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Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man
When Louis Leakey first heard about Jane Goodall’s discovery that chimps fashion and use tools, he sent her a telegram: “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as human.”
But when Goodall first presented her discoveries at a scientific conference, she was ridiculed by the powerful chairman, who warned one of his distinguished colleagues not to be misled by her “glamour.” She was too young, too blond, too pretty to be a serious scientist, and worse yet, she still had virtually no formal scientific training. She had been a secretarial school graduate whom Leakey had sent out to study chimps only when he couldn’t find anyone better qualified to take the job. And he couldn’t tell her what to do once she was in the field— nobody could—because no one before had made such an intensive and long-term study of wild apes.
Dale Peterson shows clearly and convincingly how truly remarkable Goodall’s accomplishments were and how unlikely it is that anyone else could have duplicated them. Peterson details not only how Jane Goodall revolutionized the study of primates, our closest relatives, but how she helped set radically new standards and a new intellectual style in the study of animal behavior. And he reveals the very private quest that led to another sharp turn in her life, from scientist to activist.
But when Goodall first presented her discoveries at a scientific conference, she was ridiculed by the powerful chairman, who warned one of his distinguished colleagues not to be misled by her “glamour.” She was too young, too blond, too pretty to be a serious scientist, and worse yet, she still had virtually no formal scientific training. She had been a secretarial school graduate whom Leakey had sent out to study chimps only when he couldn’t find anyone better qualified to take the job. And he couldn’t tell her what to do once she was in the field— nobody could—because no one before had made such an intensive and long-term study of wild apes.
Dale Peterson shows clearly and convincingly how truly remarkable Goodall’s accomplishments were and how unlikely it is that anyone else could have duplicated them. Peterson details not only how Jane Goodall revolutionized the study of primates, our closest relatives, but how she helped set radically new standards and a new intellectual style in the study of animal behavior. And he reveals the very private quest that led to another sharp turn in her life, from scientist to activist.
752 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2006
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2727 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
October 13, 2020
Never thought I would enjoy an almost 700 page book so much, but the story never dragged and the subject is fascinating. The last section felt rushed and out of sync with the rest of the book but it was still interesting to hear about Jane Goodall's transition from scientist to scientist/activist. Worth the time just to read about how she dealt with Louis Leakey hitting on her for a couple of years before he let her alone to do her amazing work.
October 30, 2009
I picked up this book because I thought it would be fascinating to read. Oftentimes, the famous, our role models and those who influence history become idolized or mythized...given a saint like status. And, its always fascinating to learn about the experiences that moulded a person to change the world or challenge a belief or political system. Unfortunately, this overlong biography didn't teach me anything about Jane Goodall. In fact, while I was fighting insomnia, this was a great book to help win the battle. I know there are many reviews that rave about the writing, stories and biography, but I found myself getting lost and confused with the over-descriptions! I'm giving up on this one, but I'm still interested in learning more about Jane Goodall and am going to look into one of the other biographies or maybe one of her own books (i.e. In the Shadow of Man).
March 5, 2019
I love this book, Jane Goodall is such a super wonderful woman, and she just became this presence of woman power. She became the top woman of all thinks chimpanzee in the world. She went through much hardship but accomplished so much, and she is still thriving today. This book goes through every stage of her life and the people she meets and accumulated. But also the detailed notes and relationships with the chimps themselves, and how she watched them grown and progress before her very eyes. Then many mentions of her many colleagues and their great successes as well was quite fascinating but did make the book very long. I recommend buckling down for a long haul for this book and have your patients with it. But a delightful book to read
June 26, 2010
We all get lucky breaks but few can do as much as a result of it as has Jane Goodall.
Starting out as a secretary for Louis Leakey, a wonderful scientist with a fondness for inexperienced young women and a burning desire to send them off to study apes, Goodall found herself in the environment of African animals that she had dreamed of as a child.
From her initial solo observations of chimpanzees, she proved her abilities as a researcher, scientist, author and humanitarian. This list of her accomplishments and the amount of energy she has put into them are remarkable and admirable.
I thought to myself as I read this book - what would the world be like if all humans though history had made the effort to communicate with other species that Goodall did? Native-Americans certainly had an understanding of the ways of animals, as did those who lived on farms. So perhaps this question only reveals my identity as a city-dweller and what Goodall discovered was only re-discovered after having been lost.
