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African Madness
Tells the stories of Dian Fossey, the murdered gorilla researcher, the Emperor Bokassa, life in modern Madagascar, and the search for the source of the AIDS virus
- GenresAfricaNonfictionTravel
202 pages, Hardcover
First published November 12, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 26, 2026
A book of reportage in four parts from Alex Shoumatoff who at the time was a staff writer at The New Yorker, and travelled to Africa to research and interview people to write these pieces. No stranger to Africa Shoumatoff references some of his earlier travels in these articles.
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas is the story of Dian Fossey in Rwanda and particularly violent murder, but also a potted history of her life and her troubled interactions with various people from her African staff to her research assistants. It seems that people had wildly varying opinions and experiences with Fossey - she seemed imminently unsuited to any interactions with humans! No real conclusion was drawn as to whom the murderer might have been, but various people / groups were examined and Shoumantoff gave opinions on whether he considered them relevant.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men In Madagascar live the indiri, also known as babakoto, one of the larger species of lemur and referred to as the dog-headed man. Supposedly mistaken for a strange tribe of men by early travellers (Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Sir John Mandeville), although Shoumantoff doesn't dwell on this - in fact he takes over half this article to even get to them. Instead he provides a potted history of Madagascar and its rulers, anecdotes about Sir David Attenborough and other distractions, although all leads to Madagascar's high value diversity of flora and fauna (much like the Galapagos) and how endangered everything there is, including the indiri.
The Emperor Who Ate His People Central African Republic is the location of the third article - and a review of the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa. Murders, ritual cannibalism, horrendous corruption and his ridiculously expensive coronation ceremony in a country heavily reliant on foreign aid (mostly France).
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS While dated in terms of current knowledge around AIDS, Shoumatoff takes a good go at tracing early reports of AIDS / HIV-like symptoms in various African countries, while also looking at other locations such as America and Europe where early cases are noted. He goes fairly deep into come technicalities around HIV1 and HIV2, interviews lots of doctors and people working in roles assisting AIDS (and other poor health) sufferers. Shoumatoff visits Uganda, Guinea Bissau, Congo (DR) and Kenya. Well put together, but not the kind of travel / history / entertainment story I would be seeking out!
These were all well assembled, interesting pieces.
4 stars.
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas is the story of Dian Fossey in Rwanda and particularly violent murder, but also a potted history of her life and her troubled interactions with various people from her African staff to her research assistants. It seems that people had wildly varying opinions and experiences with Fossey - she seemed imminently unsuited to any interactions with humans! No real conclusion was drawn as to whom the murderer might have been, but various people / groups were examined and Shoumantoff gave opinions on whether he considered them relevant.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men In Madagascar live the indiri, also known as babakoto, one of the larger species of lemur and referred to as the dog-headed man. Supposedly mistaken for a strange tribe of men by early travellers (Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Sir John Mandeville), although Shoumantoff doesn't dwell on this - in fact he takes over half this article to even get to them. Instead he provides a potted history of Madagascar and its rulers, anecdotes about Sir David Attenborough and other distractions, although all leads to Madagascar's high value diversity of flora and fauna (much like the Galapagos) and how endangered everything there is, including the indiri.
The Emperor Who Ate His People Central African Republic is the location of the third article - and a review of the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa. Murders, ritual cannibalism, horrendous corruption and his ridiculously expensive coronation ceremony in a country heavily reliant on foreign aid (mostly France).
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS While dated in terms of current knowledge around AIDS, Shoumatoff takes a good go at tracing early reports of AIDS / HIV-like symptoms in various African countries, while also looking at other locations such as America and Europe where early cases are noted. He goes fairly deep into come technicalities around HIV1 and HIV2, interviews lots of doctors and people working in roles assisting AIDS (and other poor health) sufferers. Shoumatoff visits Uganda, Guinea Bissau, Congo (DR) and Kenya. Well put together, but not the kind of travel / history / entertainment story I would be seeking out!
These were all well assembled, interesting pieces.
4 stars.
September 2, 2018
This is a fascinating focus on four chronicles in various African countries during the 1980s.
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas
Dian Fossey is the subject here as Shoumatoff discovers more about her life and her very savage death. This was a hard read, as I valued the work she did with the animals, but dreaded the way she treated others. Admiration but aversion.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men
The author travels to Madagascar, where even then, the flora and fauna were already endangered. That was more than 30 years ago so I can safely assume some of what he saw is already gone.
Madagascar. For as long as I can remember, the word has had a magic ring, has been swathed in visions of the exotic bordering on the unreal.
The Emperor Who Ate His People
Here is a look at the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, a man who almost bankrupted his country with his coronation ceremony (equal to $80 million in 2018).
The Central African Republic, like so many of the new countries in this part of the world, is not so much a country as it is an anarchic collection of tribes, an invention of the French.
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS
Nature can never truly be conquered, as this chapter shows. HIV, in essence, is a plague but one that didn't get noticed until white people in western countries started dying. At the time, Shoumatoff's research on finding the source of AIDS was the very first in-depth review of the disease and it is still amazing to read so many decades later.
It was hard to stop reading this book. To ensure my reading time was also devoted to the other titles in my currently-reading shelf, I had to stop at the end of each chapter and physically put the book away, otherwise it would have been Shoumatoff all the time. The only reason I don't give it five stars is just because I still cringe at Fossey's murder, so there's a creep factor. Certainly not the author's fault, just my own perception.
Stunning work.
