Imagine walking into the forest, the trees and vegetation are thick, you have trouble seeing what is nearby because of the thick foliage but you are keenly trying to discern movement. All of a sudden a huge Mountain Gorilla bursts out of the surrounding gloom, rushing toward you, beating his chest, flashing his eyes, baring his teeth. Would you be able to stand still, eyes downcast, realizing he would not hurt you. Or it least it was probable he wasn't planning to hurt you. Can you imagine being more vitally alive? I envy Thor Hanson. What a fabulous adventure. I am sure it was frightening, but wouldn't it also be incredibly exhilarating.? Find out, come hear Thor talk about his time in Uganda working with Mountain Gorillas. Thor set aside his career as a scientist to spend two years in the Peace Corp in Uganda. He landed the plum assignment of teaching Mountain Gorillas to accept the presence of their cousins, Homo Sapiens. It was not an easy assignment. After all, no one informed the Mountain Gorillas they had been signed up for class. They had pretty firm ideas of their own about how life should be arranged. The ideas probably did not include Peace Corp scientists interrupting their afternoon nap. Thor not only had to teach the Mountain Gorilla to accept camera toting tourists without giving them the full benefit of one of those invigorating charges, but they had to also learn not to approach too close. Mountain Gorillas are curious creatures, after all they are our kin. All those gadgets the humans carry are interesting, Who knows what use an enterprising Mountain Gorilla might find for them. Thor needed to teach the Mountain Gorillas to keep their distance. We are not safe. We are walking germ factories, full of all kinds of stuff the Mountain Gorillas have not developed immunity to survive. So Thor had to teach the right balance. Part of Thor's task was to make trails for the tourists. There were some interesting issues to overcome in that task too. It had to feel good knowing he was helping the Mountain Gorilla to survive. Extinct lasts an awful long time. Tourism may hold the answer. If tourists come bringing money into the local economy, maybe the local people will see the benefit in preserving the wild places and the wildlife. If their lives improve because of the animals, perhaps poaching and encroachment can be controlled. While he was in Uganda Thor made friends within the local culture. There were people he cared for deeply. Uganda's other problem is it's staggering AIDS rate. Funerals became all too frequent in Thor's life.

Lasso the Wind by Timothy Egan took third place.  It is an interesting journey; Egan is a fabulously talented writer. We go all over the west.  Sometimes reveling in its beauty, sometimes stepping into its past, sometimes growing furious at its devastation.  Egan visits the Havasipai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon where they live without cars and get along just fine.  He ruminates on the early days of Las Vegas Nevada, and the bloated city it has become today. He gives details on the absolute rape of the land by the copper kings in Butte Montana.  He takes us through Yellowstone with all its natural wonders.  He continues on to Joseph Oregon, home of the Nez Perce.  He keeps on going, the west is a vast area full of light, canyon, tall mountains, and irascible people who love the land.