Peterson has co-authored works with Goodall and this is a very friendly book for her. At times it reads like a mild novel but invariably Goodall comes up shining as one would expect from an admirer. This book isn't the place to look for the unexpected or a deep character analysis.
It's a valuable account of her work and very attractive in the way it moves in and out of both chimp and human culture, building a strong case for sympathetic treatment of all animals.
Goodall has had a series of good ideas that have continually expanded the work of her institute. No one should doubt this is a better world because she came along. People can be driven for various reasons. For many people money is the lure. For Jane Goodall, it has been a desire to improve the lot of all living things.
Starting out as a secretary for Louis Leakey, a wonderful scientist with a fondness for inexperienced young women and a burning desire to send them off to study apes, Goodall found herself in the environment of African animals that she had dreamed of as a child.
From her initial solo observations of chimpanzees, she proved her abilities as a researcher, scientist, author and humanitarian. This list of her accomplishments and the amount of energy she has put into them are remarkable and admirable.
I thought to myself as I read this book - what would the world be like if all humans though history had made the effort to communicate with other species that Goodall did? Native-Americans certainly had an understanding of the ways of animals, as did those who lived on farms. So perhaps this question only reveals my identity as a city-dweller and what Goodall discovered was only re-discovered after having been lost.
Peterson has co-authored works with Goodall and this is a very friendly book for her. At times it reads like a mild novel but invariably Goodall comes up shining as one would expect from an admirer. This book isn't the place to look for the unexpected or a deep character analysis.
It's a valuable account of her work and very attractive in the way it moves in and out of both chimp and human culture, building a strong case for sympathetic treatment of all animals.
Goodall has had a series of good ideas that have continually expanded the work of her institute. No one should doubt this is a better world because she came along. People can be driven for various reasons. For many people money is the lure. For Jane Goodall, it has been a desire to improve the lot of all living things.
March 3, 2010
This book was a very detailed account of Jane Goodall's life, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. When finished, I felt like I was given real insight into who she was, why she cared so much for animals, and the importance of what she has accomplished in her life. The book was greatly aided by the fact that Goodall has always been a prolific letter-writer, so the book included a lot of Goodall's own thoughts and feelings. She also is a very delightful writer, so the tone of the book was very enjoyable. It left me wanting to go read more about Goodall, Dian Fossey, and other people in that vein.
March 20, 2016
This was a really interesting book - I didn't know much about Jane Goodall before reading this, but as a big animal lover I enjoyed learning about her. It was also very readable and accessible, which is nice when you're reading such a long book! I did think that it was a bit overly detailed at times, and sometimes the organization felt a bit off. Overall though I really enjoyed reading this and I would recommend it to anybody looking for an interesting biography to read.
Want to read
April 4, 2008I've given up on this book for now. It is very detailed, and I'm impatient with all the details about her childhood pets, riding lessons, etc. I'll try again later. If you want to know EVERYTHING about Jane Goodall, this is the book for you.
February 20, 2024
Extremely thorough
Extremely thorough account of the life of a fascinating woman. Jane Goodall is proof that one person can change the world. She is best known for her 30 years of chimp research, but she also did so much to help all species, including humans. I enjoyed reading about her life because I tend to put humanitarians such as Jane on a pedestal, so reading about some imperfect things that she did made her seem more human to me. However, I did give this three stars, because it felt almost overly thorough. I feel that I now know more about Jane than many of my closest friends. I didn’t think it was necessary to be given all the life details of everyone she encountered. It was definitely a much longer book than I anticipated, but I’m glad I read it. Jane is an inspirational person.
Extremely thorough account of the life of a fascinating woman. Jane Goodall is proof that one person can change the world. She is best known for her 30 years of chimp research, but she also did so much to help all species, including humans. I enjoyed reading about her life because I tend to put humanitarians such as Jane on a pedestal, so reading about some imperfect things that she did made her seem more human to me. However, I did give this three stars, because it felt almost overly thorough. I feel that I now know more about Jane than many of my closest friends. I didn’t think it was necessary to be given all the life details of everyone she encountered. It was definitely a much longer book than I anticipated, but I’m glad I read it. Jane is an inspirational person.
Read
November 16, 2021DNF at 20 pgs.
I want to read about Jane Goodall. I am not interested in lists of minutiae. Do I really need to know what her mother's sister's cousin's roommate wore to her parents wedding?
This may be a great biography I just do not have the time to wade through all of that pointless padding for page number.
I want to read about Jane Goodall. I am not interested in lists of minutiae. Do I really need to know what her mother's sister's cousin's roommate wore to her parents wedding?
This may be a great biography I just do not have the time to wade through all of that pointless padding for page number.
November 12, 2015
Dale Peterson provides a thorough and expert account of the life of Jane Goodall in this biography that left me feeling smarter, a little sadder, and ultimately inspired. The book starts off a bit sluggishly with stories about Jane's grandparents and parents, and focuses a bit too long on her childhood years, but the meat (for lack of a better term) of the book covers her time spent at Gombe researching chimp lifestyles and behaviors, and her subsequent catapult to stardom as a researcher. Peterson provides just the right balance between Jane's research, her personal life, and the lives of the chimps she is studying. I really enjoyed following some of Jane's favorite chimps through life as I followed her on her parallel path.
Writing a biography of a living person creates some obstacles, and I think a weakness of this one is the way it speeds through the years of Jane's life leading up to the publication of this book. I was fascinated by Jane's decisions to become a vegetarian, connect with animal rights and environmental organizations, and then begin lobbying for the chimps in research facilities to be given better living conditions. Unfortunately, the section of the book covering this chunk of her life feels a bit rushed - maybe because she is still living it.
Overall, I highly recommend this bio for anyone interested in animal rights, scientific research, or Jane Goodall the public figure. The passion infusing her life is evident and contagious, even through the secondhand contact of a biography.
Writing a biography of a living person creates some obstacles, and I think a weakness of this one is the way it speeds through the years of Jane's life leading up to the publication of this book. I was fascinated by Jane's decisions to become a vegetarian, connect with animal rights and environmental organizations, and then begin lobbying for the chimps in research facilities to be given better living conditions. Unfortunately, the section of the book covering this chunk of her life feels a bit rushed - maybe because she is still living it.
Overall, I highly recommend this bio for anyone interested in animal rights, scientific research, or Jane Goodall the public figure. The passion infusing her life is evident and contagious, even through the secondhand contact of a biography.
February 26, 2018
Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man [Hardcover] is about a women scientist named Jane Goodall. Ms. Goodall, had no scientific experience whatsoever when she was sent to be a researcher in the jungles of Eastern Africa to study chimpanzees. But even without that experience, she became one of the world's greatest African researchers. Through sickness and trials, Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man tells the story of a young women who truly redefined the definition of man.
Jane was born in London, England in 1934. She was raised without any major science education. In her early 20's Jane traveled to Africa. While working at a museum, Jane met Dr. Luis Leakey. As a result of that meeting, Jane was sent to Africa to study chimpanzees. Since she had no experience whatsoever, after a few years, Dr. Leakey sent her to study at Cambridge University, to earn her Ph.D. This led to many more opportunities in the field of science.
In my opinion, and Jane's, this was " a simply lovely book". Dale Peterson describes Jane's live in great detail. He includes quotes from diaries, field journals, and Jane herself. I only wish that Mr. Peterson would include Jane Goodall's other achievements.
Jane was born in London, England in 1934. She was raised without any major science education. In her early 20's Jane traveled to Africa. While working at a museum, Jane met Dr. Luis Leakey. As a result of that meeting, Jane was sent to Africa to study chimpanzees. Since she had no experience whatsoever, after a few years, Dr. Leakey sent her to study at Cambridge University, to earn her Ph.D. This led to many more opportunities in the field of science.
In my opinion, and Jane's, this was " a simply lovely book". Dale Peterson describes Jane's live in great detail. He includes quotes from diaries, field journals, and Jane herself. I only wish that Mr. Peterson would include Jane Goodall's other achievements.
March 13, 2019
An interesting book especially the early years - how Jane gets involved with chimps and the research she made famous. Learning about her family, early social life, and her marriage was also fascinating. However the book was often very slow as it described her day to day activities. I find some biographies do that and it’s okay if you are researching or writing a thesis but not if you just want to learn about someone’s life. But I’m more of a Jane Goodall fan now than before as I understand and appreciate many if the difficulties she faced compiling the research. She’s a remarkable scientist and we have her to thank for much information about these startling creatures.
March 25, 2012
I've been anxious to read this book for a while. I've admired Dr. Goodall for a long time and even had the pleasure of hearing her speak and getting her autograph several years ago. She has most certainly been the inspiration and model for me for putting a more "personal face" on science, making it more accessible to non-scientists. This biography was very informational for me to see how she became the woman, scientist, and activist she is today. I feel like if I read it again, I would learn even more. Definitely a must-read for any lover of animals and the natural world.
