Light Shining Through the Mist A Photobiography of Dian Fossey

In 1966, with no experience or formal scientific training, Dian Fossey left the United States and set up a gorilla observation camp in the Virunga mountains of Africa. Sponsored by Dr. Louis Leakey, the 34-year-old Fossey had embarked on a 19-year project that began as a field study of gorillas but expanded into a labor of love and a mission to protect the magnificent species from extinction. No human ever came closer to the mysterious mountain gorillas than Fossey, but as her relationship with the animals grew, her fierce battle against poachers did also. Fossey was murdered in 1985, but her legacy endures. This dramatic story of her vital work is an important record for a new generation of readers.

Tom L. Matthews and his family, which includes two pampered cats, live in McLean, Virginia. He graduated from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in history and a concentration in anthropology. Later, he earned an M.S. in communications. As a scriptwriter and television director, he has produced such documentaries as How’s Business: The Quiet Revolution, which won first prize at the Rehabilitation International Festival and a Citation of Excellence from the Presidential Commission on Private Initiatives.