Laidler, Keith 1949–

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Laidler, Keith 1949–

PERSONAL: Born 1949. Education: Durham University, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 1 Oldlands Way, Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO22 9SA, England.

CAREER: Anthropologist, writer, and filmmaker. Wolfshead Productions (film production company), founder. Cameraman for several films; collaborator on television series The Living Planet.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

The Talking Ape, Stein & Day (New York, NY), 1980.

(With Liz Laidler) River Wolf, Allen & Unwin (London, England), 1983.

(With Liz Laidler) Pandas: Giants of the Bamboo Forest, BBC Books (London, England), 1992.

(With Liz Laidler) China's Threatened Wildlife, Sterling (New York, NY), 1996.

The Head of God: The Lost Treasure of the Templars, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, England), 1998.

The Divine Deception, Hodder Headline Books (London, England), 2000.

The Last Empress: The She-Dragon of China, John Wiley & Sons (Chichester, England), 2003.

Female Caligula: Ranavalona, the Mad Queen of Madagascar, John Wiley & Sons (Chichester, England), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Keith Laidler is an anthropologist and filmmaker who has also authored several books. His work frequently focuses on nature; among others, he was involved with Sir David Attenborough's ambitious documentary series The Living Planet. Laidler has also focused on historical and religious topics in books such as The Last Empress: The She-Dragon of China and Female Caligula: Ranavalona, the Mad Queen of Madagascar.

In Pandas: Giants of the Bamboo Forest Laidler and coauthor Liz Laidler illustrate the life of pandas in China's rural regions. Besides the familiar black-and-white panda, there is also a smaller, red panda that bears some similarity to a fox. Both species are discussed in the book, as are the other animals that also inhabit the region's bamboo forests. Booklist reviewer Jon Kartman found the book to be somewhat burdened with "technotalk," but deemed the discussion of other forest dwellers a "welcome expansion" of the topic indicated in the title.

Laidler turns his attention to history in Female Caligula: Ranavalona, the Mad Queen of Madagascar. Ranavalona lived during the nineteenth century; she seized the throne after her husband's death, and held onto her power for more than three decades, in large part by establishing herself as a ruthless and bloodthirsty ruler. She reportedly killed somewhere between one-third and one-half of her subjects during her reign, often by particularly sadistic methods. A Kirkus Reviews critic reported that although Laider does call Ranavalona the "Mad Queen," he emphasizes the "canny anti-colonial tactics" Ranavalona used to keep her country consolidated and free from outside influence. The critic went on to recommend Female Caligula as "an impressive, politically shrewd portrait."