- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Press (3 Mar 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0593050797
- ISBN-13: 978-0593050798
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 14.6 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
308,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Central & South America > Panama
- #6 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Central & South America > Colombia
- #8 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > United States > States > Minnesota
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance The Cloud Garden seems a little unlikely: a pair of twentysomething former public school boys have a great time trekking through Central America and get caught up in a bit of bother. Tom is passionate about flowers and his family lives in a castle in Kent--"Isn't it just super?!". Paul, when he isn't "hacking his way through the jungle", works in the City.
If you can get through the kissy kissy PR and the hooray Henry enthusiasm, The Cloud Garden is actually an exciting yarn. Adventurer Paul Winder and orchid enthusiast Tom Hart Dyke met up in Mexico and decided to trek through the Darién Gap--a narrow bit of jungle on the border of Panama and Colombia. Tom wanted to find some new flowers and Paul wanted a challenge. They had almost made it when they were taken captive by a band of FARC guerilla fighters with a grudge against just about everybody, a serious grunge problem and an eye for a juicy ransom for some rich boys. Our heroes survived for nine months and emerged after a harrowing ordeal with a combination of hard work, endurance and a pinch of good luck. This captivating book is well written with youthful zest, a sparky sense of humour and the scary sense that these two just might set off for another adventure next summer. --Dwight Longenecker
Book Description
An exhilarating story of adventure, survival and extreme horticulture.
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
To describe the kidnapping and subsequent holding of two Englishmen by possible FARC guerillas in The Darien Gap for nine months, it would seem unnatural to use phrases such as funny, entertaining, and horticulturally insane; but they are more than appropriate.
Upon starting the book there is a question over how well it will read with the narration switching between Paul and Tom, however, it does read with fluidity, and the comments each of them has to make about the other are often amusing. Despite the ignorance and sometimes aggressive nature of their kidnappers you can't help but feel some sympathy for them stumbling around the jungle with no specific purpose except to eat, drink, destroy or abuse. The guerillas offer some superb individual characters ranging from the truly horrible "Bitch", to the alarmingly considerate "Will Smith."
No interest in orchids or horticulture are required to enjoy and be fascinated by this tale of bravery and courage under quite absurd circumstances.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An unforgettable experience for the authors and readers alike.
The Cloud Garden by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder is the true story of two backpackers who are kidnapped by murderous South American Guerillas and held captive for nine months in the jungle of The Darien Gap. Their extreme ordeal is relayed in a style that blends both Boys Own Adventure and extreme survival. The book is uplifting and moving, at turns funny and nail-bitingly thrilling. This is achieved by the mature mix of humourous tales with page-turning moments of suspense where the reader wonders what will happen next to the guys.
I loved the book and read it cover to cover in 24 hours. It made me laugh out loud in places and moved me near to tears in others as I marvelled at the authors sheer will power and determination to hang onto not just their lives but their sanity and most importantly their sense of humour too.
The authors manage to recreate the smells, sights and sounds of the jungle as easily as they lend their hands to caricaturing their captors with names that instantly give life to the characters that people the book.
Tom hart Dykes passion for Orchids and all things horticultural is both crazy and interesting , and his travelling companion Paul Winders laconic observations of his mad friends gardening obsession is as drily funny as anything Michael Palin has to offer on his travel logs.
It's not all humour, as the hardships that the pair encounter are graphically displayed in the book alongside Toms clowning and Pauls dry delivery.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone interested in travelling, adventure, Orchids (!) and the triumph of the human spirit over adversity!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a book which sucks you in. Starting at a gentle pace of 'yet another travelog of our fantastic holidays', it accelerates steadily and relentlessly into an epic of endurance and, frankly, luck.
Despite being warned not to by many experts, Tom Hart and Paul Winder decide to embark on a trek across guerrilla-infested Panama into Columbia. The unlikely couple, Tom, the orchid fanatic, and Paul, the intrepid explorer, soon come to grief with a band of brigands. I constantly wondered at how they dealt with the day-to-day tedium of capture tinged with the fear of what tomorrow might bring, the total lack of control in the hands of their captors and the terrible living conditions at times in the jungles and swamps of Central America.
The swings and roundabouts of human emotion from absolute despair to helpless hilarity keeps you gripped from very early on in the book. Tom straining at the leash with his infectious insuppressible enthusiasm for orchids has some surprising results in the guerrilla camps and Paul's desire to improve his Spanish becomes vital in understanding their predicament and talking to their captors.
However, despite being gripped by this book from cover to cover, my over riding emotion through out was 'why were they so stupid?' But then aren't we all in different ways? That is what makes us human.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Loved it!
I found this gripping from the first page. I liked the way the story-telling changes from Paul to Tom, back to Paul etc. Above all, true stories beat fiction every time!
Published 9 days ago by Lainey Bennett
The Cloud Garden
Absolutely brilliant real life account BUT it's a shame the publishers/printer couldn't manage to keep the pages in their correct order. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. G. J. Simmons
Idiots Abroad
The Cloud Garden is the story of two complete idiots who ignore every warning and deliberately walk into a No Man's Land - The Darien, a jungle region between Panama and Columbia... Read more
Published 19 months ago by E. Cooper
Love this book!
This is a fantastic read, and the way the authors write so humourously about their horrific experience is greatly appreciated by the reader!
Published on 26 Aug 2009
Fabulous - buy it now
Don't be put off by the title, this is truly one of the most extraordinary and exciting books I have ever read.
Couldn't put it down, a total page turner. Read more
Couldn't put it down, a total page turner. Read more
Published on 11 May 2009 by Mrs. S. Ford
The cover's hideous, but the book's quite good
Ordinarily I'd be put off reading this book - it's front cover is truly atrocious and looks as if it should have been consigned to the bargain bin many moons ago. Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2008 by Hombre M
What not to do when exploring and hunting for orchids!!
And now for something completely different.
Tom Hart Dyke, (the plant nut), and Paul Winder, (the climbing nut), tell the harrowing story of their capture in the Darien... Read more
Tom Hart Dyke, (the plant nut), and Paul Winder, (the climbing nut), tell the harrowing story of their capture in the Darien... Read more
Published on 22 July 2008 by C. L. Smith
Two go mad in central America
Gosh, what jolly chaps these two are! Cripes, what japes they got up to, eh?
This book is a strange contrast between an almost unbelieveable adventure and the most self... Read more
This book is a strange contrast between an almost unbelieveable adventure and the most self... Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2007 by Rose's Dad
A blooming good read...
Not your usual 'how I spent my kidnap' essay. I picked this up second hand in a Dubai bookshop, not expecting much from it, and was hugely pleased with what I found. Read more
Published on 15 Dec 2005 by Frank Coles
A really good read, buy it!!.
I have just finished this book and really enjoyed it, it has kept my attention all the way through and left me with nothing but admiration for the two guys and what they endured,... Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2004
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