Reviews for Lords and Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings With Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar

The average rating for Lords and Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings With Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-08-16 00:00:00 Mary Finley Although I did not find every single page of this book to be fascinating, I deeply appreciated Alison Jolly's perspective on Madagascar's economic, political, and environmental history after years of working in the Androy region. As a lemur researcher, it must have been so difficult to remain balanced when discussing a period of 40 years in which the forests of Madagascar have rapidly eroded. Framing Madagascar's history of political unrest, poverty, and famines through stories (some her own, some from locals) made them seem more real to me. I also loved that Jolly repeatedly acknowledged the role of women (and lack thereof) in Madagascar's history. Although I haven't read much historical non-fiction, when I do I'm usually unsatisfied with the token passages about what women were doing and what they were like. In this book, every woman seemed real and distinct-- just like the men. I just wish there were more chapters about lemur behavior... I'm guessing that's in another book.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-01-03 00:00:00 Elvin Parson The second half was much more interesting than the first. The first half should have been condensed greatly. It's a great way to learn about a land that most people don't know anything about, but there wasn't enough talk about the lemurs. But there never really is, is there?