Our Gigantic Zoo: A German Quest to Save the Serengeti by Thomas M. Lekan (review)

Combined with the power of television, fundraising, and a unique network of international organizations, Grzimek's vision assured leaders such as the head of Tanganyika African National Union, Dr. Julius Nyerere, that profits tied to tourism would make large national parks and conservation wort...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGerman Studies Review Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 220 - 221
Main Author Kalb, Martin
Format Journal Article Book Review
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.02.2021
Subjects
Animals
Authorship
Cold War
Colonialism
Decolonization
Economic development
Fund raising
Heroism & heroes
Imperialism
Inequality
International organizations
Literary devices
Narratives
National parks
Profits
Readers
Sovereignty
Television
Tourism
Wildlife
Wildlife conservation
Writers
Zoos
Germany
Tanganyika
Africa
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Summary:Combined with the power of television, fundraising, and a unique network of international organizations, Grzimek's vision assured leaders such as the head of Tanganyika African National Union, Dr. Julius Nyerere, that profits tied to tourism would make large national parks and conservation worthwhile. [...]Lekan argues: "The Serengeti was the contact zone in which the Grzimek's quest faltered on the environmental inequalities left by European imperialism, the unrealizable hopes for wildlife conservation as economic development, and African demands for environmental sovereignty" (21). Lekan meticulously tracks Grzimek's efforts to create, shape, and latch on to existing networks when trying to provide assistance to authorities in Tanganyika; the author also underscores the zoo director's abilities to forge his own frameworks.
ISSN:0149-7952
2164-8646
2164-8646
DOI:10.1353/gsr.2021.0031