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I Married Adventure: The Lives of Martin and Osa Johnson
A CLASSIC MEMOIR OF TWO PIONEERING ADVENTURERS
Before Joy Adamson went to Africa, before Margaret Mead sailed to Samoa, before Dian Fossey was even born, a Kansas teenager named Osa Leighty married Martin Johnson, a pioneering photographer just back from a 'round-the-world cruise with Jack London. Together the Johnsons flew and sailed to Borneo, to Kenya, and to the Congo, filming Simba and other popular nature movies with Martin behind the camera and Osa holding her rifle at the ready in case the scene's big game star should turn hostile.
This bestselling memoir retraces their careers in rich detail, with precisely observed descriptions and often heart-stopping anecdotes. Illustrated with scores of the dramatic photos that made the Johnsons famous, it's a book sure to delight every lover of true adventure.
Before Joy Adamson went to Africa, before Margaret Mead sailed to Samoa, before Dian Fossey was even born, a Kansas teenager named Osa Leighty married Martin Johnson, a pioneering photographer just back from a 'round-the-world cruise with Jack London. Together the Johnsons flew and sailed to Borneo, to Kenya, and to the Congo, filming Simba and other popular nature movies with Martin behind the camera and Osa holding her rifle at the ready in case the scene's big game star should turn hostile.
This bestselling memoir retraces their careers in rich detail, with precisely observed descriptions and often heart-stopping anecdotes. Illustrated with scores of the dramatic photos that made the Johnsons famous, it's a book sure to delight every lover of true adventure.
422 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
About the author
Osa Johnson
26 books14 followersIn the first half of the 20th century an American couple from Kansas named Martin and Osa Johnson captured the public's imagination through their films and books of adventure in exotic, far-away lands...Photographers, explorers, naturalists and authors, Martin and Osa studied the wildlife and peoples of East and Central Africa, the South Pacific Islands and British North Borneo...They explored then unknown lands and brought back knowledge of cultures thousands of miles away through their films, writings and lectures.
From 1917-1936, the Johnsons set up camp in some of the most remote areas of the world and provided an unmatched photographic record of the wildernesses of Kenya, the Congo, British North Borneo and the Solomon and New Hebrides Islands...Their equipment was the most advanced motion pictures apparatus of the day, some of it designed by Martin Johnson himself.
When the young adventurers left their home in Kansas to explore and photograph these lands, little did they realize that they would provide the world with a photographic record of the African game of unimagined magnitude and beauty...The Johnsons gave the filmmakers and researchers of today an important source of ethnological and zoological material which would otherwise have been lost.
Their photographs represent one of the great contributions to the pictorial history of the world...Their films serve to document a wilderness that has long since vanished, tribal cultures and customs that ceased to exist.
Through popular movies such as SIMBA (1928) and BABOONA (1935) and best-selling books still in print such as I Married Adventure (1940), Martin and Osa popularized camera safaris and an interest in African wildlife conservation for generations of Americans...Their legacy is a record of the animals and cultures of many remote areas of the world which have undergone significant changes.
The outstanding accomplishments and legacy of Martin and Osa Johnson - their films, photographs, expedition reports, correspondence and personal memorabilia - are housed at The Martin and Osa Johnson Museum.
From 1917-1936, the Johnsons set up camp in some of the most remote areas of the world and provided an unmatched photographic record of the wildernesses of Kenya, the Congo, British North Borneo and the Solomon and New Hebrides Islands...Their equipment was the most advanced motion pictures apparatus of the day, some of it designed by Martin Johnson himself.
When the young adventurers left their home in Kansas to explore and photograph these lands, little did they realize that they would provide the world with a photographic record of the African game of unimagined magnitude and beauty...The Johnsons gave the filmmakers and researchers of today an important source of ethnological and zoological material which would otherwise have been lost.
Their photographs represent one of the great contributions to the pictorial history of the world...Their films serve to document a wilderness that has long since vanished, tribal cultures and customs that ceased to exist.
Through popular movies such as SIMBA (1928) and BABOONA (1935) and best-selling books still in print such as I Married Adventure (1940), Martin and Osa popularized camera safaris and an interest in African wildlife conservation for generations of Americans...Their legacy is a record of the animals and cultures of many remote areas of the world which have undergone significant changes.
The outstanding accomplishments and legacy of Martin and Osa Johnson - their films, photographs, expedition reports, correspondence and personal memorabilia - are housed at The Martin and Osa Johnson Museum.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
September 2, 2022
What I love about Goodreads is finding books that I almost thought lived only in my imagination.
This one I read as a kid when I would sneak into the adults section of the public library. All the best books were there. It fed my dreams not just of love but adventure even if I never went on a safari. Osa Johnson became my inspiration.
How much I understood of the book I'm not sure. But one thing I've always remembered. When she met her future husband, she tried to impress him by playing the piano. He was polite but not enthused. She nearly didn't see him again, then did. It turned out he was tone deaf. A good example of giving someone a second chance.
This one I read as a kid when I would sneak into the adults section of the public library. All the best books were there. It fed my dreams not just of love but adventure even if I never went on a safari. Osa Johnson became my inspiration.
