“Reviews and Comments”

From the Author

After reading this book, when you hear about some far-flung conflict in a map-smudge corner of the world, you may ponder the fate of animals; in homes, in fields, in forests, and in cages. You may reflect, as well, on the fate of a people trapped in a quagmire of politics, poverty, and ignorance.

Reader reviews . . .

Commitment and Reality in the Congo

With a great deal of humor and even more practicality, the author tells the story of what it is like to do the work one loves in a dysfunctional society. Wanting to do animal research in a country she learned to love while being a Peace Corps volunteer, Delfi became involved with the French-supported animal and disease research institute in Kinshasa in the early 1990s. She stayed through the waning days of Mobutu's regime and on into the early days of the new Kabila government.

She writes with great suspense, detail, and lively descriptions of the lootings and upheavals that sent almost all the expatriates from the country. She stayed to continue the work and to protect the animals of the research institute, among which were rescued bonobos. Watching other animals dying from neglect she determined to attempt a rescue of all or some of the bonobos in her care. How she does that is an amazing story of perseverence, patience, and ingenuity that will have all readers enthralled.

Intense and all true!

This is the stuff you won't hear in the news. That's because the author was far, far off the tourist path, working in the heart of (former) Zaire. There she was, a young midwestern woman, so bold and deeply involved in the local scene that it's amazing she got out alive, but not before she also assisted others in narrowly escaping a life of tortured captivity. Was she incredibly brave or so blinded by her commitment that she risked her life many times over?

I couldn't put it down.

“About the Author”

Delfi Messinger is a real-life version of Amelia Earhart, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Isac Dineson, rolled into one. Delfi is a zoologist and former Peace Corps volunteer. She lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Zaire, for some 14 years.