In the tradition of his earlier books, "The Snow Leopard" and "The Tree Where Man Was Born", "African Silences" chronicles Matthiessen's travels through Senegal, Gambia, the Ivory Coast and Zaire in search of the "forest elephant" and other disappearing animal species in the 1970s and to Zaire, Central African Republic, and Gabon in 1986. While conveying his excitement and delight in these great endangered animals - white rhinos, elephants and gorillas amongst them - Matthiessen also counts the human cost, focusing attention on ways of life that are now threatened equally by the disappearance of these animals and by bankrupt political regimes. Peter Matthiessen was born in New York City in 1927 and graduated from Yale in 1950. He is the author of six works of fiction including "At Play in the Fields of the Lord" and "Killing Mister Watson", together with many works of non-fiction.
- ISBN10 0517116987
- ISBN13 9780517116982
- Publish Date 18 April 1994 (first published 20 July 1991)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Imprint Random House Value Publishing
- Format Hardcover
- Language English