How much I understood of the book I'm not sure. But one thing I've always remembered. When she met her future husband, she tried to impress him by playing the piano. He was polite but not enthused. She nearly didn't see him again, then did. It turned out he was tone deaf. A good example of giving someone a second chance.
June 2, 2011
This book is an absolute treat. It is everything an adventure book should be: full of romantic, scary, challenging and awe-inspiring moments. Osa chronicles her life with her husband to explain how they went from two Midwestern kids to two daring world travelers in the early 20th century who braved cannibals, African chiefs, harsh elements, and every kind of scary animal known to man. Their goal was to capture everything they saw on film to preserve it for history. While today's environmentalists and animal right's activists may frown on their tactics or mores, Osa and Martin were quite enlightened for their time and had great pathos for the animals and people they met on their adventures. What makes this book so successful is Osa's breezy writing; she willingly pokes fun at herself and laughs at their mistakes and mishaps. Her tone lacks the braggadocio that can be found in other travel narratives; you can envision her eye-rolling every time a man "who knows better" states that she shouldn't go meet the cannibal chief because she's a "woman". I recommend this to anyone who wants to be transported to another time and place and have a great adventure.
September 17, 2013
Terrific book! The Johnson's are one of my all time favorite couples!
June 10, 2019
Oh, to be a 1920's adventurer out there "discovering" the world. Their lives are like nothing anyone else experienced at that time, and even less so like the lives of people living today. I can not imagine how incredible it must have been to see all these incredible places and to have the opportunity to teach others about what you've seen, and about the varying differences in culture around the world. I just wish, that the Johnsons hadn't been so clearly stuck in the philosophy of their time. By this I mean, the racism which saturates the way that Osa talks about the people of Borneo and Africa whom they meet, and additionally even the self-deprecation with which Osa discusses women in her time (both the village women she meets and the white women of the U.S./herself).
A few example of the ease with which racism percolates through her language include:
"Chief Hadji was taken into our confidence, and the careful instructions given to the natives by that gentleman (for such he was, even though to all intents and purposes a "primitive")..." (173).
"All were Kikuyus, just one degree removed from savagery, and still wore skins dyed with red clay" (203).
Despite spending years living with people of color, her belief in racism never seemed to waver, even when she could recognize these people as human, having beliefs and dreams, she still remained to see them as lesser. Something which was also proved when she recognized her husband's task of caring for the porters he was responsible to care and provide for, as being less important than his responsibility to the Museum of Natural History and other rich people who invested in their trip (275).
Additionally, she continued to recognize those who traveled with her husband and herself on their safaris as people almost closer to animals than to people. She considered them as responsible for doing all the work of the trip, be that the job they signed up for or something her husband demand they do. For example, at one point they essentially force their chef to build safari houses for them, and resent his saying no as being disrespectful to their whiteness, when really its disrespectful for them to force him to do a job other than what he is willing to do. They care more about their image as white people than their treatment of black people.
Osa even says at one point; "Too lazy to build huts for themselves, the black boys lay around a camp fire with only one thin blanket each to protect them from the cold nights" (227). When if she actually recognized them as humans she would see that they had all already worked to build huts for her and her husband and really THEY were the lazy ones. Later, they even charge their workers a "hut tax" (265) even though the people built the damn things themselves and the Johnsons didn't do shit.
Osa can't even respect the native people for the things they have been doing since before her ancestors gained their pale skin, because when three boy scouts are invited to join them on safari she says, "The porters were quite awed by the boys; not merely because they were white, but more particularly because there was no native feat of skill at which the youngsters did not prove more proficient than the native himself" (317).
And then there's the shit this woman says about native women,
"Here is the case with nearly all primitive people, a woman does not count in the scheme of things except as a slave, to do the work of the village and bear the children, and all this with kicks and abuse for reward" (134).
Which is simply uneducated for her to say, considering she doesn't know anything about the many different cultures of Africa and is also judging them from her outside eurocentric view which itself doesn't value women and treats them like dainty little children. God, how much I hated when she said, "I made it an invariable rule to keep my hair well brushed and arranged, and to give as much attention to manicures and beauty treatments as though we were in the heart of New York rather than in the depths of so-called darkest Africa" (252). Like being pretty remains her only true job in life.
In relation to sexism, the only line I hated more than that one was, "He treated me exactly as though I were a young and slightly unpredictable daughter and never could seem to get over what he called my "pink-silk-dress-little-girlness," as contrasted with my ruggedness on safari. My husband always laughed when this came up and said he had married me young and trained me that way. And so he had!" (299). I'm honestly disgusted by her lack of self-respect in considering her husband as having taught her how to be a women, how to express herself. Not to mention how gross of an idea it is that he married her when she was so young and malleable.
"My husband went right on, piling up such a weight of masculine logic against my wholly feminine illogical tears, that I should have been crushed with humiliation" (271).
What a dream of a husband, am I right ladies?
Additionally, it was hard to read about someone who's had so many opportunities in life and is relatively super well off, but is still so uneducated about the world she's out there seeing. Outside of her eurocentric beliefs I've already covered, she's also super uneducated about the animals she's seeing.
For example, the first time she sees elephants she recognizes them through the lens of seeing circus elephants and practically tries to walk up and touch one:
"The big fellows were so exactly like the elephants I'd seen in circuses that I wanted to go right up and feed them and pat their wrinkled trunks To walk toward them seemed the most natural thing in the world to me... when they wheeled suddenly and faced me, however, and their trunks went up in alarm and their ears stood straight out from their heads, that was something else" (264).
She isn't even aware of the long periods of cruelty which circus elephants are subjected to in order to make them subject to humans. And then later, un-educatedly thinking she's helping elephants out she starts haphazardly planting watercress in any water bed she sees, thereby helping introduce an invasive species to Africa, which remains a problem for native species today (279).
Not to mention, the fact that they claim to be there to simply photograph the animals in their natural state, but continuously rile up the animals "for the photo," and keep making dangerous situations in doing so, which often results in them "having to shoot the animal." Like get off your high horse, you are solely to blame for the fact the animal had to be shot.
In fact, the only educated thing Osa ever puts in her book, comes in the form of another person,"He had a brusqueness of manner that at first was a little disconcerting, but this wore off after a little and we saw that it grew out of a downright exasperation with the so-called big game hunters who came, in increasing numbers, to fatten their egos with trophies, no matter how obtained, and whose lust to kill would in time become a menace to African wild life" (203).
A few example of the ease with which racism percolates through her language include:
"Chief Hadji was taken into our confidence, and the careful instructions given to the natives by that gentleman (for such he was, even though to all intents and purposes a "primitive")..." (173).
"All were Kikuyus, just one degree removed from savagery, and still wore skins dyed with red clay" (203).
Despite spending years living with people of color, her belief in racism never seemed to waver, even when she could recognize these people as human, having beliefs and dreams, she still remained to see them as lesser. Something which was also proved when she recognized her husband's task of caring for the porters he was responsible to care and provide for, as being less important than his responsibility to the Museum of Natural History and other rich people who invested in their trip (275).
Additionally, she continued to recognize those who traveled with her husband and herself on their safaris as people almost closer to animals than to people. She considered them as responsible for doing all the work of the trip, be that the job they signed up for or something her husband demand they do. For example, at one point they essentially force their chef to build safari houses for them, and resent his saying no as being disrespectful to their whiteness, when really its disrespectful for them to force him to do a job other than what he is willing to do. They care more about their image as white people than their treatment of black people.
Osa even says at one point; "Too lazy to build huts for themselves, the black boys lay around a camp fire with only one thin blanket each to protect them from the cold nights" (227). When if she actually recognized them as humans she would see that they had all already worked to build huts for her and her husband and really THEY were the lazy ones. Later, they even charge their workers a "hut tax" (265) even though the people built the damn things themselves and the Johnsons didn't do shit.
Osa can't even respect the native people for the things they have been doing since before her ancestors gained their pale skin, because when three boy scouts are invited to join them on safari she says, "The porters were quite awed by the boys; not merely because they were white, but more particularly because there was no native feat of skill at which the youngsters did not prove more proficient than the native himself" (317).
And then there's the shit this woman says about native women,
"Here is the case with nearly all primitive people, a woman does not count in the scheme of things except as a slave, to do the work of the village and bear the children, and all this with kicks and abuse for reward" (134).
Which is simply uneducated for her to say, considering she doesn't know anything about the many different cultures of Africa and is also judging them from her outside eurocentric view which itself doesn't value women and treats them like dainty little children. God, how much I hated when she said, "I made it an invariable rule to keep my hair well brushed and arranged, and to give as much attention to manicures and beauty treatments as though we were in the heart of New York rather than in the depths of so-called darkest Africa" (252). Like being pretty remains her only true job in life.
In relation to sexism, the only line I hated more than that one was, "He treated me exactly as though I were a young and slightly unpredictable daughter and never could seem to get over what he called my "pink-silk-dress-little-girlness," as contrasted with my ruggedness on safari. My husband always laughed when this came up and said he had married me young and trained me that way. And so he had!" (299). I'm honestly disgusted by her lack of self-respect in considering her husband as having taught her how to be a women, how to express herself. Not to mention how gross of an idea it is that he married her when she was so young and malleable.
"My husband went right on, piling up such a weight of masculine logic against my wholly feminine illogical tears, that I should have been crushed with humiliation" (271).
What a dream of a husband, am I right ladies?
Additionally, it was hard to read about someone who's had so many opportunities in life and is relatively super well off, but is still so uneducated about the world she's out there seeing. Outside of her eurocentric beliefs I've already covered, she's also super uneducated about the animals she's seeing.
For example, the first time she sees elephants she recognizes them through the lens of seeing circus elephants and practically tries to walk up and touch one:
"The big fellows were so exactly like the elephants I'd seen in circuses that I wanted to go right up and feed them and pat their wrinkled trunks To walk toward them seemed the most natural thing in the world to me... when they wheeled suddenly and faced me, however, and their trunks went up in alarm and their ears stood straight out from their heads, that was something else" (264).
