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“Extremely touching…a book about
growth and hope.”
— New York Times
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‘In Cathedral of the Wild, this sensitive observer reflects on his life
in the wilds but also his encounters with Nelson Mandela, who came to live on
the game preserve after his release from prison. Stories of rhino charges,
peace in nature, and a hard-earned tranquility.”
— Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review
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“[An] intense, insightful memoir
that brings together several wise observations about the relationship between
nature and humanity…Varty faces his own trials… leading to a spiritual renewal
that elevates this memoir above the usual wilderness narrative.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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“Londolozi Game Reserve in South
Africa has been the Varty family home for four generations. Located just west
of Kruger National Park, it is a world-famous private wildlife preserve that
attracts international visitors and broadcast-media attention. Varty recounts
how his family restored dry, overgrazed land abandoned by ranchers,
establishing a healthy habitat for a wide range of wildlife, including
elephants, lions, impalas, baboons, and crocodiles. This entertaining family
saga is filled with distinctive characters, especially the author’s uncle John
Varty, an irrepressible filmmaker who has survived numerous life-threatening
accidents and clashes with business partners and government officials. Like his
uncle, the author has cheated death, having been cornered by a poisonous cobra,
held by gun-bearing robbers, and attacked by a crocodile. Written by a
relatively young man, this quick-reading memoir may be just the first of many
lively African tales.”
— Booklist
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“It made me cry with its hard-won
truths about human and animal nature…Both funny and deeply moving, this book
belongs on the shelf of everyone who seeks healing in wilderness.”
— BookPage
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“Poignant memories of growing up in
the wild…The young author and his sister, Bronwyn, received a terrific and
rather charming, if occasionally hair-raising, education in the bush,
chaperoned by their Shangaan nanny. They learned to drive the Land Rover by age
eight and made friends with the dazzling menagerie living among them, including
bushbucks, agama lizards, francolins, hyenas, and baboons…A visit to Londolozi
from Nelson Mandela in 1990 is a highlight, as was Varty’s accompanying his
uncle to film the migration of the wildebeest across the Serengeti…The final
chapters chronicle the author’s youthful, inchoate ‘seeking’ in India and
Arizona, until, by his late twenties, he recognized that Londolozi was home.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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“This passionately spiritual memoir…is
both highly personal and properly historical…This work will immerse listeners
in the highs and lows of a complicated and unconventional upbringing that might
serve as an intriguing guide to parenting as well as a travel adventure…Few
memoirs approach its sense of warmth and intimacy, aided by the narration of
the author. Highly recommended.”
— Library Journal (starred audio review)
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“Varty mixes stories from his
African game park—lions in the bush, elephants in the back garden, and baboons
in luxury bedrooms—with observations from his search for mystical enlightenment
in settings that range from Indian ashrams to sweat lodges in Arizona. The
author’s narration lacks the polish others might bring to it. However, it is
redeemed entirely by his intense conviction and his charming South African
accent. Don’t miss hearing about Nelson Mandela’s visits to Londolozi.”
— AudioFile
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“This is a gorgeous, lyrical,
hilarious, important book. Boyd Varty is as brilliant a storyteller and as kind
a companion as you’ll ever meet. He describes a life that has been spent forging
a new way of thinking and being, in harmony with both Nature writ large and the
human nature that is you. Read this and you may find yourself instinctively
beginning to heal old wounds: in yourself, in others, and just maybe in the
cathedral of the wild that is our true home.”
— Martha Beck, author of Finding Your Own North Star
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“From the first chapter of
Cathedral of the Wild, Boyd Varty’s South Africa grabs your heart, rather like
the giant mamba he encountered as a boy. The deadly snake moved on, but Varty’s
stories stick. Here is a rare and moving tale of a young man who learns that
the greatest dangers, at least to the human soul, are not to be found in the
natural world, but in the emptiness beyond it—and that even mambas carry the
power to heal.”
— Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle