Stanley Breeden

This is a book about wildlife in India, with a focus on the tiger during the period from the 1970s to the 1990s. An opulent book by itself with its wide geographical range and its brilliant photographs, what makes it extra special is the personal story of its proponents, especially Belinda Wright, who chronicles her growth from a wide-eyed youngster in love with the wilds, to a hardened undercover crusader to nab the ruthless poachers nad traders who were posing a death threat to the tigers and rhinos (and, of course, to the wildlife crusaders and their informants themselves). It is an especially evocative story to this reader, who started his own career in the Indian Forest Service at almost the same point in time (1974); this portrayal of the different paths taken by the career forester on the one hand, and the wildlife crusader on the other, is definitely sobering, and perhaps evokes a sense of what could have been if their forces could be put together.… (mer)