Another good Review!

The Last Rhino by Robert Gribbin, copyright © 2020

Reviewed by Sandy Seppala-Gyr, June 12, 2020

Are there any white rhinoceros left in Africa? Who is poaching elephants, which are killed for their ivory to send to China? This book takes you to Central Africa where you’ll see what it takes to overcome strife in the name of conservation to protect wildlife and preserve cultures.

Elephants and rhinos were furthest from retired big-game hunter Philippe’s mind as he relaxed on his rigged sailboat in St. Martinique. He’d run chartered tours for five years when his Aussie friend, Sheila, suggested he was bored and getting boring. Agreeing, he guessed he needed an ‘adrenaline rush’.

Responding to an advert, he put behind his comfortable life and flew to London to interview with the Elephant Conservation Project for a position in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After being hired, he lands in Kinshasa where he agrees to become the Director of Garamba National Park. It has been neglected for years but still has vast numbers of wildlife. Initially he was asked to count elephants, stop poaching, and look for signs of white rhinos. With his expanded responsibility, he’ll also have to gain the trust, support, and help of twelve Rangers, head Ranger Elijah, and other park employees already there to resurrect and protect the Park.

He hires a local driver, Christopher, to join him. He also hires Ndomazi, his tracker from his hunter days. Together they will face local and national politics, bureaucracy, corruption, and international smuggling. They set off for Garamba Park to start this monumental mission.

Multiple aspects are involved in this massive project from constructing Park facilities and roads, garnering the support of local people, building infrastructure, to protect wildlife and preserve the Park, while ending the poaching and corruption. For years, the Lord’s Resistant Army killed wildlife and kidnapped women, but they had moved on. The danger now comes from a Chinese syndicate sending ruthless warriors into the DRC to poach elephants.

Philippe embodies what it takes to develop conservation that protects vanishing species of wildlife and also supports local people and culture worldwide.

Gribbin’s style is unique and very fast-paced. Each short chapter delivers a different character, from an elephant to a poacher to the Chinese Madame Ching, the mastermind of the smugglers. The reader feels Africa through the terrain, the birds and wildlife, the food, and the people, along with the complex interactions of the characters.

He’s good at describing and bringing to life the interactions between cultures. I particularly liked Philippe’s relationship with villagers—giving some local women with two infants a lift in his vehicle and slipping them a few Congolese francs, as well as palavering with Wayamba elders.

While sometimes too fast with facts and chapter changes, it does illuminate the roadblocks that deter the development of conservation, using the adventures of a man who takes on the challenge. Did he stop the poaching and resurrect the park? Did he find white rhinos? Only your reading of “The Last Rhino” will provide the answers.

Reviews of The Last Rhino

Rhino Reviews and Comments

-  This book has a bit of a mystery in it and a lot of adventure. It is well written and an engaging read. What struck me most, however, was that it is about the real Africa. Judging from the “About the Author” page it makes sense that this would be a story about the authentic Africa told with intelligence and knowledge. Robert Gribbin has spent much of his life in Africa and this came shining through.

The book helps you to see, feel and understand Africa. (At times the descriptions make you feel as if you can also hear and smell it as well.) It describes some of the true ravages of the Lord’s Resistance movement and the complexities of environmentalism on this continent. The characters are well drawn, there are strong women and sensitive men and also conniving politicians. It captures the dialogues and motives of real people one would meet in Africa today. There are people wanting to give back to society and others intent on destroying the wildlife in it.

Make no mistake that this is a novel. It is a compelling read for the plot alone, but the reader feels as if they are learning things about Africa and about life as they are enjoying the story. If I were teaching a course on Africa I would assign this as a very enjoyable text for my students. One that is also accurate and enlightening.

This book exceeded my expectations on three levels: it is an intelligent look at conservationism as it works in Africa today; it is a realistic, accurate view of contemporary Africa; and it is an engaging well-written novel with bits of wisdom throughout. An excellent read. I highly recommend The Last Rhino by Robert Gribbin. Debbie Jones

- Wanted you to know thatI have just finished the printed version of The Last Rhino and enjoyed reading it again very much. You have filled in the details nicely. I particularly enjoyed the way you inserted many interesting, and well-explained, points of natural history. Your story of the ornithologist was right on. I was not only sworn to secrecy but had to sign five different documents legally binding me to that oath.

There are two points of ornithology that could be corrected in the next edition. The Lilac-breasted Roller does not actually sing, it just makes an awkward sort of series of dry rasps that develops into a harsh rattle. And the Pied Kingfisher is a black and white bird with a black beak. The kingfisher with an orange beak is the Malachite Kingfisher. But those quibbles aside, what a wonderful book. I hope it gets wide distribution, and I hope it inspires you to keep writing. Alan Johnston

- I really enjoyed it and think it is your best book so far. Best Phil Jones.

- It is very well written and gave me an increased understanding of conservation and the problems with it in Africa. Josephine Strobel

- TheLast Rhino is the 3rd book written by Bob Gribbin all of which involve stories taking place in Africa. Bob has spent the vast majority of his adult life in Africa thus his writings exhibit a quality of realism to his stories. In The Last Rhino, the author lays out in a well written plot the many obstacles in preserving the wildlife and heritage of the central African landscape. Be it rogue armies, poachers, government corruption, lack of funds, Bob Gribbin weaves a story to vividly illustrate the challenges facing today's Africa. For any reader having an interest in the preservation of Africa's wildlife then The Last Rhino is a must read. I understand his impulse to resist sharing and read on. If this were written by an author with a different style, it would be a four hundred page beach read soon to be made into a major motion picture or Netflix series. As it is, it’s a book you keep nearby, waiting for an opportunity to find out what happens next. Tom Flinn


- I had trouble reviewing this book because my husband grabbed it and would not give it up.
The story takes place in Central Africa, a region the author knows well. It’s fiction, but it’s accurate and never strays into fantasy. The story begins as the hero is healing from a trauma that took place in Africa some years back. He finds that his new life in the Caribbean is pleasant but just doesn’t quite satisfy. He takes a job reopening an animal preserve in Central Africa that has been closed for years due to a long, bloody war. The chaos has encouraged poachers and many of the customs and traditions of the local people have been subverted to the need to survive in a very unfamiliar and brutal culture.
The remnants of war continue to haunt the countryside and its people. We learn of this through the characters themselves as they begin to adapt to a “new normal”. We identify with them and their struggles, as we admire the snap decisions the newly minted Park Administrator is called on to make.
If the reader knows Africa, she will be reassured that there are no false notes to distract from the story. If the reader does not know Africa, there is much to be learned from reading this book.
I warmly recommend it. Renny Smith, MSW and retired Foreign Service Officer




- Hey Bob, thoroughly enjoyed THE LAST RHINO . Hard to believe that country still
has areas that don’t seem to change at all - still live as if there has been no
change from one century to another. I can see how your characters get
so involved with the people and the animals. But it must be difficult
to deal with all the policies of the various areas. Don’tknow how you did it -
but you had/ have the personality to deal with them; patient, kind, and
blessings of our good Lord. Nan Taylor McLeod