I picked this book to read after I heard the author interviewed on NPR. I don't know if I would have been attracted to the subject matter if I hadn't visited the Amazon myself in 2001 and have an interest in environmental issues. It is well written but difficult to keep track of all the people Scott Wallace encountered on his trek. I wish he would have been more descriptive of the flora and fauna of the jungle rather than the anthropology of the indigenous tribes but I guess I should have read a different book for that. :)It is fascinating to learn how the expedition leader, Sydney Posseulo, has been able to save as much of the pristine jungle as he has by focusing on protecting the habitat for "uncontacted" tribes. They need the land left unmolested so they can survive the way they have for so many centuries. Sad to me that the the only reason that much land has been protected is because of concern for human welfare. Concerns for animal and environmental welfare would never be as effective. As a kid, the idea of the Amazon River fascinated me. I would fantasize about swimming in the water, trekking through the jungle, and playing with the jaguars and monkeys. Let's just say I had an overly romanticized notion of what the Amazon River was all about. As a recently turned 36 year old, part of me still has an unrealistic idea of what the Amazon River is and what it means to those who call it's many tributaries home. So when I have the opportunity to read a book, fiction or nonfiction, that takes place on or around the river, I jump at the chance. At my age, I want to know how my childhood dreams stacks up against the reality.Come to find out, after all these years, my dreams have been dashed by the reality of the situation on the ground. I'm pretty sure the point of this book was not to dissuade people from wanting to visit the river, but it's had that affect on me. I don't want to contribute to the desecration of progressively fragile ecosystem, that seems to be under assault from all sides. If it's not corrupt government officials, illegal loggers, gold prospectors, poachers, drug runners, or other nefarious individuals raping the land for their own uses, it's the wanton subjugation of the indigenous tribes that have called the Amazon basin home for centuries. Sitting in my air conditioned apartment in the middle of the United States, I had no idea of the dire situation facing the Amazon and it's denizens.Now I don't want you to get the idea that this book is a treatise on the ravages of modernization, while it may speak to that, it's really the story of a lifetime, a story that the author simply could not pass up. When he is asked by National Geographic to accompany a mapping trip, deep in the Amazon rainforest, Scott Wallace is torn in two directions. Part of him wants to decline in order to rebuild the personal relationships he has neglected through the years as a traveling journalist. But it's the side of him who simply can't pass up the opportunity of a lifetime to fulfill a dream of going deep into the Amazon.It's through the travels that he truly begins to the understand what's going on, and how important it is to protect the last few tribes who have decided they want nothing to do with the modern world. The mission he is accompanying is one that is designed to specify the boundaries of a section of rainforest that will be set aside for the "People of the Arrow" a tribe(s) that has thus far kept itself as far from white men as they can get. The only way the government agency and it's headstrong leader can do that is by finding out where they live and the extent of their travels. It's a mission made even harder by the fact that they need to do all this, without making direct contact with the Indians.This is the story of a gruelling trip that took it's toll on all those involved. It's a history of the region and the horrors of what has been perpetuated on the tribes that have been contacted by the outside world. It's the story of a region and it's people that seem to be stuck in this middle area of trying to protect the environment and move a country, Brazil, into the modern world. But most of all, it's a story of the people involved. We meet, through Mr. Wallace's eyes, the egomaniac leader of the expedition, a man I grew to dislike and admire all at the same time. We meet the various Indian and white men who make up the traveling party, and how the changes in the region have radically altered their lifestyle and culture. It was a story that engrossed and repelled me at the same time. I'm not sure that's a reaction many will have, but it's the only way I can really describe my feelings after I closed the last page. It's a story that must be told, but it's also a story that I don't see ending well for anyone involved. Hopefully I'm wrong, only time will tell.
Do You like book The Unconquered (2011)?
I enjoyed it; especially the description of his journey through the Amazon.
—Toya123
Very Compelling story. The whole family read it and everyone enjoyed it!
—nehasyed
thrilling, fascinating, and beautifully written.
—anha0204
