Alan Root is one of Africa#146;s most bitten. In the course of his adventures he has been mauled by a leopard, a silverback gorilla and a hippo, and almost lost his life to a deadly puff adder, which claimed one of his fingers. Root#146;s unmatched experience of East African wildlife and his appetite for risk have made him a world-class naturalist and film-maker. He#146;s one of the great wildlife pioneers.In Ivory, Apes & Peacocks, Alan tells the story of his life#146;s work, from his arrival in Kenya as a young boy (furious at having to leave behind Britain#146;s birds) to the making of his game-changing films. Instead of sticking to the Big Five animals, these looked up close at whole ecosystems -- baobab trees, termite mounds, natural springs -- and involved firsts such as tracking the wildebeest migration from a balloon, then flying it over Kilimanjaro, filming inside a hornbill#146;s nest and diving with hippos and crocodiles. Along the way we meet Sally the pet hippo and Emily the house-proud chimp, watch as Dian Fossey catches sight of her first mountain gorilla and have sundowners with George and Joy Adamson. And here, too, is Joan Root, Alan#146;s wife and collaborator for over thirty years, who was brutally murdered in retaliation for her environmental campaigning.

In this extraordinary memoir we look at Africa#146;s wonders through the eyes of a visionary, live through hair-raising adventure and personal sorrow, and also bear witness to a natural world now largely lost from view.