For more than 10 years, philanthropist and self-proclaimed radical conservationist Ed Warner has been working with game wardens and scientists in sub-Saharan Africa to track and record the whereabouts of black rhinos. Full of humor, mostly pointed at himself, Warner's stories of his time in the bush are fast-paced, like his actual encounters with the rhinos. After making a fortune as a geologist in the oil industry, he had the time and money to follow his passions, and so he jumped at the chance to help the International Rhino Foundation's Rhino Conservancy Project. The work is dangerous and unpredictable, as a black rhino will charge when it feels threatened. Warner quickly found this out in his first encounter with a large male; the only way to escape is to climb the nearest tree. Warner writes, "I started to consider that tree. The rhino had heard us and appeared to be upset.... All of a sudden he charged! The bull was there one second and gone the next in a cloud of dust, charging at a right angle to our position."
Warner includes wonderful descriptions of the rhinos, a range of flora and other fauna and the rock formations that are an integral part of the landscape--"the schist is shiny grey, but, due to the micas being altered to chlorite, glows golden in the light of the rising and setting sun." Warner's portrayal of his companions rounds out this lively memoir of the adventures he's had in Africa. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer