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Vanity Fair contributing editor Seal expands on his August 2006 article for the magazine in this sweeping and atmospheric biography of the conservationist and wildlife filmmaker Joan Root, who was brutally murdered in her home on Lake Naivasha, Kenya, a region she was trying to save from poachers and environmental ruin. Intrigued by Root's suspicious death and cinematic life with husband and nature documentarian Alan Root, Seal mines Joan's diaries and writings to offer a lush love story set in the heyday of British colonialism in Nairobi, where amid the decadence and dilettantism, Alan fell in love with the lovely Joan Thorpe, an "Ingrid Bergman lookalike" and daughter of an English adventurer. Their partnership produced award-winning documentaries (their 1978 film on termite mounds, Mysterious Castles of Clay, was narrated by Orson Welles and nominated for an Oscar) and television specials. Their inability to have children was a source of constant sorrow for the couple, and despite the romance of their joint pursuits, their marriage unraveled. Seal's effort is a seamless story redolent with adventure, passion and heartbreak; its beauty nearly eclipses the tragedy of Root's untimely-and unsolved-death in 2006. Photos. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Seal, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a journalist for 34 years, expands on his portrait of British naturalist and filmmaker Joan Root, which appeared in the August 2006 issue of Vanity Fair following her brutal murder at her Kenyan farmhouse. Seal gives us the sad details up front and then leads us, gently and sensitively, through the story of this shy yet remarkable woman. The films she made with husband Alan Root became international hits, and one, Mysterious Castles of Clay, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1978. After her divorce, Joan Root became an ardent conservationist who fought poaching and illegal fishing on Lake Navaisha, a passion that may have led to her death. This is a great story built from many interviews of friends and family and from Root's extensive diaries and letters. What an adventure! What an example! Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ2/1/09; film rights were sold to Julia Roberts.-Ed.]
—Margaret F. Dominy
OhMercurialMe
Posted April 28, 2010
What an compelling read! I found myself engulfed in its pages, absorbing each and every detail. What an incredible woman, and the adventurous, albeit dangerous, life she lived. As I continued reading the story of this courageous, loving, dedicated, yet unassuming woman, I realized how much I wished that I'd had the privilege of meeting her. What she contributed, along with her former husband Alan, to the conservation of African wildlife shall be her legacy, long remembered. Ms. Root stood for what she believed, and battled til the death to defend it. I thank you Joan Root, from the bottom of my heart, for your selflessness and courage.
I'm so grateful to Mark Seal for bringing this story to the rest of the world so that we may get a glimpse of what true love, honor and devotion really looks like.
I would and have recommended this book to everyone! Oh, and don't forget the tissues.
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Posted November 22, 2009
Joan Root lived an unusual life. She was in a certain place at a certain time. The glimpse into that world is unique and contributed to my understanding of our world. Fascinating reading.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 17, 2011
Mark Seal words make you see the story. You feel like you are in the hot air balloon or there setting up the equipment. This is a great story about a great woman.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I love this book and Joan Root. It was fascinating to me and has increased (not decreased) my desire to visit Kenya.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I got a picture of a woman, and of a marriage, and of a career filming animals in the wild, but it all felt pieced together and thinly researched. I felt a little of the voyeur, since she was such a beautiful woman and the author seemed more than a little in love with his subject. Perhaps she knew how difficult it was for people to get past her beauty to her accomplishments--she kept herself too tightly wrapped and private for this author to uncover. Still, I would rather have it than nothing at all.
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Posted August 29, 2009
I picked up this book because I knew Mark's dad. What a great woman Jane Root was. I am so glad Mark decided to write about her life. Great story of Africa and Jane Root's life.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I'm not a huge non-fiction lover, but this book was wonderful. It held my attention and I fell in love with the life of the Roots. Joan's quiet manner and love for animals was inspiring. I've heard there may be a movie with Julia Roberts playing the lead. I love Roberts but Joan might be big shoes to fill for even Julia!
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Posted July 13, 2009
Anyone interested in this naturalist and beautiful woman should read this book. The author really did a good job about capturing Joan through her life and you really feel with her through her happy marriage, unhappy divorce, her struggle to save her home and the animals she loved and her wrongful death.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Mark Seal does an amazing job researching and writing a book about Joan Root, who by all rights should be as well-known as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. A story about Joan growning up and living in Africa as a naturalist and a film-maker.
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Posted January 28, 2011
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Overview
With compassion and an unswerving regard for the truth, veteran journalist Mark Seal lays bare the deeply moving, inspirational story of Joan Root, a dedicated environmentalist and Oscar-nominated wildlife filmmaker. He covers her early days in Kenya as a shy young woman with an almost uncanny ability to connect to animals; her whirlwind courtship with the dashing Alan Root, their marriage, and the twenty years of nonstop adventure and passionate romance that followed, both in Africa and around the world; the shattering disintegration of the marriage and partnership; and Joan’s triumphant struggle to reinvent herself as the protector of her lakeshore community’s fragile ecosystem—a struggle that would lead to her tragic