Book Season = Year Round (greed and sirens)
The Woman Who Loved Gorillas
Dian Fossey is the subject here as Shoumatoff discovers more about her life and her very savage death. This was a hard read, as I valued the work she did with the animals, but dreaded the way she treated others. Admiration but aversion.
The Last Of The Dog-Headed Men
The author travels to Madagascar, where even then, the flora and fauna were already endangered. That was more than 30 years ago so I can safely assume some of what he saw is already gone.
Madagascar. For as long as I can remember, the word has had a magic ring, has been swathed in visions of the exotic bordering on the unreal.
The Emperor Who Ate His People
Here is a look at the monstrous rule of Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, a man who almost bankrupted his country with his coronation ceremony (equal to $80 million in 2018).
The Central African Republic, like so many of the new countries in this part of the world, is not so much a country as it is an anarchic collection of tribes, an invention of the French.
In Search Of The Source Of AIDS
Nature can never truly be conquered, as this chapter shows. HIV, in essence, is a plague but one that didn't get noticed until white people in western countries started dying. At the time, Shoumatoff's research on finding the source of AIDS was the very first in-depth review of the disease and it is still amazing to read so many decades later.
It was hard to stop reading this book. To ensure my reading time was also devoted to the other titles in my currently-reading shelf, I had to stop at the end of each chapter and physically put the book away, otherwise it would have been Shoumatoff all the time. The only reason I don't give it five stars is just because I still cringe at Fossey's murder, so there's a creep factor. Certainly not the author's fault, just my own perception.
Stunning work.
Book Season = Year Round (greed and sirens)
December 23, 2011
A collection of four pieces on African history or culture.
“The Woman Who Loved Gorillas” is a stark, unflattering look at Dian Fossey. Differing from the usual hagiography about Fossey, this essay focuses on her mistreatment of the Africans, her erratic and supposedly violent behavior, and her anti-social arrogance. It’s not a slam piece, though, offering motives about her murder and admitting that Dian did much for the gorillas of Rwanda.
“The Last of the Dog-Headed Men” is a look at the elusive indri, a “singing” lemur of Madagascar.
“The Emperor Who Ate His People” is a look back at the career of Central African Republic dictator Bokassa.
Finally, “In Search of the Source Of AIDS” is both a quest for possible sources of the virus and a look at how the disease is ravaging Africa (circa 1987). The last essay might be the most powerful, if it weren’t so dated.
On the whole, the book serves well as a source of interesting information, viz. on the indri, Bokassa, the history of Madagascar, how totemist works in modern Africa, etc. It’s marred, though, by Shoumatoff’s odd tendency to make general pronouncements on national character (belied by the facts which he himself relates a page or two later) : “the Rwandans are a peaceful people who abhor violence” (and so are unlikely to have killed Fossey with a machete, of all things); “the Malagasies are, on the whole, a remarkably serne and wonderfully polite people” (I guess all that tribal warfare is just gentle native play). So again, this is a fine document for facts, but great travel writing requires a clear and unbiased attitude, which Shoumatoff doesn’t have.
“The Woman Who Loved Gorillas” is a stark, unflattering look at Dian Fossey. Differing from the usual hagiography about Fossey, this essay focuses on her mistreatment of the Africans, her erratic and supposedly violent behavior, and her anti-social arrogance. It’s not a slam piece, though, offering motives about her murder and admitting that Dian did much for the gorillas of Rwanda.
“The Last of the Dog-Headed Men” is a look at the elusive indri, a “singing” lemur of Madagascar.
“The Emperor Who Ate His People” is a look back at the career of Central African Republic dictator Bokassa.
Finally, “In Search of the Source Of AIDS” is both a quest for possible sources of the virus and a look at how the disease is ravaging Africa (circa 1987). The last essay might be the most powerful, if it weren’t so dated.
On the whole, the book serves well as a source of interesting information, viz. on the indri, Bokassa, the history of Madagascar, how totemist works in modern Africa, etc. It’s marred, though, by Shoumatoff’s odd tendency to make general pronouncements on national character (belied by the facts which he himself relates a page or two later) : “the Rwandans are a peaceful people who abhor violence” (and so are unlikely to have killed Fossey with a machete, of all things); “the Malagasies are, on the whole, a remarkably serne and wonderfully polite people” (I guess all that tribal warfare is just gentle native play). So again, this is a fine document for facts, but great travel writing requires a clear and unbiased attitude, which Shoumatoff doesn’t have.
April 22, 2016
Looking through all the ratings here on GoodReads I was surprised to see how many people have recently read this book. I picked it up while volunteering for the local Friends of the Library booksale. I went to West Africa for the first time five years ago and have since become obsessed with the region. I also love travelogues so I snapped up the old Vintage paperback which was labeled "Current Affairs". It is a wonderfully written collection of four essays that were written in the mid 80's. My immediate reacting while leafing through the book was "is this book still relevant?" Shoumatoff's work is historically accurate and engaging but it is also so charming because the essays were written thirty years in a world that still used Telex. In the first essay about Dian Fossey Shoumatoff writes about the Hotel des Mille Collines which was the scene of horrible savagery and deaths during the genocide of the 90's. He writes about Zaire, which is now Democratic Republic of Congo. In the last essay he writes about the search for the source of the disease. It is fascinating to read his musings now.
July 21, 2008
I can't remember if I read this one while preparing to go to Madagascar (hasn't happened yet) or before I went to Zimbabwe.
August 27, 2015
Great book -- rereading the essay on Dian Fossey was revelatory after having been there
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews