From Publishers Weekly
Ross writes in the crusty, venerable tradition of explorers, game guides and great white hunters that includes Hemingway and Peter Capstick. Such firsthand reporting on "the Dark Continent" has been made anachronistic by eco-politics and excellent documentaries. Nonetheless, this American farm boy revels in the realization of his African-adventure dream: an eco-tour business operating mostly in Kenya and Uganda. Ross leads clients around preserves into camera range of hunting lions and charging buffalo (he targets the African hunter's "Big Five," including leopards, rhinos and elephants). These campfire tales of dramatic approaches on game are told as moment-by-moment stalk scripts that often defy Ross's own narrative powers. His in-the-dust reporting style isn't as elegant as his tracking skills. The punchy Wild Kingdom-style sermons at the end of many chapters detract from Ross's quite capable narration of the dangers of travel in Africa. Moreover, the continent's transcendent beauty isn't particularly well served: these unillustrated accounts often cry out for photographs. In 1999, tragedy interrupted Ross's affair with East Africa: his safari party was kidnapped in Uganda's mountain gorilla preserve. Two of his eight clients were murdered by Rwandan rebels who escaped into Congo. Ross was left with a sharp sense of responsibility that he cannot reconcile with his "Endless Safari" scenario. Sadly, his absorption in spectacular wildlife and noble tribesmen distracted him from the actual Africa boiling around him. Ross's romanticization may well ignite some farm kid's dreams, but Adelino Serras Pires and Fiona Claire Capstick's The Winds of Havoc features better writing in the same vein. First serial rights bought by Talk magazine. (Aug.) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Ross was born and raised in the U.S. but longed for and dreamed of Africa. After college he moved to Kenya and became a full-time safari guide, leading tourists to the best views of the resident wildlife and teaching them about the ecology of East Africa. This idyllic life changed dramatically in March 1999, when Rwandan rebels kidnapped him and four safari clients, along with other tourists, in Uganda. By the end of the day, two of his clients and six others had been murdered and the rest traumatized and brutalized. The horror of this experience totally changed Ross. The events of March 1999 form the beginning and the end of his narrative, bracketing a moving account of a life spent doing what one loves most. Ross tells of how he came to Africa, what life is like on an extended safari, and of the numerous animals he and his clients observed. The immediacy of this memoir will linger long after it is read. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
This gripping memoir encompasses rich details about East Africa's wildlife as well as harrowing tales of its turbulent political climate. Safari guide Mark Ross, who originally published a short version of Dangerous Beauty in The Best American Travel Writing 2000, leads readers through his encounters with elephants, leopards, nomadic tribes, and ultimately, armed terrorists in this unforgettable blend of travelogue and nature study.

Ross grew up on a wildlife reservation in Illinois, where his lifelong fascination with nature -- and Africa in particular -- was born. He first arrived in East Africa as a college student working on a degree in wildlife biology, and before long he was permanently settled in Kenya, having realized he could no longer resist the pull of the vast open skies. His enthralling reminiscences of this golden period, when the African landscape was new to his eyes, and his first years as a safari guide, learning to track animals and anticipate their movements, make up the main portion of Dangerous Beauty. Ross learns everything he can about the animals in the game reserves of East Africa, from recognizing the whisker patterns and ear notches of particular felines to reading and interpreting tracks to finding the perfect spots for photographing the wildlife. As a likable and trustworthy safari guide, committed to teaching visitors about the ecology of East Africa, Ross works hard to get his clients out of the Land Rover and into the living, breathing, and, yes, dangerous world they've come to see. When things get rough -- like the elephant stampede that nearly killed him -- Ross is quick to put himself between his clients and the source of the threat. Chapter after chapter unfolds as Ross regales readers with captivating tales of encounters with leopards, crocodiles, Cape buffalo, cheetahs, lions, and elephants. Each exciting anecdote is a new adventure as Ross and his clients set off into the game parks, cameras in hand, ready to come face-to-face with the wildlife.

As political unrest began to alter the face of the continent he knows so intimately, Ross continued to eke out a living much as he always had, guiding clients, tracking animals, and constantly learning about the fierce natural environment of the bush. Throughout the 1990s, vast numbers of people were killed in East Africa (most notably in Rwanda in the spring of 1994) during rebel uprisings or tribal conflicts. Inevitably, Ross's world intersected with this harsh political reality. In the spring of 1999, Ross camped with a group of clients near Uganda's Impenetrable Forest, which harbors endangered mountain gorillas. Attacked and taken hostage by a group of Rwandan terrorists, Ross and his clients, along with other groups of tourists camped in the area, were forced to march at gunpoint for several hours without food or water. Mired in this hostage situation, Ross again assumed the role of go-between, translating the words of the terrorists and doing his best to keep the hostages alive. The skills Ross learned as a safari guide contributed greatly to his survival during the hostage situation. His ability to listen, observe, and remain calm helped immensely, securing food for the hostages and the release of those in ill health. Ross could not prevent the brutal killing of several tourists, however, and his description of the day's tragic events provides an almost unbearably intense ending to the memoir.

The lingering effect on Ross and those of his clients who survived the ordeal cannot be fully expressed. The attack also took its toll on the tourist trade in Uganda, a source of much-needed revenue for the country. Instead of keeping more tourists away, perhaps Dangerous Beauty will entice travelers back into the area, lured by Ross's evocative prose -- and the possibility of getting close to a rare mountain gorilla, a leopard with its cubs, or a lion resting in the shade of an acacia tree. (Julie Carr)

A Discover Great New Writers Fall 2001 Selection

FROM THE PUBLISHER

On March 1, 1999, veteran safari guide Mark C. Ross was camped with four clients in Uganda searching for endangered mountain gorillas. By day's end two of his clients and six other tourists were murdered by Hutu rebels crossing the Congo border. The tragedy made headlines around the world and changed Ross's life forever. He writes, "The continent has always been the love of my life. Now there is trouble between us." Dangerous Beauty is the story of that love and trouble. Ross details the terrible events of 1999 and his encounters with danger and natural beauty in East Africa. He brings to life the deadly charges by elephants, the encounters with lions, cheetahs, and Cape buffalo, and the electric excitement of witnessing the mass migrations of wildebeest and zebras. Ross's passion for East Africa creates an extraordinary account of a life of remarkable adventures, and a memorable vision of a beautiful, deadly, and fragile world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Outside Magazine

His memoir moves well beyond the tragic events that inspired it to give a visceral sense of Africa's ambiguities.

USA Today

High adventure [that] leaves the reader breathless. Dangerous Beauty is filled with loving descriptions of the wildlife and landscapes that define Africa...framed by wrenching sorrow.

The Stranger, Seattle

Amazing memoir...with gorgeous detail.

Kirkus Reviews