In
Paradise, Inc., celebrated documentary photographer Guillaume Bonn delivers a striking visual and investigative journey into the complexities of wildlife conservation in East Africa. More than just a book of images, this compelling work is a conversation—one that challenges our perceptions and forces us to confront the often-overlooked consequences of human activity on the environment.
Through over two decades of fieldwork, Bonn has documented the fragile balance between modern conservation efforts, local communities, and the land they share. Divided into sections such as No Man’s Land, Warriors, and Men vs. Wildlife, the book offers an unfiltered look at the impact of overpopulation, the sacrifices made by park rangers, and the ever-intensifying struggle between poaching and preservation. With expanded captions that provide deeper context, Paradise, Inc. does not shy away from difficult questions, calling for transparency and accountability in conservation efforts.
With a preface by Maasai leader Ezekiel Ole Katato and an introduction by renowned journalist Jon Lee Anderson, the book exposes the failings of Western-led conservation models and highlights the voices of those too often excluded from the narrative. The result is a deeply researched, visually stunning, and thought-provoking work that demands attention.
More than a book, Paradise, Inc. is a call to action. For those passionate about the environment, human rights, and ethical conservation, this is an essential addition to your collection.
Order your copy today and be part of the conversation.
Sandrine Hermand-Grisel
''In the heart of East Africa, where the wilderness meets civilization, a profound struggle unfolds between humanity and the untamed. It is a saga of coexistence, conflict and adaptation, set against the backdrop of Kenya’s Maasai land, where tradition is intertwined with modernity and the fate of wildlife hangs in the balance.'' — Ezekiel Ole Katato
Born in Madagascar and raised in Kenya, celebrated documentary photographer
Guillaume Bonn has dedicated over 20 years to exploring and chronicling wildlife conservation practices, vanishing landscapes, and the implementation of landscape and wildlife preservation in East Africa.
Paradise, Inc. is a conversation, an education, an honoring of those who are boots-on-the-ground working to holistically address the complexities, and a lament to what has been mismanaged or destroyed. The book is an invitation to the viewer to honestly look beyond the surface to understand the range of destructive ramifications of climate change, human growth and activities, and conservation efforts that do not include engagement with local and regional communities.
By acknowledging there is no simple or singular answer, Paradise, Inc. creates a platform through the visual imagery and questions posted in the writings, to consider various ways solutions could be presented and compound to, if not repair, at least stopgap further destruction, calling for both transparency and accountability.
Bonn's writing threads throughout the book, often accompanying photographs as expanded captions that widen the view and context. He comments on the purpose of his project, noting, It is important to widen the discourse and create more awareness. To understand that the failure of creating better aid is a political failure, not an economic one and the only way to make things change, is to ask difficult questions so that governments understand they have to respond to public pressure.
The book is divided into several parts, with each section considering a particular angle to the conservation issues, entitled No Man's Land; Warriors; and Men Vs Wild Life. In No Man's Land, Bonn depicts Africa as a last frontier and the color photographs in this section depict impacts of overpopulation and the potential irreversible aspects of human disregard for the land and wildlife.
In the Warriors section, Bonn presents photographs of humans who risk their lives in the name of wildlife conservation. Stylistic and graphic choices such as photographing the park rangers against a white backdrop and dressed in full gear prior to their patrols, helps distinguish this chapter from the others, and is a design choice that comments on Bonn's respect for the rangers' dedication and courage.
Men Vs. Wildlife focuses on the relationship between poaching, wildlife decline, and conservation methods.
Founder and Executive Director of Across Maasai Land Initiative, Ezekiel Ole Katato, wrote the book's preface and he highlights some of the implications of the western approach to conservation, noting, Rural villagers’ morale is too low because their ideas and innovations are disregarded and sometimes appropriated, even by their governments, and also edited out of the picture of conservation to deceive donors that it is only the conservation organizations doing conservation work.
The book also includes an introduction written by investigative journalist and war correspondent, Jon Lee Anderson, who writes, Even now, Africa continues to be romanticized, fetishized, and ultimately objectified by outsiders, and by those who seek to profit from those misconceptions. In Paradise Inc., Guillaume Bonn seeks to clear up the cognitive dissonance.
To provide the reader with additional insight and context, Bonn includes articles, academic papers, and books he used for his own research. The book closes with a call to action, detailing a nonprofit, also named Paradise, Inc., that aims to show that philanthropy needs a thorough reevaluation. Using both traditional journalistic techniques and modern digital investigation methods, we are assessing the true impact of conservation organizations funded by generous donations.
About the artist:
Guillaume Bonn has been a regular contributor to The New York Times and, for 15 years, to the U.S. edition of Vanity Fair, through photographic stories that have taken him from the humanitarian crisis in Darfur to the illegal ivory trade, and his coverage of the sexual abuse of children in the DRC by UN peacekeepers. As a documentary filmmaker, he notably directed a film on the legendary photographer Peter Beard for Canal+, which was broadcast worldwide. He is a member of the Royal Geographical Society in London.
www.guillaumebonn.com
@guillaumebonn
About the contributors:
Ezekiel Ole Katato
Founder and Executive Director of Across Maasai Land Initiative (AMLI), he advocates for peaceful coexistence between humans and wildlife. He is a Maasai Elder in Kenya.
Jon Lee Anderson
A world-renowned investigative journalist and war correspondent, he is a permanent staff writer for The New Yorker and regularly contributes to major American news outlets.
