Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall

From the Publisher

Through a Window is the dramatic saga of thirty years in the life of an intimately intertwined community—one that reads like a novel, but is one of the most important scientific works ever published. The community is Gombe, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where the principal residents are chimpanzees and one extraordinary woman who is their student, protector, and historian.
In her classic In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall wrote of her first ten years at Gombe. In Through a Window she brings the story up to the present, painting a more complete and vivid portrait of our closest relatives. We watch young Figan’s relentless rise to power and old Mike’s crushing defeat. We learn how one mother rears her children to succeed and another dooms hers to failure. We witness horrifying murders, touching moments of affection, joyous births, and wrenching deaths. In short, we see every emotion known to humans stripped to its essence. In the mirror of chimpanzee life, we see ourselves reflected.

Publishers Weekly

Her first 10 years at Gombe (Tanzania) on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika produced the classic In the Shadow of Man. A fitting successor to that work, Goodall's newest continues the saga of the chimpanzee families with an engrossing account of animal behavior. She examines the mother-child relationship, noting that young males must sever the ties in order to learn male responsibiities (patrolling, repelling intruders, searching for food). There are profiles of special individuals: Goblin, who was determined to rise to the top and stay there; Jomeo, without social ambition; Gigi, a sterile female; Melissa, mother of successful offspring. Other stories of the chimpanzees include a brutal war between troops; a gruesome affair of cannibalism; incidents of injury, death and grief. The reader gets promptly involved with the characters -- they have distinct personalities. In the final chapters, Goodall turns to the plight of wild chimpanzees today (loss of habitat) and the appalling living conditions of those in captivity (including laboratory animals). An important book for students of behavior.

"Jane Goodall's work with chimpanzees represents one of the Western world's great scientific achievements." -- Stephen Jay Gould

Library Journal

World renowned chimpanzee expert and field researcher Goodall scores another hit with this new account of her observances in the field. Readers who enjoyed Goodall's In the Shadow of Man ( LJ 12/1/71) will delight in this continuation of the familiar (human and animal) characters in new situations. Despite her depth of knowledge, Goodall has obviously kept her audience in mind; her book never gets bogged down by technical terminology. Instead, one encounters a very descriptive writing style in which Goodall strongly conveys the social forces that shape chimpanzee behavior and mirror those which must have faced early humans as well. Readers may not agree with the parallels Goodall draws between apes and humans, but they will neverthess be entertained by her theories. For more scientific information on the same subject, try Goodall's own The Chimpanzees of Gombe ( LJ 8/86). This more popular account is highly recommended for general readers with an interest in wildlife, conservation, and adventure.-- Edell Marie Peters, Brookfield P.L., Wis.

School Library Journal

(YA) -- The detailed observations of the life, habits, and behavior of chimpanzees in the wild continues in this interesting account. The conversational storytelling style is readable for both science students and non-science-oriented teens. Readers meet the assertive but caring Gigi; the aggressive Goblin; and the cannibalistic Passion. Chapters are organized around either a theme or a particular chimp who displays a special character trait. The last two chapters and two appendixes are special pleas for conservation and wildlife management to prevent the extinction of chimpanzees in the wild and for care of the chimps used in laboratories. --Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Booknews

Everything that Goodall writes becomes, by virtue of scientific import, an instant classic. In her book In the shadow of man she wrote of her first ten years at Gombe, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where the principal residents (other than herself) are chimpanzees. In this equally remarkable volume she brings the story up to the present, further completing her portrait of this animal community. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Christian Science Monitor

The author of The Chimpanzees of Gombe presents an account of her observation of wild chimpanzees. The book is divided "into twenty chapters: eight on themes like war, love, power, and mothers and daughters; six on particularly captivating personalities in the chimp community; three background chapters; two that comment on . . . human exploitation of chimpanzees; and one that makes comparisons between humans and {chimpanzees}.

What People Are Saying

Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould

Jane Goodall's work with chimpanzees represents one of the Western world's great scientific achievements.

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