I was fascinated by this book, which I read on my Kindle. I was searching for books on Peru, principally those related to pre-Columbian cultures, and found and was hooked by the title, since my wife and I have traveled to Peru three times (and also Ecuador two times), including a couple times in the Amazon region. And the initial reviews enticed me to read this book. The author's descriptions of the Amazon rainforests were at once realistic and poetic, with a very real important emphasis on what this world is doing, and not doing, to destroy, or to allow by apathy the destruction of the essential wholeness of the rainforests, to the world's and not just Peru's great peril. There is no doubt of his devotion to the Amazon and wish to preserve it, including what he is doing now, both by writing the book, and also continuing to help run, with others, including citizens of Peru, the Las Piedras Biodiversity Station, helping to lead its efforts to both study and preserve the region. I especially loved the descriptions of the animals, reptiles and birds of the still-for-now pristine regions of the Madre de Díos that most of us will never see, or unfortunately, ever see again. I also liked the fact that the author was self-deprecating about his adventures, including recognizing where he was perhaps brash and not paying attention to the possible dangers of the situations he was putting himself in. And then there is the interesting back-story of the author's personal and educational development from his days in New York, to his early attempts to establish himself in the Amazon region, but, with his parents help and encouragement, to go to college and complete his education to make himself more valuable in the responsibility he would then assume in Peru. This is absolutely a marvelous book. I would very much like to read whatever his next book might be. And I will no doubt re-read this one soon.
B. Gooden