{"product_id":"empty-hands-open-arms-the-race-to-save-bonobos-in-the-congo-and-make-conservation-go-viral-hardcover","title":"Empty Hands, Open Arms: The Race to Save Bonobos in the Congo and Make Conservation Go Viral - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDeni Ellis Bechard\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhen acclaimed author Deni Béchard first learned of the last living bonobos--matriarchal great apes that are, alongside the chimpanzee, our closest relatives in the animal kingdom--he was completely astonished. How could the world possibly accept the extinction of this majestic species?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBéchard discovered one relatively small NGO, the Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI), which has done more to save bonobos than many far larger organizations. Based on the author's extensive travels in the Congo and Rwanda, this book explores BCI's success, offering a powerful, truly postcolonial model of conservation. In contrast to other traditional conservation groups Béchard finds, BCI works closely with Congolese communities, addressing the underlying problems of poverty and unemployment, which lead to the hunting of bonobos. By creating jobs and building schools, they gradually change the conditions that lead to the eradication of the bonobos.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis struggle is far from easy. Devastated by the worst military conflict since World War II, the Congo and its forests continue to be destroyed by aggressive logging and mining. Béchard's fascinating and moving account--filled with portraits of the extraordinary individuals and communities who make it all happen offers a rich example of how international conservation must be reinvented before it's too late.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere is the matter of conservation given profound explanation--a searching and knowing consideration that enables an important social and political and cultural struggle in Africa to become a needed lesson for us who live elsewhere to ponder, take to heart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Robert Coles, \u003c\/b\u003ePulitzer Prize-winning author and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Into the Congo, this adventure reveals not a heart of darkness but a rich world of light, shade, and imperiled life, a connection between the human and the great circle of being.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--James Engell, \u003c\/b\u003eEditor of \u003ci\u003eEnvironment: An Interdisciplinary Anthology\u003c\/i\u003e and Faculty Associate of the Harvard University Center for the Environment \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An inspired, poignant, and seriously researched look at a subject of profound importance.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Wade Davis, \u003c\/b\u003eNational Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Serpent and the Rainbow\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A story that movingly illuminates the time we live in, a tale of an emblematic struggle in which the fate of all of us and our future on this planet are at stake.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Bruce Rich, \u003c\/b\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eMortgaging the Earth\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTo Uphold the World\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An emotionally-enthralling, nuanced voyage into the conundrums of bonobo conservation.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--William Powers, \u003c\/b\u003e author of \u003ci\u003eBlue Clay People: Seasons on Africa's Fragile Edge\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A brilliant example of how conservationists can work with communities to save not only their own immediate environments but also the world at large through courage, cooperation, and compassion.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Grant Hayter-Menzies, \u003c\/b\u003e author of \u003ci\u003eImperial Masquerade\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eShadow Woman\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Readers of this book will be entertained and moved by Deni Béchard's stories about this remarkable endangered and irreplaceable species and those dedicating their lives to saving them.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Riane Eisler, \u003c\/b\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Chalice and the Blade\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Real Wealth of Nations\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The embodiment of the type of reporting that we dream of reading, but all too rarely encounter--intelligent, engaged, and above all, astonishingly perceptive.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Dinaw Mengestu, \u003c\/b\u003eMacArthur Fellow and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Béchard's riveting journey through the 'dark continent' provides a surprisingly uplifting story about a radically different and successful conservation program.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--David Suzuki, \u003c\/b\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDeni Béchard\u003c\/b\u003e's first novel, \u003ci\u003eVandal Love\u003c\/i\u003e, won the 2007 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. He has also authored a memoir, \u003ci\u003eCures for Hunger\u003c\/i\u003e, and written for a number of magazines and newspapers, among them the \u003ci\u003eLA Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSalon\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOutside\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNational Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVQR\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMaisonneuve\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLe Devoir\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eHarvard Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eHarvard Divinity Bulletin \u003c\/i\u003e. He has been a fellow at MacDowell, Jentel, the Edward Albee Foundation, Ledig House, the Anderson Center, and Vermont Studio Center, among others. He has done freelance reporting from Northern Iraq as well as from Afghanistan, and he has traveled in more than fifty countries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 9.1 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 01, 2013\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51771450818848,"sku":"9781571313409","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/797c63d0f0d2e6f0bc1ea43653e49817.webp?v=1780386824","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/empty-hands-open-arms-the-race-to-save-bonobos-in-the-congo-and-make-conservation-go-viral-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}