Elephant Song

Elephant Song

WHITE GOLDIvory. In Africa, it is the tragic and thrilling object of greed, corruption, and senseless death. In this dangerous world of poachers and blood money, one determined man and one dedicated woman risk their lives to stop the senseless slaughter of a species on the brink of extinction.Following a trail that leads from the Mountains of the Moon and the deep forests of central Africa to the secret opulence of Taiwan and London's corridors of power, naturalist Dr. Daniel Armstrong and anthropologist Kelly Kinnear fight the battle of their lives against terrifying adversaries--the powerful individuals and conglomerates who would wipe out an entire race of human beings to satisfy their insatiable lust for elephant's ivory...."Compelling...Adventure, realism, and suspense are the stuff of Wilbur Smith's books....This story transcends any formula by making its case, passionately, for the human hunger for justice."--The Christian Science Monitor"Filled with intrigue and adventure on almost every page...Smith pulls his readers to the edge of their seats....For those who love an exciting adventure novel, this is one that will be difficult to put down."--Richmond Times-DispatchFrom the Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyIn his latest novel of Africa, Smith ( The Diamond Hunters ) sets a fast-paced melodrama of greed and political corruption against the stunning, indisputably commanding backdrop of a rain forest. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker and African ecologist Daniel Armstrong vows revenge after a gang of poachers steals a huge cache of South African government-protected ivory, in the process brutally killing Chief Warden Johnny Nzou, Armstrong's childhood friend, and his family. Tracing the smuggling operation to its highest source, Armstrong comes up against a sadistic Chinese diplomat and his profoundly wealthy clan, an unscrupulous entrepreneur expatriate from India, a knighted British tycoon, assorted thugs and a torture-crazed leopard guarding a warehouse. Armstrong agrees to film a PR piece for a tyrant who has just taken over a small African nation and, with money supplied by Armstrong's enemies, is despoiling the rain forest and enslaving members of certain tribes. Some romance, more sex, lots of bloody fighting and international intrigues, all carried out by deftly directed larger-than-life cardboard characters, will surely please Smith's fans and other action-addicted readers.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Kirkus ReviewsA dashing producer of TV documentaries battles to save his beloved Africa from callous international multimillionaires and home-grown villainous politicians--in a free-standing adventure from the author of the Africa-based Courtney sagas (Golden Fox, A Time to Die, etc.) and others. Smith's trademark big-hunter thrills, toned down to accommodate 90's sensibilities, keep things hopping for Rhodesian- born David Armstrong as he first documents Zimbabwe's thoughtful elephant management--and then avenges the death of Zimbabwe's best elephant-manager at the hands of ruthless ivory poachers. Armstrong, a one-time soldier who now turns out PBS-style nature films, just misses the slaughter of old colleague Johnny Nzou and family, but quickly deduces that Taiwan's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ning Cheng Gong, and his avaricious subcontinental ivory-agent, Chetti Singh, are the monsters behind the murders and the heist of a fortune in elephant teeth. Vowing to send Ning and Singh to their reward, Armstrong returns to London, where he picks up the backing of a bent billionaire and the assistance of a very capable, very randy camera person, meets a lovely scholar of Pygmy life, and then heads again to Africa. The grand confrontation with Singh and Ning takes place in Ubomo, a semi-democracy that has just been taken over by a rapacious army officer. Ubomo is also the home of the pretty Pygmy scholar. Humorless and politically only partially correct, but