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Brazilian Adventure: A Quest into the Heart of the Amazon Paperback – 30 Jun. 2011

by Peter Fleming (Author), New Foreword by Giles Foden (Author)

4.3 58 ratings

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In the summer of 1925 Colonel Fawcett - soldier, spy and legendary explorer - embarked on a journey into the dark and uncharted heart of Brazil in search of the lost 'City of Z'. He was never seen again. Rumours abounded - that Fawcett had been killed by Indians or wild animals or that he had lost his memory and become chief of a cannibal tribe - and many became obsessed with discovering what had become of him. In 1932, when 'The Times' advertised for 'guns' to join an expedition to find Fawcett, the lure was too great for a young Peter Fleming and he immediately signed up, intending to send dazzling dispatches from the jungle. The expedition set out from Sao Paulo and, following tributaries of the Amazon, headed to Fawcett's last-known position. What followed was, in Fleming's words, 'a venture for which Rider Haggard might have written the plot and Conrad designed the scenery'. As the expedition forged its way deeper into the Amazon, disagreements fractured the group and the entire adventure ended in a chaotic race to be the first to report back home. Though the fate of Colonel Fawcett remains a mystery, Peter Fleming's wild escapade in the heart of Brazil has become one of the 20th century's best-loved travel classics. 'The best travel book I have read for a long time. It is crammed with sound observation, good writing, humour and a unique blend of disillusion, foolhardiness and high spirits.' - J.B. Priestley; 'This account of the expedition has that essential double interest which is characteristic of all really great books of adventure. Fleming has the most delightful sense of humour and he writes brilliantly.' - David Garnett; 'An extraordinarily good book.' - Sunday Times; 'Fleming's classic is essential reading for anyone interested in this country. An inspiration to pursue the same trackways in search of a departing world.' - Kirkus (UK); 'A unique book of exploration, which defies the canons and sets up a new standard for itself. With delicious irony and undercurrent of humor, the author tells of the ill-considered, casually planned trip into central Brazil. He makes mild adventures of what most writers would consider hairbreadth escapes from starvation; he minimizes the discomforts of the tropics; he paints amusing portraits of his fellow travelers… all entertaining reading. For the customer who takes his escape literature with a spice of humor. Book of the Month Selection.' - Kirkus (US)

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Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tauris Parke Paperbacks
Publication date

30 Jun. 2011
Dimensions

13.1 x 2.8 x 20.6 cm
ISBN-10

1848857918
ISBN-13

978-1848857919
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Product description

Review

'One of the Top 20 Best Travel Books of the Past Century' --The Times

'An observer of great wisdom and learning...' --Simon Winchester

'One reads him for literary delight and for the pleasure of meeting an Elizabethan spirit allied to a modern mind... but he is also an observer of penetrating intellect.' --Vita Sackville-West, Spectator

In his foreword Giles Foden suggests that Fleming belonged in a John Buchan novel, but there is also a touch of Bertie Wooster in his insouciant haplessness, delicious turns of phrase and sly wisdom. --Jake Kerridge, Sunday Telegraph

'One reads him for literary delight and for the pleasure of meeting an Elizabethan spirit allied to a modern mind... but he is also an observer of penetrating intellect.' --Vita Sackville-West, Spectator

About the Author

Peter Fleming, OBE, (1907-1971) was a journalist and writer and one of the great travel writers of the twentieth century. He began his career as a special correspondent with The Times and later wrote for The Spectator. He served with the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War and from 1942 was in charge of military deception operations in Southeast Asia. He is the author of several classic books, which include Brazilian Adventure, To Peking (The Peter Fleming Collection, Tauris Parke Paperbacks), One's Company and News from Tartary. Later he wrote accounts of historical events in lands through which he had travelled, namely The Siege at Peking, Bayonets to Lhasa and The Fate of Admiral Kolchak. In his memory, The Royal Geographical Society established The Peter Fleming Award for projects that seek to advance geographical science.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tauris Parke Paperbacks (30 Jun. 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1848857918
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1848857919
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.1 x 2.8 x 20.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 684,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 4,795 in Adventure Travel (Books)
- 6,640 in Travel Writing (Books)
- 97,515 in Home & Garden (Books)

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4.3 58 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

58 global ratings

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Matthew Mercy

Trespassers in Fairyland...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2009

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Peter Fleming, the brother of James Bond creator Ian, and reputedly an inspiration for his more famous sibling's iconic character, was a traveller, explorer, and very talented writer in his own right. Brazilian Adventure is his thrilling, hilarious account of a peculiarly pointless expedition into the jungles of South America in the 1930s. If you enjoy real-life adventure stories dating from times when men really were men and our world wasn't yet fully explored, you'll love this; Fleming's books describing his travels in the Far East, entitled One's Company and News from Tartary, are just as good, and worth seeking out. Also worth a look if you enjoy this kind of thing is Julian Duguid's obscure Green Hell, which tells an almost identical story to Fleming's Brazilian Adventure, and if anything, is an even better read.

10 people found this helpful

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Matthew Cartney

The most entertaining account of an expedition I've ever read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2019

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Peter Fleming would appear to be the gentler, more affable, rougher and less misanthropic brother of Ian. His accounts of true adventure are modest, funny, wonderfully descriptive and extremely readable. This is my favourite so far. He vies with Eric Newby (whose style is similar) as my favourite travel writer.

2 people found this helpful

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joy waugh

Well-written but a bit dated.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2018

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I re-read this book after having been fascinated by the story when I was a teenager long ago. It has to do with real adventure and risk-taking, and in those days they didn't have all the sophisticated equipment now available. Peter Fleming is an engaging writer, and doesn't take himself too seriously. It's a good read, and the reader is carried along by the mystery of the disappearance of Colonel Fawcett. Will they ever find traces of him ?

2 people found this helpful

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MartinB

Insouciance in the jungle

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 January 2019

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Cool, aloof Old Etonians, armed to the teeth against largely imaginary perils, went into the heart of Amazonia in search of the famous Colonel Fawcett. Swept along by incompetent enthusiasm, shooting pretty well any animal or bird rash enough to be seen, their version of being British was very removed from the lives of their fellow-countrymen in Jarrow or Wigan... a good read for all that, spoiled by the illegible maps included in the text.

2 people found this helpful

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brian maclean

past memories

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 November 2015

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Wonderful to get this book again i first read it over 60 years ago and it's as good as ever

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2015

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Book in excellent condition with original dust cover. it was a gift so was very pleased.

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A. Nicholls

A view to a different way of doing things

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2017

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A well written enjoyable book

One person found this helpful

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Trevor F.

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2018

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fantastic

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Value Shopper

A Lot of Fun- Real Life Exploration As It Was Over 83 Years Ago!

Reviewed in the United States on 1 March 2016

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I have to agree with those who have already given this book positive reviews-"Brazilian Adventure" is a good read and it keeps your attention.
Fleming's account of his journey (that he repeatedly states admits was poorly planned from the beginning) has within it the genuine and living essence of his experience (including the cliche and often stereotypical 'Jungle Explorer' wardrobe)!

At times, Fleming's humorous personal observations made me wonder if he and Bob Hope (or John Cleese of Monty Python) are the same person! He successfully dispels the persistent image of British humor being so dry it can be used as a desiccant (like Silica Gel)!

Great read and a refreshing piece of Travel Journalism!

3 people found this helpful

MME MICHELE AUSENDA

Aventure brésilienne.

Reviewed in France on 12 January 2014

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Une odyssée dans un Brésil en guerre civile façon armée mexicaine. Et pour finir, une lutte acharnée entre deux factions d'explorateurs

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Drew Shaw

An Adventure Classic

Reviewed in the United States on 18 March 2015

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Some time ago, the Washington Post listed a number of books as classics of adventure writing and "Brazilian Adventure" was one of them. Employed as a reviewer for the London Times, Fleming and his companion set off for Amazonia to determine what happened to an explorer who's disappeared seven years before searching for a lost city of gold. They didn't find him and, as Fleming admits, didn't face death or hordes of cannibals. Instead, they had a rollicking, sometimes trying adventure in the midst of a Civil War. with their greatest adversary their alleged guide. Fleming was the brother of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Ian supposedly idolized his brother. With good reason.

One person found this helpful

Mungo__Park

Hard not to like

Reviewed in the United States on 2 May 2020

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I must admit it takes a while to get going, but once it does this is as fine an adventure as I've read in a long while. The author writes well and his wry sense of humor rendered the book that much more enjoyable.

One person found this helpful

Three Skookalas

A hoot

Reviewed in the United States on 14 December 2017

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This book is a hoot. I highly recommend it. It nicely sends some of the "men of adventure" cliches that plague so many travel books--the sweating, the scary natives, the bugs, etc.--and is nicely read alongside (the also amazing, though less amusing) "Lost City of Z," by David Grann. I've read a lot of the travel literature classics and "Brazilian Adventure" is definitely among the top 10.

One person found this helpful

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Brazilian Adventure: A Quest into the Heart of the Amazon Paperback – 30 Jun. 2011

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