In this terrific biography of the Leakeys - Louis, Mary, and
Richard - science journalist Morell manages to be exhaustive while
keeping things nimble. The Leakey family first set up shop at
Kikuyu Station back in 1902, when Reverend Harry Leakey (Louis's
father) settled in then Kenya Colony as a missionary. Louis was
born there in 1903 and by 13 was already hot on the trail of Stone
Age man. It was at Olduvai, a veritable gold mine of fossils and
ancient tools, that he made his reputation, and Morell vibrantly
conveys the flavor of that archaeological dig: the thrill of the
chase and the excitement of a find. Mary Leakey, Louis's second
wife (with whom he initially had an adulterous liaison; Louis was
never known for his sexual reticence), was not just along for the
ride at Olduvai; she uncovered many of the most famous finds. Of
their children, it was Richard who took up the torch and carried it
perhaps even further than his illustrious parents. Morell employs
letters, journals, interviews, and articles to provide a nearly
blow-by-blow, you-were-there reportage of the Leakeys' life in
Africa: their perpetual penury, their intramural clashes of
personality, their extramural duelings with the larger
archaeological community. Without ever descending into
pyschobabble, Morell renders good character sketches of the three -
Louis as an inspired charismatic with a ferocious range of
curiosity; Mary as a gifted bone-digger with what might be mildly
termed a crotchety edge; and Richard as a smooth, ambitious
creature with a nose for both money and fossilized remains. Morell
also sprinkles an extraordinary amount of graspable archaeological
and paleoanthropological theory into the narrative, spiced with the
rivalries and tensions that seem to beset all scholarly endeavors.
Morell gives real zip to the glacially slow work of field
archaeology and serves up the "first family of anthropology" in
dramatic, erudite style. (Kirkus Reviews)
In this fascinating and authoritative work, acclaimed science
writer Virginia Morell brings to vivid life the famous and infamous
Leakey family, pioneers in the field of paleoanthropology: Louis
Leakey, the patriarch, who persisted through initial scientific
failures and scandal-ridden divorce to achieve spectacular success
in digs throughout East Africa; Mary, his second wife, who worked
alongside Louis as they made their outstanding discoveries at
Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere; and Richard, their son, who ascended
to the top of the field in his parents' wake, only to be threatened
with both near-fatal illness and fierce professional rivalry.
Morell transports us into the world of these compelling
personalities, demonstrating how a small clan of highly talented
and fiercely competitive people came to dominate an entire field of
science and to contribute immeasurably to our understanding of the
origins of humanity.
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