Mother of God
One man’s journey to the uncharted depths of the Amazon rainforest
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Madre de Dios – ‘Mother of God’ – is a place where the Andean Cloud Forest intermingles with the steaming tropical jungle at the head of the Amazon river. Here can be found the greatest proliferation of living species that has ever existed on Earth, ever. And it is a place which is now under grave threat.
Paul Rosolie has travelled to the very heart of this wilderness in search of rare flora and fauna. His adventures – with giant anacondas, huge cayman, the mighty jaguar and one very small anteater – are by turn thrilling, terrifying and revelatory. Paul crosses some of the world’s harshest terrain and encounters some of its most extreme weather conditions. He battles with life-threatening tropical diseases and the extreme mental challenges presented by being alone in the heart of the jungle.
Mother of God is an astonishing tale of adventure and survival, set in one of the world’s few remaining truly wild places. It’s a story of nature, red in tooth and claw, and how we must both respect its awesome power and protect its extraordinary glory.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A young explorer finds his soul amid the trackless jungle in this rousing eco-adventure. Rosolie, a naturalist who runs (and subtly plugs) an eco-tourism outfit, recounts his exploits from the age of 18 when he escaped New Jersey and lit out for the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon basin, a paradise of primeval forest and riotous wildlife. Mentored by an Indian family, then graduating to solo treks to remote uninhabited areas, he wrestles with giant anacondas, faces down crocodiles, tenderly parents an orphaned anteater, feels the presence of jaguars panting over him in the night, and edges towards an encounter with possibly murderous tribesmen. Along the way he battles poachers and sounds the alarm against civilized encroachments that are obliterating the world's wildernesses. This is old-school nature writing, unabashedly romantic and free of alienation; the author foregrounds his drama of elemental self-discovery "along the river-bank I ran, screaming at the storm to give me its worst, in adrenaline-induced madness" and is forever gazing into the gorgeous eyes, and tragic spirits, of the critters he meets. Rosolie's powers of description are so vivid and engrossing that readers will be swept along in his passion. Photos.
