab into the biggest scientific debate of the time: Darwin's theory of evolution. Quickly, Du Chaillu's trophies went from objects of wonder to key pieces in an all-out intellectual war. With a wide range of characters, including Abraham Lincoln, Arthur Conan Doyle, P.T Barnum, Thackeray, and of course, Charles Darwin, this is a one of a kind book about a singular moment in history.
    • 4/5
      In the height of scientific expansion, exploration and experimentation of Victorian England, the establishment, Church and Society often clashed as theories were debated, proposed, proven and dismissed. A fascinating study of the politics and societal tolerance (or lack thereof) of the day is provided with details of interactions and studies by luminaries of the scientific community. Add to that a beautifully detailed narrative of the expedition into Gabon lead by Paul du Chaillu, in which he discovered the gorilla.

      Paul du Chaillu is a name lost in history; the resistance met to his discoveries is detailed with exacting precision. Reel has interwoven the narrative of his journey and discoveries with the discussions and debates in the scientific communities at the time, a particularly satisfying technique that helps the reader follow the ever changing landscape in both stories. In each narrative, the scientific, personal and even religious prejudices all come into focus: du Chailu is particularly honest about his nervousness regarding his safety when surrounded only by natives. With du Chaillu’s discovery of the gorilla, the debate surrounding evolution became even more divisive and heated, requiring his return to validate his findings amid great skepticism and even greater obstacles to recognition.

      Monte Reel has created a compelling work that provides readers with a fully researched factual book that reads more like a novel, and provides readers with an interesting view into one of the great debates of the time, that still resonates today. Additionally, the information that credits the expeditions and life of du Chaillu as inspirational for literary scions like Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs and even the film King Kong help to place du Chaillu into the mind of readers familiar only with Livingstone, Stanley and Speke.

      I received an eBook ARC copy from Doubleday via Eidelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
    • 4/5
      Many people have heard of the African explorations of Stanley and Livingstone but very few even know the name of Paul Du Chaillu who actually probably accomplished more in terms of natural history and scientific knowledge by being the first to document Gorillas and Pygmies. To do this he had to overcome the biases of the scientific community who did not accept his initial findings causing him to go back to Africa a second time for further documentation. Another sidelight is the fact that Du Chaillu was half African in his heritage, a fact that he delicately concealed over the years as he would have been expelled by the British scientific community. A well written book that shows both the good and bad of African exploration.
    • 3/5
      In a time when the world seems to have shrunk and all corners are easily reached, when the bright light of science and technology seem to eliminate any dark shadows from our world, it is hard to imagine the mystery, anticipation, and indeed fear that surrounded the exploration of Darkest Africa. In the mid-eighteen hundreds most of the African continent was an unknown mystery to the people of Europe. It would be an age that spawned noted European explorers and scientists such as Stanley and Livingstone, Richard Burton and John Spence. Charles Darwin's theories were beginning to rock the foundations of science. One explorer who would contribute greatly to the opening of Africa and it's secrets was Paul Du Chaillu. While little known today, he had a great impact on adding to the knowledge of West Africa and more specifically on one species of animal in particular, the almost mythical gorilla. Scientists in Europe had never before had reliable specimens of the gorilla until Du Chaillu, who grew up in West Africa, brought more than a dozen carcasses to Europe and the United States. The story here lies not so much in his explorations, but in the uproar he caused in the scientific community. Many noted scientists chose not to believe Du Chaillu had actually explored West Africa and shot the gorilla's himself. After all many noted European explorers had tried and failed to bring back this legendary beast. He was alternately revered and ridiculed for years as he tried to convince everyone of the truth of his adventures. His detractors besmirched him not only in print by attacking his accomplishments, but also attacked him personally, casting aspersions upon his mixed heritage. This book is an interesting investigation into the life and trials of a man who rose from obscurity to the summit of the scientific community only to be reviled and forced into attempting to recover his reputation by returning once again to the land whose secrets he had helped reveal. Book provided for review by Doubleday.