Wildlife Wars: My Battle to Save Kenya's Elephants Book

Richard Leakey began his career following in the footsteps of his famous parents Mary and Louis, and becoming a renowned paleoanthropologist and head of Kenya's National Museums. In 1989, Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi put Leakey in charge of the Kenyan Wildlife Service. Ivory pachers were killing hundreds of elephants annually and the organization was close to collapse. Leakey sacked corrupt rangers and brough in millions of dollars from international donors to help enforce a ban on the ivory trade. But when Moi accused the service of corruption, Leakey quit, later forming an opposition party. He clashed with Moi but in July 1999 Moi appointed him head of Kenya's civil service and secretary to the Cabinet. He is now charged with ridding the government of corruption and jump-starting the economy. Leakey's clashes with poachers and the dictator Moi provide a dramatic focus for the book, in which he details the challenge he faced when he lost both his legs in a plane crash that many believe to have been caused by sabotage.