Eli Greenbaum

Author Eli Greenbaum is a herpetologist and evolutionary biologist. He's also a modern adventurer.

He's been to the People's Republic of the Congo several times in his quests to document new or rare species of amphibians (and the occasional snake). There is real urgency for this work, as with each acre of jungle that disappears, undiscovered species may disappear forever.

This is also a modern day travel adventure account as central Africa, with its continuing wars and unrest, along with its remote, difficult to access locations, has been overlooked and little understood by the West for many years.

Each chapter begins with a bit about the area he will be traveling in – history, such the colonial ambitions of Belgium's King Leopold II and more current events including wars, uprisings and civil wars including the Hutu/Tsutsi conflict and genocide. We're also introduced to some of the geology of the area that formed the Great Rift; and of course, the endangered gorillas and elephants of the area.

The chapter then continues with the story of his expedition , including the obstacles to travel due to terrain, illnesses such as malaria, and hostile inhabitants. And of course, he describes the creatures that he found, and how they are is important to his research and to understanding our changing planet as a whole.

I enjoyed the sheer adventure of this book, the scientific work and also learning about the Congo. I came away from it with an increased knowledge and appreciation of central Africa. If you're an armchair scientist or an armchair adventurer, I think you'll find this book of interest.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.… (más)

Although the pacing was a little slow in some places (he provided a lot of background information, which was interesting overall), I enjoyed this book. Emerald Labyrinth is part memoir, part travelogue with science and history mixed. I appreciated that Greenbaum provided explanations of various scientific topics that informed the narrative but didn't use too much jargon - it's layperson-friendly. I wish there were more maps and photographs and that these had been dispersed throughout book, so that they were nearer to where they made their marks in the story.… (más)