..for them it is a good world" (Turnbull 14). And although small in stature, Turnbull writes, they are able to kill elephants single-handed with only a short handled spear and blend so well with the forest foliage that one could pass right by without noticing them. Turnbull relates the BaMbuti customs, such as marriage rites, rituals and celebrations.

His accounts of these people rings a magically encounter. Turnbull is so taken by the forest people that he writes in poetic prose rather than anthropological language filled with statistics and dry observations. By detailing observations in such colorful style and with such humor, he brings these remote...

They are truly charming and wondrous at the same time. And although it was perhaps not his intention, Turnbull has created an extremely entertaining armchair adventure from the personal narrative of his expedition and subsequent relationship with the Pygmies of Za re, the real people of the Ituri Forest. For anyone willing to be swept away to the inner sanctuary of the Forest People, this should be the vehicle of choice.
Works Cited

Turnbull, Colin. The Forest People. Touchstone. 1987; Pp 11, 12, 14.