January 1, 2010
Admittedly, I haven't read many biographies, so take this review with a grain of salt. At first, I loved the rich details the author included of everything going on in Goodall's life. But, after awhile, the details because cumbersome, making the book extremely heavy to read. While I love that I learned more of Goodall's life, I sometimes thought to myself, "I really didn't need to know that much." Perhaps I should stick to fiction...
April 21, 2012
Absolutely one of the best autobiographies I have ever read. And what perfect timing with the new chimpanzee movie coming out soon! I am so amazed at her and the life she has led. What a truly remarkable person!
February 16, 2014
This book was exceptionally well-researched and thorough. Peterson clearly feels a great affection for Goodall and for her work. It took four months to read, but I ended up with a clear understanding of her work, her effect on the world, her life, and the nature of the chimps she loved.
April 20, 2024
The fact that not only Dr Jane Goodall, but also her family, friends and colleagues gave full cooperation to Dale Peterson in his authorship of this masterful biography, makes this heavily detailed work quite definitive (aside from, or read in addition to, those works written by Goodall herself), and a treat for those interested in her life and work. Dr Goodall's buoyant personality, enthusiasm, and dedication are rendered so clearly, especially in the descriptions of Jane's activism on behalf of chimpanzees, humans and the environment alike, that one cannot help but like her and feel impelled to action.
While remaining respectfully, appropriately, discreet (especially in describing her relationships with her first and second husbands), the personal details that are given are perfectly sufficient to understand how they shaped her life's course. Dr Goodall is, after all, very much a living, breathing person and therefore entitled to as much privacy as her celebrity will allow. Any more detail or airing of dirty laundry (if it existed) would have been tactless at worst and unnecessary at best. In all other areas - personal and professional - the details abound. However, I never considered such generosity of detail to be overwhelming or superfluous. It all served to create incredibly lucid impressions and pictures, and aided in understanding the subject all the better.
I have been reading about Jane Goodall and her work for many years and found all of the previously undisclosed information in this biography - her family history; the extent of the early financial difficulties in establishing and maintaining the Gombe Stream Research Centre; details about the kidnapping of the Gombe students in 1975, and the resulting ransom situation - all utterly fascinating. Upon finishing the last page of this excellent biography I was left feeling an even greater fondness for Dr Goodall than I had previously experienced by reading her many books and watching her television specials.
I also highly recommend Dr Goodall's "In the Shadow of Man"; "The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior" (if you can track down a copy!); and "Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe". In addition, I greatly enjoyed the two editions of Jane Goodall's autobiography in letters, edited and with chapter introductions by Dale Peterson: "Africa in my Blood" and "Beyond Innocence".
While remaining respectfully, appropriately, discreet (especially in describing her relationships with her first and second husbands), the personal details that are given are perfectly sufficient to understand how they shaped her life's course. Dr Goodall is, after all, very much a living, breathing person and therefore entitled to as much privacy as her celebrity will allow. Any more detail or airing of dirty laundry (if it existed) would have been tactless at worst and unnecessary at best. In all other areas - personal and professional - the details abound. However, I never considered such generosity of detail to be overwhelming or superfluous. It all served to create incredibly lucid impressions and pictures, and aided in understanding the subject all the better.
I have been reading about Jane Goodall and her work for many years and found all of the previously undisclosed information in this biography - her family history; the extent of the early financial difficulties in establishing and maintaining the Gombe Stream Research Centre; details about the kidnapping of the Gombe students in 1975, and the resulting ransom situation - all utterly fascinating. Upon finishing the last page of this excellent biography I was left feeling an even greater fondness for Dr Goodall than I had previously experienced by reading her many books and watching her television specials.
I also highly recommend Dr Goodall's "In the Shadow of Man"; "The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior" (if you can track down a copy!); and "Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe". In addition, I greatly enjoyed the two editions of Jane Goodall's autobiography in letters, edited and with chapter introductions by Dale Peterson: "Africa in my Blood" and "Beyond Innocence".
October 9, 2017
Interesting, but excruciating in its detail. A term is introduced, defined, and a six-page history of the scientific movement follows. Every attack of malaria gets a paragraph or three. Every request for funds is parsed. This would have been a vastly better book had it been several hundred pages shorter.
Favorite bit:
"Figan was future alpha-male material. His only obvious weakness was what Jane considered a 'very highly strung nature.' He was sensitive. During times of raging social excitement, for example, he would occasionally rush off in a panic, screaming, clutching his scrotum, running to nearby chimps for a reassuring hug."
