ABOUT THE BOOKS
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Feathered Canyons
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Spirited Oasis
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Beyond The Oasis
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jeannette Hanby
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Jeannette Hanby has taken on jobs ranging from working with abused and abandoned children in Los Angeles County to placer gold mining in the Sierra Nevada mountains - the subject of Feathered Canyons. After completing her Ph.D. dissertation in Oregon on monkeys, she went to Cambridge in England for further study of primates—one of whom, David Bygott, became her husband.
David Bygott began observing wildlife and drawing as a child exploring the countryside of southern England. He was finishing his Ph.D. thesis on wild chimpanzee behavior when he met Jeannette, his partner in field research, conservation, and business for five decades. The couple studied lion biology in Tanzania’s renowned Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. They have worked as conservation educators, university lecturers, safari guides, writers, and artists. Together, Jeannette and David have produced numerous guidebooks, educational booklets, activity books, and museum displays in both English and Swahili. Their life in a Tanzanian village in the 1980s and 1990s is described in Spirited Oasis and Beyond the Oasis. They now live in an intentional community in Tucson, Arizona, still learning about primate behavior, as well as continuing to travel and explore the world. |
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REVIEWS
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Spirited Oasis- Reviews
From other authors: "I couldn't put it down, and each chapter whetted my appetite for the next. I look in the mirror, and I'm surprised not to be covered in dust; I look out the window and wonder where all the Hadza, Iraqw and Datoga might have gone - they surely were just there a few moments ago. I hope the promised sequel comes out soon - I'm going through withdrawal...." - Craig Packer, author of Into Africa "I believe this is the best book you will ever find about the lives of ordinary African people" - Dale Peterson, author of Jane Goodall Beyond the Oasis- Reviews
Original, insightful, educational and very engaging
"Spirited Oasis and Beyond the Oasis are such inviting and plain-spoken accounts of her years in northern Tanzania that I read every word. People in the village where Jeannette Hanby and David Bygott settled were poor and largely unschooled, and they were so wary of outsiders that it took years for the foreign couple to become part of the community. Hanby’s recollections of their slow integration are presented in bite-sized chapters. Each presents a gentle story of everyday life, sometimes with a shocking ending. Hanby is brilliant at conveying a realistic sense of what it means to engage with a different set of cultures and learn about them. She describes in beautifully simple language the individual histories of the people she comes to know, the joys and conflicts that she and Bygott experience, the mix of four ethnic groups, the impact of the national administration, the wildlife and the scenery, as well as the fact that all around were sites with evidence of deep human evolution. Scores of superb illustrations by Bygott bring the stories to life. This is a wonderful picture of a fascinating and rapidly changing world." – Richard Wrangham, author of The Goodness Paradox, Catching Fire, and Demonic Males. Engaging and insightful stories I enjoyed both of the "oasis" books. Hanby and Bygott share stories of their interactions with local Tanzanians of various ethnic groups in a remote, wild, and fascinating part of the country. The stories ring true based on my experiences in Tanzania, and they are offered with grace and good will toward their neighbors. Bygott's illustrations are first class, the perfect complement to the stories. Safari visitors to Tanzania often tend to focus exclusively on the amazing animals they see, but the local people are equally fascinating, and these books can give the reader more insights into life beyond the safari. – Walt Anderson – author of Inland Island: The Sutter Buttes Intriguing stories about life in a remote Tanzanian village. Jeannette's description of thorns screeching against her Land Rover stimulated fond memories of my own time in the East African bush. Nonetheless, my main takeaway from this book is its portrayal of the changes, driven by population growth, tourism, and the general advance of 'civilization,' impacting the village of Mangola, the ancestral lands of the hunter-gatherer Hadzas, and the authors themselves. – Dennis Herlocker, author of Buffaloes by my Bedroom A Fine Dive Into Tanzania's Multiple Cultures I couldn't bear to finish this book - the second in what I hope is a long series. David's unique drawings and Jeannette's close observations of rural Tanzania life in the Nineties are a rich introduction to the multiple tribes of the Mangola/Lake Eyasi area - from the remnants of Hadza hunter-gatherers, Datoga warrior-herders, Japanese anthropologists, to Mzungu (white) farmers, biologists and visitors. Throw in a safari with archeologist Mary Leakey to remote rock painting sites and wildlife love stories and you can visit a part of Africa through its remote to its intense settlement phases. The chapters can be read separately and then repeatedly, to appreciate their detail and depth. – Amazon Shopper Like being there It’s rare to find a book that immerses you so completely in its world, but Hanby and Bygott have succeeded in doing just that. I felt I was right there in this unique Lake Eyasu region of the Rift Valley, mixing with the colorful cast of characters from many ethnic groups. Adventures are peppered with sounds, smells, and Hanby’s self reflections, but Bygott’s drawings and photos really bring the characters to life. An exciting glimpse into a life most of us can only imagine, and a perfect companion to their Spirited Oasis. – Kindle Shopper Feathered Canyons - Reviews
“A real-life time travel adventure to fall in love with in a thousand ways. Hanby’s picturesque narrative of her youthful, mid-60s California derring-do has more colorful characters than a bushel of crayons. Bygott’s succulent pen drawings illuminate every couple pages to stick the scenes to your brain like honey. Altogether, it’s a visual celebration of life, love, joy, grinding work, muddy roads, slick trails, naked gardening, all in service of the lust for gold. Oh, and there’s also a VW beetle named Hesperus.”
–E.T. Ellison, author of Book of the Year winner The Luck of Madonna 13. Jeannette Hanby’s thoughtful, appealing, and often lyrical memoir of California’s 1960s hippie scene ranges from the glories of Big Sur to the soul-wrenching hard work of gold mining in the Sierra Nevada. David Bygott’s illustrations not only support the narrative but supply the book with their own beauty. – Wynne Brown, author of The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmon’s Life of Science and Art Read the book? Don't forget to leave a review on Amazon or through the Contact form below!
Thanks for your support. |
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GALLERY
Scenes from Spirited Oasis
Drawings by David Bygott
Scenes from Beyond The Oasis
Drawings by David Bygott
- Scenes from Feathered Canyons
Drawings by David Bygott, photos by Jeannette Hanby
Drawings by David Bygott, photos by Jeannette Hanby
CONTACT
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