Gorillas In The Mist Review

Gorillas in the Mist is the incredible story of Dian Fossey, an American Primatologist who spent the prime of her life studying and tracking gorillas. Throughout the story, she tells of the hardships that she had to face in order to study these magnificent creatures. At one point, when she was just beginning to get deep into her research and make incredible studies, all of her work was destroyed by a local militia and she was forced to leave the area. However, despite all of this, she refused to give up. Even though she came very close to calling it quits, she stuck through to the end and continued to make her discoveries. This was a truly inspiring story that never failed to amaze me. It was also very entertaining due to the fact that I personally love gorillas. To experience half of the stuff that Dian was fortunate enough to experience is truly a dream of mine.
My favorite part was Dian’s initial reaction with the Native people of the area, it shows the cultural gap between the two and how different they are.
However, she manages to make the best of the situation. She manages to show her charm and how she manages to thrive in a difficult and foreign environment. She attempts to be as kind as possible to the strangers and is very kind to the children. It was very entertaining to hear of the children’s reactions to a new stranger in their home town. Another great moment from the story is her first interaction with the gorillas. Just the excitement that she is overwhelmed by is truly fascinating. To work so hard to find something so spectacular must be one of the most amazing feelings in the world. She truly seems as if she had a dream come true and hasn’t ever experienced such joy in her life. The way she describes the creatures and her feelings toward them was truly awesome in the literal definition of the
word. Throughout the story, you can tell just how tenacious she is and just how committed she is to learning more about the gorillas. She doesn’t back down from any of the adversities that she is faced with. It is impressive to see just how committed she is to her dream. I chose this book simply because I have always been deeply fascinated with large apes, gorillas in particular. I have heard many stories about humans interacting with these animals and how some of them managed to integrate into their society. It has always been so incredibly fascinating to me and I try to learn more about them every chance I can get. One incredible story that I have been intrigued by was Koko the gorilla. Now, she was raised from birth in captivity, but she has done some truly incredible things. She knows sign language, can have extensive conversations with anyone, and, as strange as it sounds, even has a pet cat. It is truly incredible to read about the emotions that Koko can show and just how extensive her mind is. One truly heartbreaking event was when she asked her caretakers to let her speak to the world about the destruction of habitats. Now, this was most likely staged, but the fact that she could even relay the message put so much weight behind it. I am truly in love with Koko and all of the intelligence that she holds. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a love of nature, and especially a love for apes. It was truly incredible to read about these creatures and about Dian Fossey’s story. It was truly incredible, and truly entertaining. She made some breakthrough discoveries with her time in Africa and was able to truly dive into the minds of these creatures to learn more about them. Anyone in the world would be truly fortunate to be able to experience something like this and I hope I can fall in love for my work as much as she did.