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What is Redheads about?
In the middle of a Borneo rainforest, a band of near-naked Penan tribesmen, encouraged by an equally clothes-challenged renegade Swiss shepherd, hesitantly blockade a logging truck, testing their commitment to protect their forest home. Nearby, a researcher studying orangutans is threatened with being thrown out of her study site unless she can reach a delicate compromise with the powerful minister of the environment. Meanwhile, loggers are busy at work, devastating the rainforest. And rehabilitant orangutans are not playing nice.
Time is running out for the people and the orangutans who share this threatened environment. Who has the answer to saving the world’s oldest forest — the marketing experts of an international nature conservation group or the earnest monkey-wrenchers?
At the heart of Redheads‘ black-humored fictional action lies the very real problem of rainforest destruction and the philosophical question of where the real boundaries lie between apes and humans. And just what is it about red silk underwear?
Also includes:
A Foreword by James Clad, professor of South and Southeast Asian studies at Georgetown University, and former United States deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia Pacific affairs.
And an Afterword by Jeffrey McNeely, former chief scientist at IUCN, and senior advisor to Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. He is co-author of Mammals of Thailand and Soul of the Tiger.
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Critical Praise:
“Redheads does for the struggle to save the rainforests of Borneo what Catch-22 did for the struggle to stay alive in World War II.
—Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael
“Free-thinking, intelligent, and irreverent — Redheads reminds me of a Kurt Vonnegut thriller. It’s bold, pacey — even racy … a quirky and often laugh-out-loud funny Robin Hood parable about the willful destruction of Asia’s forests and the price we pay by turning a blind eye. I loved this visceral eco-thriller, a sort of jungle morality play in which there’s more than simply the trees to lose.”
—Benedict Allen, author of Into the Crocodile’s Nest: Journey Inside New Guinea, and Hunting the Gugu: In Search of the Lost Ape-Men of Sumatra
“A great read. Redheads accurately and entertaining captures the cynical reality of today’s conservation conflicts. This entertaining novel is a must for anyone interested in learning how the global environment movement really works.”
—Daniel Navid, former secretary-general, international Ramsar Wetlands Convention
“Redheads is the perfect example of a new genre, a comic eco-thriller so suspenseful that you learn about this strange world while sitting on the edge of your seat … a roaring tale of tropical suspense. It is witty and smart and altogether a wonderful treat.”
— Thomas Bass, author of The Spy Who Loved Us, Vietnamerica, and The Predictors, professor of English and journalism at State University of New York
“With the trained eyes and the sensitivity of someone who lived among the orangutans in the wilds of Borneo, Sochaczewski tells a captivating story of the struggle to save the rainforests. Redheads reads like a fast-paced, high-powered movie script that makes the issue of environmental devastation come alive and demand reforms.”
—Robert A. Pastor, professor at Emory University and former staff National Security Council
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If you prefer a real book (I understand), you can buy the book as a paperback for $16.95.
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