Scott Wallace went on an approximately three month
expedition led by Sidney Posseulo, then head of the Department of Isolated
Indians, part of FUNAI, Brazil’s National Indian Foundation. His purpose was to write a profile for
National Geographic about Posseulo and his work, and, thankfully, he had enough
material to write this book about his expedition and the history and context of
such expeditions on behalf of the Department of Isolated Indians. The goal of the trip was to find the outer
boundaries of the Arrow People log the coordinates by GPS, and then have that
area deemed protected by the government.
Although I haven’t read many travel/expedition books, my
husband has read the good parts of books like The Lost City of Z to
me. Also, I watch a ton of National
Geographic specials. What’s different
about this book than a TV special or a National Geographic spread is the depth
of coverage about previous expeditions, including Fawcett’s ill-fated trip,
which was covered in The Lost City of Z, the anthropology, the biology,
and the governmental efforts to protect the lands of wild Indians in the Amazon. It’s a book that took me awhile to digest
because there was so much for me to learn.
Rubber harvesting, drug trafficking, gold dredging, Brazilian federal
agencies: it’s all stuff about the
Amazon I didn’t know that much about.
This is a harrowing read:
nearly three months in the jungle, either by motor boat, on foot, or by
canoe is a tough go even in good conditions, and there were dangers outside
(crocodiles) and inside (fatigue and insubordination). Posseulo is an interesting figure, but I
haven’t figured him out even from these detailed stories. I know I’m not cut out for an expedition of
this length of time and difficulty in the Amazon, that’s for sure.
The Unconquered by Scott Wallace
Crown
Publication date:
October 18, 2011Source: Publisher via NetGalley
No comments:
Post a Comment