She isn't even aware of the long periods of cruelty which circus elephants are subjected to in order to make them subject to humans. And then later, un-educatedly thinking she's helping elephants out she starts haphazardly planting watercress in any water bed she sees, thereby helping introduce an invasive species to Africa, which remains a problem for native species today (279).
Not to mention, the fact that they claim to be there to simply photograph the animals in their natural state, but continuously rile up the animals "for the photo," and keep making dangerous situations in doing so, which often results in them "having to shoot the animal." Like get off your high horse, you are solely to blame for the fact the animal had to be shot.
In fact, the only educated thing Osa ever puts in her book, comes in the form of another person,"He had a brusqueness of manner that at first was a little disconcerting, but this wore off after a little and we saw that it grew out of a downright exasperation with the so-called big game hunters who came, in increasing numbers, to fatten their egos with trophies, no matter how obtained, and whose lust to kill would in time become a menace to African wild life" (203).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2008
I read of Osa and Martin Johnson this fall in the KS Dept of Wildlife and Parks magazine. To think that such a strong/adventsuresome woman who traveled internationally came from western KS totally intrigued me.
May 2011 I found this book fascinating. The adventures this couple undertook would be amazing today, but considering that it was the 1920's and 30's, when women rarely wore pants let alone carry a gun, go on MAJOR adventures (Africa, South Pacific, Borneo), and learn to fly a plane, well, it made it just that much more wonderful. They were some of the first people to film in these remote places, and then again, to film with sound in remote areas.
In the South Pacific, they traveled to and remarked on some of the same places that J. Maarten Troost wrote about in Getting Stoned with Savages. There were times when I cringed because they felled a charging rhino or lion after intentionally stirring it up to get footage. Yet the information they gathered and shared with the "civilized" world was so valuable they are often known as the founders of film documentaries.
I'm looking forward to a trip to the Osa & Martin Johnson Museum in Chanute to learn more about these world adventurers.
May 2011 I found this book fascinating. The adventures this couple undertook would be amazing today, but considering that it was the 1920's and 30's, when women rarely wore pants let alone carry a gun, go on MAJOR adventures (Africa, South Pacific, Borneo), and learn to fly a plane, well, it made it just that much more wonderful. They were some of the first people to film in these remote places, and then again, to film with sound in remote areas.
In the South Pacific, they traveled to and remarked on some of the same places that J. Maarten Troost wrote about in Getting Stoned with Savages. There were times when I cringed because they felled a charging rhino or lion after intentionally stirring it up to get footage. Yet the information they gathered and shared with the "civilized" world was so valuable they are often known as the founders of film documentaries.
I'm looking forward to a trip to the Osa & Martin Johnson Museum in Chanute to learn more about these world adventurers.
September 14, 2010
Intriguing account of a woman who lived life rather differently than most, following her husband around the world as they attempted to film people and wildlife in the remote and inaccessible parts of the world in the early 20th century. Interesting for her un-self-conscious approach to traditional domesticity in the midst of thorough adventure.
Although many of their attitudes regarding civilized whites and the savages are cringe-inducing today, she and her husband were filming when most were shooting and in many cases capturing the only recordings of a number of cultures.
Although many of their attitudes regarding civilized whites and the savages are cringe-inducing today, she and her husband were filming when most were shooting and in many cases capturing the only recordings of a number of cultures.
September 7, 2022
The perfect adventure book that kept me daydreaming all summer long!
June 15, 2015
I received this as a gift from an adventuresome farm wife in my church, and am so glad she recommended it to me! This is the story of an explorer and his loving, loyal sidekick, his wife Osa. I loved seeing how Osa's plucky bravery and love for her husband kept her by his side as they explored Africa, captured many reels of wild animals and wilder natives, and saved each other's lives numerous times. She could shoot a lion in mid-attack, fly a plane, ford a river in a safari car, and trudge across a lava rock desert in blistering heat, but she also kept herself tidy and beautiful to please her husband, cooked delicious meals from Africa's wild-animal fare, and created a comfortable home for themselves in all sorts of wildernesses and rivers.
Many people discouraged her from going with him at different points and tried to convince her husband that he shouldn't try to bring her along on his adventures. But their greatest adventure was being together, and it's unlikely he would have accomplished as much as he did, if she hadn't taken care of him so well. All through the book she describes with fascination how her husband handled different situations and accomplished what he set out to do. Though she doesn't mention God and praising Him doesn't seem to be part of their thoughts as they discover Africa, she was a good wife in the biblical sense that she respected and obeyed her husband even when she disagreed with him. She was feisty and they were both a bit temperamental, but always were able to talk through their disagreements and give way to the other when they needed to. Through the book I noticed her starting to trust his decisions more, and even though she still "pouted" when they differed in opinion, she followed him and submitted to him better and better as they had more adventures under their belts.
In the last few pages, he looks over at her as they have just finished telling a crowd of 9,000 little children about their Borneo airplane adventures, and says to her, "We're the luckiest couple in the world, aren't we?" She agrees.
