During the 1970s & 1980s, Peter Matthiessen took part in a number of expeditions to Africa, witnessing first-hand the continent`s many & diverse peoples & wildlife. The fruits of these journeys are three of the most impressive essays on the natural world of the late twentieth century. The Tree where Man Was Born documents wild landscapes, peoples & animals, observed in a series of journeys in East Africa, from the Sudan, south through Uganda, Kenya & Tanzania, exploring the Serengeti, the Maasai Mara, the Ngorongoro crater & the archaeological sites of the Rift Valley. African Silences recounts two expeditions made to West & Central Africa, including Zaire (as it then was), Gabon & the Central African Republic. Sand Rivers describes the Selous game reserve in Southern Tanzania, one of the largest, but least-known refuges for animals left on earth, & provides an unforgettable portrait of this area & the fierce, lonely men who created it. These three classic works represent Matthiessen the naturalist at his finest; written an all-encompassing curiosity & knowledge that brings alive the people, places & wildlife he encounters, & updated with a new introduction by the author.