A Dark Place in the Jungle

During the mid-'90s, Spalding traveled to Borneo in search of Birute Galdikas, a primatologist who, along with Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, began her career as one of Louis Leakey's ''three angels.'' Instead of the earth mother the author envisioned, Galdikas turns out to be a disturbing figure. Spalding says Galdikas was banned by the Indonesian government from the research station she'd built in Tanjung Puting National Park, illegally keeps orangutans at her home, and charges tourists thousands of dollars to come care for them — all while raking in donations to her Orangutan Foundation International. A Dark Place in the Jungle is a fascinating story. A-