"First issued in 1992 and reissued in 1996 with a new afterward, The Myth of Wild Africa argues that researchers and conservation agencies should base their conclusions on hard data rather than preconceived stereotypes. Eschewing the dramatic emotional appeals that mark many western conservation groups' African campaigns, Jonathan S. Adams and Thomas McShane make a straightforward argument for an Afrocentric conservation policy."
— African Studies Review
"The vital position of Africans in effective conservation has not been well described for the Western public, and The Myth of Wild Africa takes an important step in redressing this lack of understanding. For anyone interested in the realities of conservation, it is a book well worth reading."—Dr. Amy Vedder, Biodiversity Program Coordinator, Wildlife Conservation Society
"A thoughtful and important examination of . . . the fatal fallacies of old-style conservation. The relationship between wildlife and people in Africa is as old as our species itself. The future of both must be taken into account together. Required reading for anyone who has ever cared about one or the other."—Thomas E. Lovejoy, Assistant Secretary for External Affairs, Smithsonian Institution
"I've never read any single other volume that has had as much impact on the problems, politics, and policies—and possible solution—of conservation in Africa."—Gary C. Clarke, Director Emeritus, Topeka, Kansas Zoological Park