Many people discouraged her from going with him at different points and tried to convince her husband that he shouldn't try to bring her along on his adventures. But their greatest adventure was being together, and it's unlikely he would have accomplished as much as he did, if she hadn't taken care of him so well. All through the book she describes with fascination how her husband handled different situations and accomplished what he set out to do. Though she doesn't mention God and praising Him doesn't seem to be part of their thoughts as they discover Africa, she was a good wife in the biblical sense that she respected and obeyed her husband even when she disagreed with him. She was feisty and they were both a bit temperamental, but always were able to talk through their disagreements and give way to the other when they needed to. Through the book I noticed her starting to trust his decisions more, and even though she still "pouted" when they differed in opinion, she followed him and submitted to him better and better as they had more adventures under their belts.
In the last few pages, he looks over at her as they have just finished telling a crowd of 9,000 little children about their Borneo airplane adventures, and says to her, "We're the luckiest couple in the world, aren't we?" She agrees.
February 16, 2020
This book is as much an anthropological study as it is about anthropology study. I Married Adventure was written by Osa Johnson; she and her husband were famed adventurers, game hungers, early anthropologists and ecologists. Without any training or study the two took off on a series of tours through southeast Asia and Africa, documenting what they saw - often staying for years at a time. This is truly thrilling stuff with other famous people of the era popping up from time to time such as Jack London (author), George Eastman (founder of Kodak), and the King & Queen of England (when they were merely Duke and Duchess on safari). Their travels span from 1907 - 1937 and their writings and photographs reveal as much about the western view of the people, animals and places as they document. Along with the photography dozens of rhinoceros, elephants, gorillas, lions and other animals we destroyed for trophies and museum exhibits, but mostly for approaching the photographers. All of the subject people from islanders, jungle tribes and all Africans (whether from the city or the plains and jungles) are treated as either animals or child-like. The entire enterprise is deeply exploitative, but did ultimately yield a treasure trove of documentation of vanishing cultures, ecosystems and animals. You just need to remember who is framing the narrative.
August 28, 2012
Wonderful book. It is an amazing story of travel and exploration in the early 1900s in Africa and the South Pacific before there were tours, drivers and guides. It is also an endearing love
story of a couple able to follow their passion for travel together. Descriptions of their encounters with head-hunters and "safaris" are truly inspiring. It will make you want to abandon your desk job and go see the world.
story of a couple able to follow their passion for travel together. Descriptions of their encounters with head-hunters and "safaris" are truly inspiring. It will make you want to abandon your desk job and go see the world.
March 24, 2025
Very well written and keeps you on edge!
September 2, 2013
I can't believe my children grew up in Kansas and had not come across Osa and Martin Johnson from Chanute and Independence Kansas. Their adventures all over the world in the early 1900's are truly remarkable. I enjoyed Osa's telling very much and although there are many terrible descriptions of the people they meet and hire to work for them based out of sheer ignorance. The descriptions of where they went, how they prepared, the photos they took were wonderful. The amount of visual information collected for the world to see was truly astonishing. I couldn't get over how one minute they are in the middle of Africa growing vegetables, living with all the latest advances and then the next a rhino would be charging them, they would be crossing miles of very inhospitable conditions, or crouching in a boat or blind for hours on end to try to get a picture. All the different peoples they interacted with and experienced their customs: cannibals, head hunters, pygmies, etc. They did this all with I don't want to say without fear, but just matter of factly (is that the correct phrase?). Anyway an astonishing read!
August 29, 2011
I requested this book from my University Library after reading about Osa Johnson in "Women Travelers." From the moment I received this first edition, with its zebra-striped bookcloth cover, I was hooked. I had requested Martin and Osa's silent film, "Simba" (1924) through Interlibrary Loan at the same time.
Osa's voice throughout the book (the film was obviously silent) was inviting and in no way condescending. I am looking for a first edition of this book to purchase, in case anyone has one they would like to sell.
Osa's voice throughout the book (the film was obviously silent) was inviting and in no way condescending. I am looking for a first edition of this book to purchase, in case anyone has one they would like to sell.
June 10, 2019
My elderly neighbor recommended this book so I ordered it mainly to humor him. It was interesting to begin with but by the end I hated this egotistical couple who enjoyed killing big game animals so they could ship them back home for curious folks to marvel at. By the time I finished reading it I was so disgusted with it I didn't want it on my bookshelf. I gave it to the guy who recommended it to begin with and never ask him for another recommendation.
July 12, 2008
This book (with the zebra cover) sat on my shelf for years. I think I started to read it once but got bogged down. This time I couldn't put it down. I don't believe people have adventures like this any more. Imagine being chased by cannibals down a mountain, through a jungle and into the ocean. That's what novels are made of, but this actually happened.
June 19, 2012
I was originally drawn to the zebra stripe cover and exciting title, but the story definatey pulled me in further. Osa Johnson vividly describes the exotic locations and cultures she explored throughout her marriage to Martin Johnson. Wonderful story of Love and Adventure.
September 6, 2008
Five stars for the past, way past, when I loved this book. Coming back to it as an adult, I saw what I didn't see as a kid. The book is filled with the slaughter of animals.
