Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters The Later Years
The second volume of primatologist Goodall's personal and  professional correspondence, this book is a welcome sequel to  the critically acclaimed Africa in My Blood. Like that  collection, it is edited by Goodall's sometime coauthor Dale  Peterson (The Deluge and the Ark), who has wisely retained  Goodall's erratic use of punctuation (e.g., multiple exclamation  points and emphatic dashes) rather than cleaning it up. As a  result, these letters have an immediacy and freshness that a  more traditional autobiography could not have conveyed.  Goodall's tendency to describe major scientific discoveries as  "so super" is both charming and moving. Writing to her family  about the chance discovery that ostriches use stones to break  open eggs, thus putting them in the same tool-utilizing class as  chimps, she exclaims, "I have to tell you our most EXCITING  news... It is dead secret at the moment till published in  Nature. A NEW TOOL!!!!! Isn't it FANTASTIC!!" Readers may also  be amused by Goodall's somewhat dismissive remarks about fellow  researcher Dian Fossey ("the gorilla girl"), her offhand  comments about her own groundbreaking research ("my chimp  stuff") and her habit of juxtaposing descriptions of her own  baby with those of chimp offspring. They also will be fascinated  to learn that some of Goodall's writings on more disturbing  topics such as a polio epidemic were rejected by National  Geographic on the grounds that they were "too sad." (July 12) Forecast: These letters confirm Goodall's reputation as a writer  whose capacity to empathize with the animals she studies truly  separates her from the pack. Her fans will clamor for this book.Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.