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"Osa & Martin: For the Love of Adventure" by Kelly Enright tells the story of the small town boy who lures the young small town girl into a life of romance, adventure, and show biz. In 1906 Martin Johnson returns to his hometown of Lincoln, Kansas to give a slide and variety show focusing on his adventures in the South Seas. At first the 16 year-old Osa is put off by Martin’s arrogance, but within one month, the couple marries in Kansas City off they go — all over the world and back again. 

Enright was drawn into this amazing love story by Osa’s 1939 autobiography, "I Married Adventure," standing out in a zebra print binding. The book recalled their honeymoon in the South Seas, adventures in Africa and fund raising tours of the Vaudeville Circuit in America. Osa was the first woman to get an African hunting license and her autobiography became a New York Times bestseller. It was optioned for the movies and Osa was the star, but sadly, was not much of an actor.   

Their legacy is evident in the American Museum of Natural History, in the founding of the National Wildlife Federation, in film and photographic archives (some 20 movies and 70 series shows).  Enright’s portrait of a couple who could make a home anywhere in the world will inspire Kansans to make a field trip to Osa’s hometown of Chanute and the museum that bears her name.   

Review by Sarah Bagby

Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure (Hardcover)

By Kelly Enright

$24.95

ISBN-13: 9780762763603
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Lyons Press, 8/2011

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