Forty years on from the story of Dian Fossey and the Gorillas in the Mist, the man who guided those visitors around his native land tells his life story. This book shares John Kahekwa’s life story, one of the world’s leading conservationaists, from growing up in a small village in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and walking barefoot to school to starting work with the gorillas, learning their behaviours, habituating them to be comfortable in the presence of people, and then the incredible suffering they endured in what has been called ‘Africa’s World War’. The book is, at its core, a tale of exceptional devotion to a cause, a refusal to accept defeat and a determination to continue working. From humble beginnings, we follow John’s progression to the world stage, shaking hands with British Royalty while continuing to devote himself to the people, forests and gorillas of his homeland in the DRC. John’s Pole Pole Foundation was one of three finalists in the inaugural Earthshot Prize, the 'Nobel Prize of Conservation', in 2021, in the Protect and Restore Nature category, and is now working to scale its award-winning work to better protect gorillas and support communities in the Congo and enhance conservation efforts worldwide.
