Table of Contents
AVAILABLE UP CLOSE TITLES:
RACHEL CARSON by Ellen Levine
JOHNNY CASH by Anne E. Neimark
ELLA FITZGERALD by Tanya Lee Stone
JANE GOODALL by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
ROBERT F. KENNEDY by Marc Aronson
THURGOOD MARSHALL by Chris Crowe
ELVIS PRESLEY by Wilborn Hampton
JOHN STEINBECK by Milton Meltzer
OPRAH WINFREY by Ilene Cooper
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT by Jan Adkins
FUTURE UP CLOSE TITLES:
W. E. B. Du BOIS by Tonya Bolden
BILL GATES by Marc Aronson
HARPER LEE by Kerry Madden
RONALD REAGAN by James Sutherland
BABE RUTH by Wilborn Hampton
Foreword
I MET JANE GOODALL in 1984. I was six and a half years old, and she was on TV. My parents were picky about what I could watch, but a National Geographic special was acceptable. The show was called Among the Wild Chimpanzeesand I was hooked. The first time she materialized out of the jumble of leaves and branches, I thought that she must have been the bravest woman in the world. When I saw her sitting within just a few feet of wild chimps, I knew she must have been the bravest woman in the world.
On TV, the chimps were fascinating, with complex lives and emotions. My cousin, who in my mind knew everythinghe was in college!laughingly told me that chimps were just mindless brutes. I didnt understand how anyone could have thought that. Jane walked among them with ease, as if she was following children instead of wild animals. By the end of the documentary, Jane was my new hero. I admired her tenacity, her determination, and her intelligence. I began to read everything I could about Jane and her work, even checking out a worn, dog-eared copy of her book In the Shadow of Man from the library. I vowed that someday I would follow in Janes footsteps.
Though I didnt grow up to be Jane Goodall, I did travel to Africanot to Gombe, but to Botswana and South Africa. It was very different from Janes experienceI honestly dont have the bravery to sleep on a camp cot in a tent, with nothing between me and wild animals but a stretch of canvas. And I cant imagine living for months with no electricity, no running water, and no wireless Internet!
I did, however, get to experience the adventure of seeing Africa in all its wild glory. One night I was able to watch a herd of elephants, mothers and babies, converge on a watering hole at sunset. When our Land Rover ventured a bit too close, one of the humongous mothers turned and glared, a warning to us to stay back. The rest of the herd continued, unbothered, to drink and splash in the waning light. It was one of the most spectacular sights I had ever seen in my life. I thought back for a moment to the little girl who had been so captivated by Jane Goodalls pioneering and courageous work at Gombe, and I felt as if I had, in a very small way, shared in the thrill Jane must have experienced.
The chimpanzee Jane called David Greybeard reaches for her hand. David was one of the first chimps to trust Jane.
Introduction
ALL DAY, JANE GOODALL had scoured the terrain of the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve. She scrambled up and down the rugged trails, over the mountain slopes, and through the forested valleys. Since dawn that morning she had been on her feet, yet she still had not spotted a single chimpanzee.
Soon she reached the Peak, a high spot with a marvelous view of the land below. The Peak was Janes favorite spot to go looking for chimpanzees. Since it was almost five oclock in the evening, Jane knew there was not much more daylight left. She would have to stop her observations and head back to camp soon. Hopefully, she could catch a glimpse of a chimp making a night nest in a tree before the darkness forced her to go home.
A scream pierced the airJane recognized it as the cry of a young chimpanzee. She scanned the horizon with her binoculars and soon spotted a group of four chimps quarreling over some fruit. The argument quickly ended, and the group settled in to eat peacefully.
Jane carefully made her way closer to the chimps. For ten minutes she crept silently toward a gnarled old fig treebut by the time she arrived, the chimps were gone. Depression began to overcome Jane; despite her best efforts, the apes had realized she was approaching and departed.
Then something caught Janes eye. Less than twenty yards away, two male chimps were staring directly at her. She recognized the one she had named David Greybeard and the other as his constant companion Goliath. Jane braced herself for the chimps inevitable flight and escape, since every chimp she approached always had.
This time, however, was different. David and Goliath merely stared, even when Jane slowly sat down. After a few moments, the two apes began to groom each other. Two more chimpanzees soon materializeda female and a young ape. Jane turned in their direction; they dipped down out of sight, only to reappear forty yards away. They, too, watched Jane silently.
Jane wrote that for over half a year I had been trying to overcome the chimpanzees inherent fear of me, the fear which made them vanish into the undergrowth whenever I approached.... Now two males were sitting so close that I could almost hear them breathing. For ten minutes David and Goliath continued to groom. Then David stood and stared directly at Jane. Her shadow fell over him; Jane sat terrified that the small change in the light would be enough to spook him. It did not, and when Jane hurried back to camp that night, she reveled in the triumph of the day.
Edgar Rice Burroughss books about Tarzan made a lasting impression on Jane, who was an avid reader.
One
MARGARET MYFANWE JOSEPH often heard admirers compare her to a green-eyed goddess. Vanne, as she was called by everyone, had fine features, rich chestnut hair, and a warm smile. When her future husband, Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall, saw her walking one evening near his London apartment, he fell off the stairsjust to get her attention.
Mortimer was blue-eyed, blond, tall, and handsome. He and Vanne quickly became friends, and eventually they married. Though they got along well, the two were sort of a mismatched pair. Vanne was quiet and somewhat solitary, and dreamed of being a writer someday. Mortimer, on the other hand, had a passion for machines and technology, especially fast cars. He drove an Aston Martin racer and lived what Vanne described as a whirly kind of life.
Vanne did not share her husbands love for race cars, though she supported Mortimer as he tried to build a career as a race car driver. In 1933 he was asked to join the team of Aston Martins in the Le Mans Grand Prix dEndurance, one of the sports most grueling races. Drivers were expected to race as many laps as they could in twenty-four hours, from four oclock one afternoon to the same time the next day. Mortimer did well enough in that race to join the Aston Martin team, kicking off his professional race car-driving career. The couple must have celebrated Mortimers good fortuneapproximately nine months later, on April 3, 1934, at around 11:30 at night, the Morris-Goodalls welcomed their first child into the world. The baby, a girl, was named Valerie Jane.