March 17, 2026
Animals uber alles
I learned to read at a very young age. When I went to the public library with my mom, I always looked for books about animals and tales of how daring fellows went to faraway places to catch them and bring them to zoos. (As I grew older, I deplored that activity, but it had been a phase in my past. At least, I soon outgrew reading about big game hunters.) One of the books I read avidly was this one. In “I Married Adventure” Osa Leighty, from a small Kansas town, married Martin Johnson while she was still in high school in 1910. He had already been pretty adventurous, traveling across the Pacific with Jack London in the “Snark” to visit the people of the Solomons and New Hebrides (Vanuatu). After marriage, the Johnsons went back to Melanesia and then to Borneo, on expeditions that became increasingly complex and ambitious. Their object was to photograph the wildlife and people of the places they went. But their careers really took off when they began the same work in East Africa—mainly Kenya and (then) Tanganyika. They arrived in Mombasa with 85 trunks, boxes and crates in 1921 and proceeded over the next fourteen years or so, except for some trips back to America, to make films about the animals of the area with greater and greater amounts of equipment and vehicles, finally with a couple of airplanes as well. You can read all about their adventures in this book. When I was in elementary school, I loved it. Martin was killed in an American plane crash in 1937, bringing the story to an end, though Osa lived till 1953, after I read the book.
However. Thinking about the past and past reading pleasures, I recently re-read Osa’s work. I was struck, not for the first time, by how growing up changes your point of view and reveals what was totally invisible when you were a kid. I noticed how easily they killed many animals who might have been afraid, protective of young or territory, or resentful of intrusions by well-armed photographers. They killed many more just to eat on their “safaris”. They built houses in places full of animals, brought whole parades of vehicles there, and needed the services of legions of “natives”. And that brings up the thing that disturbed me the most, even if, as they say, “Times were different.” The Johnsons fit right into those times. This is quite a racist book. Africans and Melanesians are eternally labelled “natives”, “blacks” or “boys”. Arrrgh. Not one of them has any personality, the Johnsons showed zero interest in their cultures; they were just convenient (and necessary) hands. The colonial British are all splendid fellows, so hospitable etc. and nary a question is raised as to why they had a right to rule over Africans or Melanesians whose lands had no history. Anthropology did not ruffle the slightest feather. The Johnsons mounted enormous expeditions in places whose inhabitants are mentioned only as porters and servants. If they spoke, it was in comic book "Primitive".
But, OK, if you can ignore that, this is the story of an adventurous couple who made a number of movies about African animals and had an unusual life with plenty of narrow escapes.
I learned to read at a very young age. When I went to the public library with my mom, I always looked for books about animals and tales of how daring fellows went to faraway places to catch them and bring them to zoos. (As I grew older, I deplored that activity, but it had been a phase in my past. At least, I soon outgrew reading about big game hunters.) One of the books I read avidly was this one. In “I Married Adventure” Osa Leighty, from a small Kansas town, married Martin Johnson while she was still in high school in 1910. He had already been pretty adventurous, traveling across the Pacific with Jack London in the “Snark” to visit the people of the Solomons and New Hebrides (Vanuatu). After marriage, the Johnsons went back to Melanesia and then to Borneo, on expeditions that became increasingly complex and ambitious. Their object was to photograph the wildlife and people of the places they went. But their careers really took off when they began the same work in East Africa—mainly Kenya and (then) Tanganyika. They arrived in Mombasa with 85 trunks, boxes and crates in 1921 and proceeded over the next fourteen years or so, except for some trips back to America, to make films about the animals of the area with greater and greater amounts of equipment and vehicles, finally with a couple of airplanes as well. You can read all about their adventures in this book. When I was in elementary school, I loved it. Martin was killed in an American plane crash in 1937, bringing the story to an end, though Osa lived till 1953, after I read the book.
However. Thinking about the past and past reading pleasures, I recently re-read Osa’s work. I was struck, not for the first time, by how growing up changes your point of view and reveals what was totally invisible when you were a kid. I noticed how easily they killed many animals who might have been afraid, protective of young or territory, or resentful of intrusions by well-armed photographers. They killed many more just to eat on their “safaris”. They built houses in places full of animals, brought whole parades of vehicles there, and needed the services of legions of “natives”. And that brings up the thing that disturbed me the most, even if, as they say, “Times were different.” The Johnsons fit right into those times. This is quite a racist book. Africans and Melanesians are eternally labelled “natives”, “blacks” or “boys”. Arrrgh. Not one of them has any personality, the Johnsons showed zero interest in their cultures; they were just convenient (and necessary) hands. The colonial British are all splendid fellows, so hospitable etc. and nary a question is raised as to why they had a right to rule over Africans or Melanesians whose lands had no history. Anthropology did not ruffle the slightest feather. The Johnsons mounted enormous expeditions in places whose inhabitants are mentioned only as porters and servants. If they spoke, it was in comic book "Primitive".
But, OK, if you can ignore that, this is the story of an adventurous couple who made a number of movies about African animals and had an unusual life with plenty of narrow escapes.
November 18, 2025
I purchased my copy of this book in paperback at the Martin & Osa Johnson Safari Museum in Chanute, KS when visiting the museum in October 2023. This book covers the remarkable lives of two small-town native Kansans, Martin and Osa Johnson, who were married under unlikely circumstances in the early 20th century. They then proceeded to travel to little-explored corners of the globe and capture the people and wildlife of these areas on still and motion picture film. The pair of adventurers went to South Pacific islands initially, where they learned by trial and error how to survive in the wilderness and interact with the indigenous people and wildlife. Later excursions took them to various regions of Africa, and eventually the equipment and supplies used in these adventures reached prodigious proportions. Their travels took place over a 20-year period, starting in 1917, through the end of the book in early 1937 when Martin is tragically killed in a commercial airliner crash. The book is very much a product of its times. Indigenous people are discussed in dismissive terms. Osa claims that she and Martin were both loathe to kill wildlife and proud that they "hunted" with a camera. Yet every story about how an exciting piece of film was shot in Africa involved the following: Martin approached a wild animal (an elephant, lion, buffalo, rhinoceros, etc) to provoke a reaction, the provoked animal then charged at Martin while he filmed it, then Osa shot the charging animal dead before it got too close. This process is documented MANY, MANY times in the book. It's a good thing they "hunted" with a camera instead of a machine gun, otherwise probably no African wildlife would be left today. I struggled with whether to give the book a 3-star or 4-star rating, but eventually went with 4 stars since it was written in a breathless and enthusiastic tone and read quickly despite its almost 450 page length.
April 27, 2020
Their life was definitely an adventure. It is amazing how much they have traveled and seen in the beginning of the 20th century. It is surprising how the book ended up being so boring.
They had 20 years travelling together and yet she couldn't find many actually interesting events? Because a lot of space was taking by boring things like getting ready for it and such. It was also repetitive and slow. I don't have an issue with them hunting back in the days, it was normal back then but considering how she says they didn't like killing animals I am surprised why about 90% of her stories about encounters with animals include killing them. I am sure they had way more other interesting stories in 20 years!
What I found interesting was the beginning when they were meeting native tribes. This was something that is impossible to experience even for people in our time. Of course we have some fresh reviews here crying about racism. It is amazing how she didn't see cultures where eating people and burying their elderly alive was a norm to be as civilized as hers. How racist! We should know that all cultures are the same and if anything European cultures are the worst. Same people who are upset about her self sexism are also judgmental that she disapproved how in one tribe women were abused and treated as slaves.
Unfortunately no matter how great their lives and adventures were the book is just ok. Maybe it needed some editing and she also needed to come up with more interesting experiences of which I am sure they had a lot.
They had 20 years travelling together and yet she couldn't find many actually interesting events? Because a lot of space was taking by boring things like getting ready for it and such. It was also repetitive and slow. I don't have an issue with them hunting back in the days, it was normal back then but considering how she says they didn't like killing animals I am surprised why about 90% of her stories about encounters with animals include killing them. I am sure they had way more other interesting stories in 20 years!
What I found interesting was the beginning when they were meeting native tribes. This was something that is impossible to experience even for people in our time. Of course we have some fresh reviews here crying about racism. It is amazing how she didn't see cultures where eating people and burying their elderly alive was a norm to be as civilized as hers. How racist! We should know that all cultures are the same and if anything European cultures are the worst. Same people who are upset about her self sexism are also judgmental that she disapproved how in one tribe women were abused and treated as slaves.
Unfortunately no matter how great their lives and adventures were the book is just ok. Maybe it needed some editing and she also needed to come up with more interesting experiences of which I am sure they had a lot.
July 14, 2025
Well this was uncomfortable reading. I understand people say "it was a different time" but this was filled with racist and cultural stereotypes whether in Borneo and the South Pacific or in various countries in Africa. The Johnsons remarked that they were one of the only photographers and videographers that didn't stage things but they staged plenty by firing guns or baiting animals to get the shots they wanted. They often ended up shooting and killing animals when their actions resulted in the animals charging at the photographers. Osa Johnson was a good shot and killed many animals during photography shoots. One exception might be some of the time they focused on observations at what they called Lake Paradise. Another disturbing aspect was their collection of animals as their own pets for their personal fancy which were later sent off to zoos or experienced accidental deaths. The book is largly devoid of any personal reflection; family losses are reported as yesterday's news and they quickly move on to the next photo shoot or trip. One possible reason for the lack of self-reflection is that I have seen academic references that this book was ghostwritten. So my 2 star rating is because there is a lot of physical geography in the book and I do like reading about weather, ocean conditions, and river travel.
November 23, 2019
This ended up being more of a slog than I anticipated. The Johnsons were a couple who lived in the early half of the 20th century, having grown up in Kansas but then left to see the world and photograph and document the great beasts of the largely unexplored natural world. This often makes for fascinating and riveting reading, but unfortunately the book is LOADED with the prevailing racial attitudes of the day. Johnson's prose is full of White Savior condescension as she laughs at the "boys" (read: black men) who lead them into the wilderness and who live lives of "savagery". At times I MARRIED ADVENTURE is a very difficult book to read, even for readers who are well-schooled in the practice of accommodating for out-dated views on such matters.
I'm not sure I recommend this book, except as a time-capsule for a way of looking at the world that I can only hope is long past its prime. It's a shame, too, because I really wanted to like this book. I don't quite DISlike it, but...yeah, this one's tough. Reader caution is recommended.
I'm not sure I recommend this book, except as a time-capsule for a way of looking at the world that I can only hope is long past its prime. It's a shame, too, because I really wanted to like this book. I don't quite DISlike it, but...yeah, this one's tough. Reader caution is recommended.
August 1, 2019
Originally published in 1940 this book became a best seller and I can see why. Osa only knew Martin a few days when she married him in the early 1900s. He was a photographer and film maker who wanted to document animals and indigenous peoples in remote areas of the world. Osa was a little reluctant at first but then decided to follow her husband's ambition. Their first trip was to the cannibal tribes in the Solomon islands. With pluck and determination they achieved their goal, even though there were some moments of unease and downright terror.
In later excursions they went to Borneo, and Africa. Both seemed to be enamored of living in the wild though it could not have been easy. Natives of the lands they were in helped them and Osa makes light of the difficulties involved in their pursuit of bringing pictures and films of animals in the wild to appreciative audiences.
In later excursions they went to Borneo, and Africa. Both seemed to be enamored of living in the wild though it could not have been easy. Natives of the lands they were in helped them and Osa makes light of the difficulties involved in their pursuit of bringing pictures and films of animals in the wild to appreciative audiences.
October 24, 2017
I first read this book many, many years ago. It has stayed with me all these years. It is amazing. It's the memoir of Osa Johnson and the years she spent with her husband Martin from 1910-1937. They went on expeditions to remote islands and Africa photographing natives and animals. Theirs were some of the very first pictures people saw of natives and the animals from these regions. Martin and Osa knew very little about what they needed to survive before going into some of these remote places. It demonstrated the trust they had in each other that everything would work out.
It's a fascinating memoir of their journeys and their love and trust in each other. I thoroughly enjoyed this books as much the second time around
It's a fascinating memoir of their journeys and their love and trust in each other. I thoroughly enjoyed this books as much the second time around
January 22, 2024
There were lots of things that I didn't like about this book read as part of the Travel Book Club but most could be put down to a time thing. Martin married a 16 year old school girl at least 9 years his junior, they riled up animals to photograph them charging and then shot them if the situation seemed dangerous (how could it not) and they helped kill specimens for the NY Natural History Museum. Reference to "intelligent" or not amongst the indigenous people they encountered was also irritating. In the end, however, they seemed very well suited as a couple and talented photographers who captured people and animals in a manner that would not be possible now. The book dragged for me - too long and too much about KS - but I read it to the end. (Purchased secondhand from an Amazon seller.)
October 26, 2019
I've been wanting to read this one for a while and I'm so glad I was finally able to- Osa Johnson's story of her life with her husband as they documented life in Africa and the Pacific is truly incredible. They pioneered early photography and filmmaking in the early 20th century and detail their successes and struggles along the way. Osa's first person account shows her true devotion to her husband and all his adventurous ideas and has definitely reignited the travel bug within. A great snapshot of life and love.
December 28, 2025
Martin and Osa Johnson were explorers, photographers, and documentary film makers who were way ahead of their time. Reading about how they met and their adventures was captivating.
That being said, they are still products of their time and at times it was hard to read the many references to "savages" and "natives" that were condescending and Western-centric. It was also heartbreaking to read about provoking animals for entertainment and in some cases, shooting them.
Overall, I still think it's worth reading. The book could've benefitted from an editor as certain parts dragged on and were too long, but it's still an important piece of history that's been lost to time.
That being said, they are still products of their time and at times it was hard to read the many references to "savages" and "natives" that were condescending and Western-centric. It was also heartbreaking to read about provoking animals for entertainment and in some cases, shooting them.
Overall, I still think it's worth reading. The book could've benefitted from an editor as certain parts dragged on and were too long, but it's still an important piece of history that's been lost to time.
November 11, 2017
As typical for adventure books, I never got really addicted, but I still enjoyed reading it. But it's an easy read.
And: It's exactly as travelling: There are adventurous days and less exciting days. The ups and downs of travelling are well described.
It was interesting to see, how travelling and camera technology developed over the decades described in the book. And also the intereactions with local people and wildlife at that time seem somewhat different from today.
And: It's exactly as travelling: There are adventurous days and less exciting days. The ups and downs of travelling are well described.
It was interesting to see, how travelling and camera technology developed over the decades described in the book. And also the intereactions with local people and wildlife at that time seem somewhat different from today.
August 6, 2019
A truly wonderful book. Osa Johnson wrote beautifully--just enough detail to make you "see" what they saw, but not so much that you got bogged down. The ending was a bit abrupt and shocking, but I suppose that mirrored what she really experienced. The sensibilities were definitely early-20th-century, but the accounts of the adventures of Martin and Osa were a great read.
September 10, 2019
It was a fascinating read especially given that much of the adventure is now close to 100 years old. I also appreciated the book because 100 years ago Osa defied cultural norms to live the life she and Martin chose; my God, the woman wore pants. It isn’t a fast read, but one worth being patient to the end.
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