Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure

by Kelly Enright

Overview

The inspiring story of the legendary couple whose wildlife films transformed America’s perceptions of exotic places.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762768349
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Kelly Enright, who holds a PhD in American History from Rutgers University, is the author of Rhinoceros and America’s Natural Places: Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. 

Table of Contents

Preface vi

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1 Martin's First Adventure 1

Chapter 2 Honeymoon with Cannibals 33

Chapter 3 Taking Aim at Africa 73

Chapter 4 Living in Paradise 134

Chapter 5 Safari Skies 179

Chapter 6 Osa Alone 198

Bibliography 211

Index 215

Editorial Reviews

"Historian [Kelly] Enright showcases the careers of 'sa and Martin Johnson, explorers, wildlife-movie pioneers, and inseparable adventure seekers.. .. The couple's delight and happiness in living the life they made for each other shines through."—Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Kelly Enright's previous book, Rhinoceros: "Like its predecessors, this volume alternately informs, delights, moves, and astonishes. Success here owes as much to author as to subject. The former, a cultural and environmental historian, acquits herself admirably, distilling fact from fiction, employing supple and incisive prose, and trailing casual acumen in her measured wake."—Atlantic

From the Publisher

Historian Enright (America's Natural Places: Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, 2009, etc.) showcases the careers of Osa and Martin Johnson, explorers, wildlife-movie pioneers and inseparable adventure seekers.

At the age of 16, Osa walked out of the 1909 popular lecture and photo display put on by Martin Johnson in Chanute, Kan., after his return from the South Seas. She thought the show was ugly and repulsive, but the two hit it off and, within a month, they had married. On Osa's initiative, they took the lecture on the vaudeville circuit to raise money for joint explorations in the South Seas. She never lost this ability to act decisively, which many times saved her husband's life. Sharing their lives, they revisited the South Seas, and then followed up with three visits to Kenya before returning to the South Seas again. Except for an Explorers' Club membership, which Osa, as a woman, could never attain, the two were inseparable until Martin's tragic death in a plane crash in 1937. During their adventures, Osa and Martin pioneered using movie to record wildlife in their natural habitat, and their films remain a source of documentation for studies of wildlife today. The couple traveled and filmed in a time of transition, while the British were establishing preserves like Serengeti and ruthlessly clearing wildlife from areas designated for settled agriculture. Osa continued after Martin's death, writing books for adults and children, and her groundbreaking TV series Big Game Hunt.

The couple's delight and happiness in living the life they made for each other shines through.

Kirkus Reviews