Richard Leakey and Virginia Morell: Wildlife Wars

By MARGIE THOMSON

It was an image that flashed around the world: 2000 elephant tusks put to the torch by Kenya's president Daniel arap Moi in 1989, an inspired moment in the fight to stop ivory poaching.

It was the idea of Richard Leakey, who had just been put in charge of Kenya's wildlife management, an unenviable job that brought him into direct confrontation with corrupt officials, with Moi himself, and of course with the poachers.

In 1993 Leakey lost both his legs when his Cessna crashed, in what many believe was an act of sabotage, and he has since undergone more than 13 operations in order to walk again.

Anything the Leakey family does is interesting and this book is an insight into the fascinating, dangerous and unpredictable world of white men in African politics, sociology and science.

Macmillan

$39.95