Favorite bit:
"Figan was future alpha-male material. His only obvious weakness was what Jane considered a 'very highly strung nature.' He was sensitive. During times of raging social excitement, for example, he would occasionally rush off in a panic, screaming, clutching his scrotum, running to nearby chimps for a reassuring hug."
December 9, 2020
This biography presents Jane Goodall's life in three parts: the Naturalist, the Scientist, and the Activist. The narrative focuses on her professional life without more personal insight. primarily her work, unfolding as happy synergy starting with her relationship with Louis Leakey. But there were challenges as well, especially in securing funding but again focused on her work.
There is a Prologue, a section of Notes, Works Cited, Acknowledgements, and an Index. There is a nice collection of photos in the center of the book.
Highly recommended.
There is a Prologue, a section of Notes, Works Cited, Acknowledgements, and an Index. There is a nice collection of photos in the center of the book.
Highly recommended.
April 26, 2022
She's a personal hero of mine, so I had to read the book. I feel you could remove 400 pages without missing anything about the subject--do we really need to know about the ancestry of everyone she met? The minutia sometimes overwhelms the subject. That said, it's impossible not to fall in love with a woman of such character--intelligence, perseverance, compassion, and above all courage. The book mourns the passing of each of her loved ones, both human and not, and I can't help thinking how much better whe world would be if we all shared her view of it.
August 20, 2023
Well-written biography of a REMARKABLE woman. No need to recap her whole story here, but my biggest takeaway is that even though there might not be a clear pathway for following your interests/passions, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
Jane didn’t set out to be a celebrated scientist, or an author, or a global symbol of conservation and peace. She just loved animals and wanted to understand them better.
This is a long read, but I’d recommend to anyone who is interested in Jane Goodall, animal behaviorism, the beginnings of ethology, or general conservation.
Jane didn’t set out to be a celebrated scientist, or an author, or a global symbol of conservation and peace. She just loved animals and wanted to understand them better.
This is a long read, but I’d recommend to anyone who is interested in Jane Goodall, animal behaviorism, the beginnings of ethology, or general conservation.
October 24, 2023
Holy hell. Screaming crying throwing up. Biographies are not my thing but this was beautiful. It was written in such a way that Jane became a piece of who you were by the time it was over. Jane Goodall has always been one of my idols, but this only guaranteed that I will be devastated when she passes. I feel so honored to have had such a beautifully written window into her life. Much love to Dale Peterson's beautiful writing and thank you for this lovely journey. I will warn that the 700 pages of this novel did take me almost 4 months to get through.
June 12, 2020
5-star life; 4-star bio. Parts of the bio are fascinating, but some parts are too focussed on uninteresting minutiae - we don't need to know about every stop along another speaking tour to get the idea of her busy life, and hearing about the mundane details fo Grub's infant development is unnecessary. All in all, however, an inspirational story of an indomitable human spirit.
December 18, 2020
Fascinating story about a fascinating lady. The book is very long and extremely thorough. I would enjoy it more if it were 350 pages rather than 700+. We read the book for our Women in STEM book club and had some good discussions over the barriers that Jane had to overcome to be the world's most recognizable behavioral scientest.
March 26, 2025
Excellent summary covering 50 years
This is a comprehensive description of Jane Goodall‘s work from the 1960s to past 2010. I was fortunate to meet her in the 1970s and this book truly represents her personality and her gifts to the world. She helped many types of species, and the environment in all parts of the world.
This is a comprehensive description of Jane Goodall‘s work from the 1960s to past 2010. I was fortunate to meet her in the 1970s and this book truly represents her personality and her gifts to the world. She helped many types of species, and the environment in all parts of the world.
May 14, 2017
I'm ashamed to say, but I didn't know much about her life other than her work with monkeys. I found this biography really enlightening.
February 15, 2019
I have always been interested in the work of Jane Goodall and this book was very informative. It's a chunker.
June 29, 2019
A very informative, readable book of a woman to be greatly admired! Long (685 pages) but well worth it.
February 7, 2022
It took me months to read this, but it was so worth it. Dr. Goodall has been a person I have admired for over 50 years. I have read her books, and even met her once. She is an inspiration.
November 2, 2022
Jane named the chimps she observed after people she knew so not only was her husband Hugo and son Hugo (aka Grub), there was also a chimp Hugo. Made for a couple confusing passages.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews