The Black Rhinos of Namibia: Searching for Survivors in the African Desert

by Rick Bass

From one of our most gifted writers on the natural world comes a stunning exploration of a unique landscape and the improbable and endangered animal that makes its home there.

Rick Bass first made a name for himself as a writer and seeker of rare, iconic animals, including the grizzlies and wolves of the American West. Now he’s off on a new, far-flung adventure in the Namib of southwest Africa on the trail of another fascinating, vulnerable species. The black rhino is a three-thousand-pound, squinty-eyed giant that sports three-foot-long dagger horns, lives off poisonous plants, and goes for days without water.

Human intervention and cutting-edge conservation saved the rhinos—for now—from the brink of extinction brought on by poaching and war. Against the backdrop of one of the most ancient and harshest terrains on earth, Bass, with his characteristic insight and grace, probes the complex relationship between humans and nature and meditates on our role as both destroyer and savior.

In the tradition of Peter Matthiessen’s The Tree Where Man Was Born , Bass captures a haunting slice of Africa, especially of the “black” rhinos that glow ghostly white in the gleaming sun.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, Nature, Namibia, Travel, Science

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Rick Bass was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Houston, the son of a geologist. He studied petroleum geology at Utah State University and while working as a petroleum geologist in Jackson, Mississippi, began writing short stories on his lunch breaks. In 1987, he moved with his wife, the artist Elizabeth Hughes Bass, to Montana’s remote Yaak Valley and became an active environmentalist, working to protect his adopted home from the destructive encroachment of roads and logging. He serves on the board of both the Yaak Valley Forest Council and Round River Conservation Studies and continues to live with his family on a ranch in Montana, actively engaged in saving the American wilderness.

Bass received the PEN/Nelson Algren Award in 1988 for his first short story, “The Watch,” and won the James Jones Fellowship Award for his novel Where the Sea Used To Be. His novel The Hermit’s Story was a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year in 2000. The Lives of Rocks was a finalist for the Story Prize and was chosen as a Best Book of the Year in 2006 by the Rocky Mountain News. Bass’s stories have also been awarded the Pushcart Prize and the O. Henry Award and have been collected in The Best American Short Stories.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this book, for me, was sort of like opening a bag of potato chips for a snack and finding that someone had replaced them all with dried apple chips instead. Both tasty in their own way, but certainly not what was expected.

My expectation for this book was that I would read about the Black Rhinos of Namibia. About the "human intervention" and the "cutting-edge conservation" that has, so far, saved the rhinos. I hoped to read more about the animals themselves - facts and information, how the human intervention is working, and what else can be done for these amazing animals. What I got was a very beautifully written book about Namibia, Africa, and Mike. When the back blurb says, "...meditates...", it isn't kidding.

Counting the epilogue, there are 269 pages in the book. The rhinos did not actually make a substantive appearance until page 151. That was the first of only three small bits that discuss actual sighted rhinos. They are mentioned elsewhere, but more within the scope of animals that belong to Namibia. Mostly, the book spent a lot of time ruminating on Namibia as a whole - all the animals, a bit about how people are trying to make conservation efforts work, and quite a lot about one of the conservationists (Mike). I can understand the desire, possibly even the need, to make Mike a central part of the book - but that should have been a different book. Actually, the whole book should have been a different book - or been titled/described more realistically.

Don't get me wrong - it was interesting, and is very elegantly written. It is certainly a book that I might have enjoyed reading at any point - if I knew that is what I was getting. As it was, I felt like my snack had been switched in the middle of a craving and so I left the table still feeling somewhat frustrated and a bit hungry.

[Pangolin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evidently I liked it better than everyone else. I haven't read reviews, but I read it just after returning from a trip to Namibia and it took me straight back to the desert adapted animals, the empty countryside and the magic of southwestern Africa. Bass is an excellent writer, if not a bit verbose or lyrical - but even more enjoyable if you can embrace his style.

[Sierra The Book Addict · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating read, for Mr. Bass gives his readers an experience that everyone that has not traveled can follow, and even entrance you into wanting to travel to Africa. For his wording is simple, but his descriptions are beautifully poetic, he expresses his feelings and his views of his first African experience. He details the fantastic encounters of the wild Rhino and the people who are trying to help these creatures. He shows us the wild side, the side of wanting to preserve these creatures natural habitats and the animals themselves. He also gives us a view of the tourist side, the money side of things, that keep partially the country afloat and somewhat the company or owner afloat. He also gives many details of the actual land its self, and how magical Africa is, and how you have never felt an outer world experience until you go there. This book is quite an eye-opener and gives a more civilian outlook on a world that we know exists, but never knew truly to an extent on its existing wonders.
I highly recommed reading

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rick Bass travelled to Namibia with a desire to see the black rhinos in their natural habitat. The book recounts that trip.
The first half of the book seems to be about everything except rhinos. I couldn't see what the plight of the American grizzlies - being what he is most familiar with - had to do with the story of the rhinos in Namibia. But then why stop with the plight of grizzlies or rhinos, why not also address the plight of all flora and fauna, and even the Damara and Himba tribes. Certainly it is man's presence in the world which is the cause behind all these problems. How different things would be if.... This isn't at all what I expected from this. It's a rather small portion of the book that is actually time spent with trackers having the chance to see rhinos up close. The last portion of the book describes the overnight spent at Etosha National Park. Much of that sections reads like he is complaining about the confined spaces and restrictions. Having visited Etosha myself on four separate occasions, I fail to see the confinement. His writing style - with numerous asides which never seem to add much helpful information but only confusing details - is difficult to read and took some getting used to. At times I had to go back to what was before the aside and then skip it to actually understand the complete thought. It boggles my mind that one of his other books details his experiences in Rwanda teaching (of all things) writing.
For me, the redeeming quality - which kept it out of 1 star basement - is that it takes place in Namibia, a land that is dear to my heart. The description of the lack of lingering dusk, an encounter with some locals, and a number of place names were all aspects I could relate to and recognize. It was a chance to once again travel to that land, less the jetlag.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It appears that I am one of the few people who enjoyed this book. I will admit to struggling a bit at the beginning due to the very poetic (?) nature of Rick Bass' writing, but as I kept reading I really enjoyed how lyrical it was and now I could actually picture Namibia and the rhinos - and the people who love and cherish them. Recommended.

*And yet, would it not also be an act of worship, respect and even obeisance to seek to examine and celebrate the magic, not just the magician? And would it not be a matter of great profanity to willfully erase - or even allow to be erased - some of the very creations upon which the magician labored longest?*

*And how much of the rest of the world is this way: completely unseen, but completely present, just beyond the short lines of our sight and knowledge?*

*And what else might that be, then, but the definition of love? The world, and its maker, loved, and loves, the rhinos and the Namib: loves them.*

*There are strange days when it seems that we are so new in the world as to be ridiculously helpless and hopeless, and other days when the opposite feels true: that already, despite our incredible newness - not even two hundred thousand years under our belt - it feels as if we have been here too long.*

[AfricaAdventureConsultants · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book initially fatigued me when I started it. Author Rick Bass was making me think too much and his style was a bit much for my mood. He definitely errs on the side of being lyrical, which in this case sometimes clouds and obscures facts. I think I had been longing for something simple, and books about Africa rarely are. In Bass, I found someone that really gets nature in a way that few writers – heck, few people – ever do. I had just been to the area of Namibia he was describing, and once I finally embraced his writing style rather than let it distract me, he took me right back to my time there.

Namibia is one of the few places in Africa that has an endemic rhino population that is not constantly threatened or being decimated by poachers for its (proven to be ineffective for medicinal purposes) horn. The country is a leader in conservation – not just in Africa, but the world. Bass visits the Namibian desert and explores the relationship between humans and rhinos – as well as the whole of nature. He also meets some of the people responsible for the work of the Save the Rhino Trust. These ‘characters’ are passionate activists and scientists living in the furthest reaches of nature conducting research and working to preserve forgotten, fragile ecosystems. His descriptions of their efforts, combined with his own experiences makes a readers’ heart ache with the intensity and sometimes futility of their actions.

The story is set in a rather inhospitable environment, which adds a richness to his narrative that wouldn’t have existed in say, South Africa, where the rhino population is larger, easier to see, surrounded by many more settlements (and tourists), and presently in much greater danger of extermination.

The story is richly-woven and very interesting, at times sobering, and I highly recommend it. There are factual gaps and a bit more philosophizing than might strictly be necessary, but if you can get past those things, it is well worth your time. Bass captures the essence of Namibia and its rhinos in a way I've seen no other author do. Prepare to be transported, uplifted and a little bit heartbroken (not necessarily in that order).

He has a forthcoming book on Rwanda and his time teaching there – I am very much looking forward to reading it.

[Debra]

I initially found this book very hard to get into. Then I put it down and decided that I needed to slow down and let this book speak to me. Once I got into the rhythm and enjoyed the lyrical-poetic language, I was hooked. Finally, we got to the rhinos, but by then I was just into the book and its principal characters, some human, some animal.

This author has a gift of language and reaching out to touch the mind and get you to incorporate smells, temperature, animals and people on whole other level, and then there are the rhinos.

These black rhinos have been so adaptive to their environment, it is hard to decide if they were always meant to eat the toxic Eurphorbia plants and to drink water only every full weeks. How does this happen?

This book hits you on so many levels. And the ending had an event that hit me hard.

Some quotes from this book follow:

"What God needs an argument before such a creation as the blue-green earth? Whether you are dazzled and believe or are dazzled and don't believe, and can't say for sure one way of the other: as I understand it, is of course precisely the way a God or Designer would want it, in that such an invisibility as, perhaps to a lesser degree, art. Of nearly, everything, perhaps. " p. 63

"Hunting is, or should be, about choice and selectivity and I continue to wonder if there's not a more creative and productive way to accomplish the desire end result for all parties involved. How important to the hunter, really, is the blood and the death? In the case of edible quarry, it is critical, but in the case of inedible quarry. is it not obscene?" p, 74?

"How to inject that deeper spark of life into the system, and what kind of maker would create a fruit that could not at least be partially utilized by 'Something'?" p. 101

I sincerely suggest that you read this book and offer it to younger advanced readers who wish to consider the creation/conservation view of our planet.

[James Empson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author mixes observation with contemplation in a manner which I found confusing. Perhaps use of commas, dashes and parenthesis is better suited to an audiobook rather than a written format? However, upon finishing the book, I remain confused as to its intent and am not sure that the author seriously addressed either Namibia, the individuals he met there, or the the contemplations on humanity (within a Namib Desert framework) with any substantive outcome for the reader.

[Fabiola Del Aguila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I was expecting a deeper dive into the lives of the Black Rhinos, Bass wrote a profound and insightful book about our human experience with the mysteries and beauty of ancient lands, such as that of Namibia. There were passages in the book that were very poignant of - us humans and our time here on the planet. Bass' description of his time in the Namib desert was colorful and vulnerable. It made me look forward to my future travels to Namibia which is why I chose to read this book.

[Pat Lampe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected, but I did like it. It is more a philosophy book than an adventure. We met a researcher who helped the searchers and who was remarkably centered for someone who lived 11 months of the year in a really dismal desert in a tree hut. He was my favorite. A book with lots of geological/geographic/sociological questions.

[Justinian · Rating 3 out of 5]

2013 – 03 - The Black Rhinos of Namibia: Searching for Survivors in the African Desert. Rick Bass. 2012. 288 pages.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!

[Jen Skrocki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Chris Bartholomew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Writer goes to Namibia sees black rhinos. A few interesting encounters a few interesting facts. Nothing more.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was not what I expected, I got into anyway. It's a travelogue, a history lesson and an attempt to show why these rhinos are being hunted to extinction. When you view these incredible animals in their natural habitat through the author's eyes, you can understand the dedicated people risking their own lives to save the species in the wild. It is also possible to not necessarily agree with but understand the financial difficulties that motivate poachers.

I recently saw a news article stating the poaching is quite active again - heartlessly slaughtering these massive creatures to acquire the horns that protect them (the horns go for 'medicinal' purposes). Read this book and expand your knowledge base. You might be moved to try and help save the white rhinos from oblivion.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful but rather meandering book, (Bass is a little too non-linear and poetic for my taste) Rick Bass, who has written books on wolves and grizzly bears, journeys to SW Africa to search for the elusive black rhino, a rare and reclusive animal that is among the rarest large mammals left on Earth. He writes a great deal about the splendid country of the Namib Desert, a basalt plain that has remained unchanged for 140 million years and although they find elephants, lions and about everything else, he and his trackers don't catch sight of a rhino until page 152. He has quite a bit to say about the modern tourist industry which is providing a great deal of income to a desperately poor country. Very good book.

[Dan Downing · Rating 5 out of 5]

With his clear, powerful prose and intensely insightful feeling for nature, Rich Bass takes us to the Namib Desert, a strip of bleakness nestled between the coastal dunes and the interior where humans have settled. The Namib desert remains as it has been for 130 million years, barely changed, sere. And here we find the so-called Black Rhino which, along with a few other animals, ranges from one rare water source to another.
Bass takes us there, to a place we'd never otherwise go, on a spatial and spiritual journey. Anyone who has watched an animal---the family dog, a grazing cow, a fleeing squirrel---and wondered about its place in the world, its thoughts, or about our place in the world, our piece of the universe, will find pause here, solace perhaps.
Highly Recommended.

[Perry Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a nutshell, this book is not anywhere near amongst Bass's best. Rather than being about rhinoceroses, this is actually a psychological exploration of Bass's inner self, as he contemplates his reactions and thoughts in response to his trip to Namibia and what can reasonably be described as a man-crush on a bloke named Mike. His trip is ostensibly to see rhinoceroses, but it's actually more for him to jump up on his soapbox and tell us about how we should see the world. Which is, unsurprisingly, much as he sees the world. The book, then, becomes more a New Age sermon than either a travelogue or description of the rhinos of Namibia.i

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rick Bass is a tremendous writer. Many passages here are beautiful. The problem is that we don't need that much description of a rhino. We've got Animal Planet. This book might have been better suited to the 19th century when descriptions of exotic animals was the best people could do. While he does touch on some of the issues endangering Rhinos, he tells us very little about how they live and interact, why they move, or what they do.

[Pete Menzies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dude can write!! I enjoyed reading it out loud to my wife because Bass is so eloquent in his musings on the environment that is Namibia, but, as other reviewers have said, it's a long meandering meditation on, well, not exactly sure. But if you are headed to Namibia, this will wet your appetite for some austere magic.

[Correen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bass is a much respected nature writer who has written much about the northwestern states of the U.S. For this book, he documents his trip to Namibia. Bass writes of his feelings and the meanderings of his thoughts as he camps out and searches the Namibian desert for black rhino with a tour group. The book is part travelogue, part environmental study, and part personal memoir.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

NF
269 pgs

This narrative is about much more then the black rhinos survival in the Namibia desert. The rhinos are the very important background as Rick Bass contiplates our relationships to the history and landscape of Africa.

Very interesting and heartfelt.

[Avary Doubleday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just started this, but find his comparison of Montana's grizzlies (and their plight) to the black rhinos of Namibia and their plight interesting.
I the final 75 pages after returning from Namibia. He was talking of the places we had just been.
Bass has a wonderful way with words.

[Erdahs]

Won as part of the Goodreads first reads program. Review to come.

[Wendi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Self-conscious; overly, overtly literary. I couldn't engage. Too flowery, too poetic. 100 pages in and I still hadn't learned anything about rhinos.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

So when do you learn about rhinos in Namibia? This could be more appropriately named The Rick Bass Trip to Africa. I recieved this through the Goodreads First Reads.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonderful descriptions and very lyrical writing. I just thought the book would be more about the rhinos. After reading 60 pages, I'm done.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book, but it fell flat for me it just could hold be and took a bit long to read.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful prose written about the wilds of Africa and the passion of the people looking to save these amazing creatures.