The thrilling story of the conservationist who pioneered the use of dogs in combating poachers in South Africa’s game reserves.

One of Conraad’s first brushes with the reality of life at the frontline of conservation was when he shot the leader of a poaching gang in Windy Ridge game reserve in his teens. Much of Con’s work involving dogs is a continuous struggle against industrial-scale bushmeat poachers, an even greater threat to wildlife than rhino horn poachers as the overburdened courts seem interested only in endangered species. He also works to catch poachers of critically endangered pangolins, the most trafficked animal in the world. Con decided to use his almost telepathic rapport with dogs to tackle the poaching crisis sweeping South Africa.

His first anti-poaching dog, a Weimaraner named Zingela, became an inseparable companion. Zingela saved Conraad’s life on numerous occasions – once when Conraad was about to be assassinated by two fellow rangers hired by poachers.

Con’s story is an epic of modern-day African wildlife conservation, spiced with adventure, courage and romance.

For the African-American community the image of the teenage mother is especially troublesome: all the problems of the welfare systsem seem to spotlight the black teenage mom. This text dispels common percetions of these young women. The author's interviews with the women themselves, and with their mothers and grandmothers, provide a picture of their lives caught in the intersection of race, class and gender. Kaplan challenges the assumption conveyed in the popular media that the African-American community condones teen pregnancy, single parenting, and reliance on welfare. Especially telling are the feelings of frustration, anger and disappointment expressed by the mothers and grandmothers interviewed. And in listening to teenage mothers discuss their problems, Kaplan hears first hand of their relationships with men, and their difficulties with the education system - all factors bear heavily on their status as young parents. Kaplan's own personal experience as an African-American teenage mother adds a personal dimesion to this book, and she offers proposals for rethinking and assessing the class factors, gender relations, and racism that influence black teenagers to become mothers.