Miriam Horn author of Homesick for a World Unknown: the Life of George B. Schaller

In Homesick for a World Unknown, Miriam Horn draws on thousands of pages from Schaller’s journals and letters, globe-spanning interviews, and two journeys into the field with the legendary scientist himself to trace his emergence as the founding father of modern wildlife conservation. She probes what drives him to know Earth’s wildest places and most fearsome creatures, beginning with a childhood upended by displacement and atrocity. Born in Berlin in 1933 to an American socialite married to a German diplomat during the Nazi era, the young Schaller was moved from one occupied country to another before finally arriving with his mother in the U.S. in 1947, as an enemy alien. It was in the Missouri woods that teenage George found a place of respite and at the University of Alaska that he found both his calling and a lifelong partner in Kay.

In the decades following his work in the Congo, Schaller went on to conduct the earliest studies of Indian tigers, Serengeti lions, Brazilian jaguars, Chinese pandas, and Tibetan brown bears, meticulously cataloging their private lives. He navigated acute danger, violent conflict, and treacherous politics in pursuit of empathy for and preservation of creatures big and small. It was Schaller who first guided Jane Goodall on her chimp study in Tanzania and led Peter Matthiessen into Nepal in search of the snow leopard. And while remaking wildlife science, his impact went further still: he spurred the creation of vast national parks and partnered with local communities to protect the homes they share with these animals. A vivid and captivating account of the adventurous life of George B. Schaller, here is the definitive portrait of the man who dared to challenge us to rethink our place in the natural world.

About the Author

Miriam Horn is a bestselling author, environmental advocate, journalist, and filmmaker. Her previous books include Rebels in White Gloves, Earth: The Sequel (coauthor), and Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman. She has produced two documentary films, with one premiering at Sundance. Before turning to books, Horn worked at the Environmental Defense Fund and the US Forest Service, and wrote for magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times. She lives in Colorado, in the South San Juan Mountains. For more information on Miriam Horn and George Schaller, including a glimpse of his private archive, go to miriamhorn.com.

More about Skip

Skip Horner has explored the world for decades as a mountaineer, becoming the first to guide clients to the summit of Mount Everest, and the Seven Summits, the highest peak on each continent. He also guided first-descents of rivers around the world, including the Yangtze and the Zambezi. Skip is a Fellow Emeritus in the Explorers Club, and a Certified Alpine Guide with the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). National Geographic Adventure dubbed him the “Uber-Guide”. He’s a popular lecturer and inspirational speaker, an accomplished photographer, a successful entrepreneur, and a family man. He lives in Victor, Montana, with his wife Elizabeth and their two cats, while their two children pursue careers in archeology and film-making.