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Extraordinary people, hilarious experiences (Daily Mail )
Product Description
Bruce Parry endeared himself to the nation with his courage and good humour in testing circumstances when living with indigenous peoples in Tribe. Now he undertakes another epic journey, tracing the 6,000km route of the Amazon river from source to ocean. Along the way Bruce meets the people who live and work there. The truths he discovers are often frightening, but always eye-opening, reminding us that the Amazon's fate touches us all.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
TV Series was good, but the book is terrible! got to about page 40 before giving up. Has gone to join the Dan Brown books that accumulate in charity shops as it's not even good enough to use as toilet paper!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The realities of life on the Amazon
3 Jun 2011
Format:Paperback
Although this book was published in support of a TV documentary series, I didn't see the series as I have no TV, and might not have watched it anyway even if I did. So when I saw this book at a bargain price, I wasn't sure what to expect. I correctly assumed that it was about a journey along the Amazon in which the author discussed what he saw, but I wrongly expected that the actual journey would be an important part of the book, and there would be plenty of details about that. In fact, the whole journey had been meticulously planned in advance and the author knew what he was looking for, so the journey itself was incidental. Instead, what we get is a close look at various tribes that live there, how they lead their lives and how some are adapting to change while others have been driven deep into the forest to avoid contact with the outside world, at least for the time being.
The journey begins at the officially recognized source of the Amazon, although the river isn't actually called the Amazon at that stage. It takes the author and his crew three months to reach the point at which the word Amazon is applied. By that time, a vast number of tributaries have converged on each other. Still, the source looks quite spectacular, with water gushing out of the side of a cliff at a very high altitude.
The author and his production team illustrate with words and pictures the contrasts between those areas that were unspoiled at the time and those areas that have been affected by modern civilization. Affected sometimes means devastated, but it isn't always like that. Conservation projects have met with varying degrees of success, as at least some of the locals have learned to control fish stocks. The author discusses some of the industries that have moved into the area - oil, gold, drugs, logging and rubber among them - and the impact they've had. The rubber industry is gone now, but left its mark anyway.
The author also discusses how the locals spend their leisure time. He does not have a huge amount to say about the wildlife, but I was amused to read that the Uakari is sometimes called the English monkey, because its red face reminds them of sunburn. I had never heard of these monkeys, let alone known what they looked like, until I played Zoo World on Facebook. Yes, I can confirm their blood-red faces do make it look as if they are permanently sunburnt.
The author does not get overly political. He is in any case constrained by what he can say as he has to toe the BBC line and present what he sees, leaving others to interpret what it all means. I like it that way as I prefer to make up my own mind about things. The Amazon environment clearly has problems, but they can be solved if the will is there. If the will isn't there, people will have to adapt to whatever the consequences may be.
This book is well written with plenty of great photographs, some of which are full of fun while others are more serious - some very serious indeed. The Amazon is a unique river that tries to hide many secrets, but a few of those secrets have escaped into this book.
The journey begins at the officially recognized source of the Amazon, although the river isn't actually called the Amazon at that stage. It takes the author and his crew three months to reach the point at which the word Amazon is applied. By that time, a vast number of tributaries have converged on each other. Still, the source looks quite spectacular, with water gushing out of the side of a cliff at a very high altitude.
The author and his production team illustrate with words and pictures the contrasts between those areas that were unspoiled at the time and those areas that have been affected by modern civilization. Affected sometimes means devastated, but it isn't always like that. Conservation projects have met with varying degrees of success, as at least some of the locals have learned to control fish stocks. The author discusses some of the industries that have moved into the area - oil, gold, drugs, logging and rubber among them - and the impact they've had. The rubber industry is gone now, but left its mark anyway.
The author also discusses how the locals spend their leisure time. He does not have a huge amount to say about the wildlife, but I was amused to read that the Uakari is sometimes called the English monkey, because its red face reminds them of sunburn. I had never heard of these monkeys, let alone known what they looked like, until I played Zoo World on Facebook. Yes, I can confirm their blood-red faces do make it look as if they are permanently sunburnt.
The author does not get overly political. He is in any case constrained by what he can say as he has to toe the BBC line and present what he sees, leaving others to interpret what it all means. I like it that way as I prefer to make up my own mind about things. The Amazon environment clearly has problems, but they can be solved if the will is there. If the will isn't there, people will have to adapt to whatever the consequences may be.
This book is well written with plenty of great photographs, some of which are full of fun while others are more serious - some very serious indeed. The Amazon is a unique river that tries to hide many secrets, but a few of those secrets have escaped into this book.
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