We want to devote our November Bite-Size Book Club session to discussing the work and legacy of Jane Goodall, who died on October 1st at the age of 91. She was a lifelong advocate for animals and animal rights, and a naturalist and researcher whose observations of chimpanzees in the wild broke important ground in deepening our collective understanding of animal behavior and capacities. For decades, she traveled worldwide in support of scientific research, educational projects for young people, protection of the natural world, and animal rights advocacy.
We will talk about the just-released Netflix documentary Famous Last Words: Jane Goodall, an interview with Goodall recorded with the understanding that it would only be released after her death. Our reading for November will be an excerpt from her last book, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, in which she draws an interesting contrast between “hope” and “optimism.”