Book Review: The River of Doubt-Theodore Roosevelts Darkest Journey by Candice Millard You have to ask yourself if Theodore Roosevelt had a death wish. On a trip down the River of Doubt in the Amazon region of South America , (an unknown waterway to the Western nations before this), two people died along the way. (One was murdered, the other fell overboard and the body was never recovered.) Mr. Roosevelt had a very hard time of it. The rainforest was an unfamiliar environment. The author, Candice Millard, describes the unforgiving and delicate nature of the bio-system that greeted the explorers in 1914. The former president, who prided himself on self-sufficiency, barely made it out of the jungle alive. And, the diseases he carried with him afterward, from malaria to infection, finished the job; he was dead by 1919. This is a tale of perseverance. It would make a good movie. It would not have to be embellished, (or based on facts). The actual record would suffice. In addition to mammal-eating piranhas there were fish that jumped out of the water and into a persons nearest orifice, (that would infect the bladder or urethra tube). There were swarms of insects that caused malaria and other diseases. Snakes and Caimans, (South American crocodiles), were everywhere. Rapids and waterfalls had to be bypassed, with boats and supplies physically carried through the jungle. The native tribes, who had never seen Europeans or Americans, were armed with poisonous arrows; and they werent thrilled with the invasion. Maybe the Americans had no business being there, but it happened; and the rest is history. It is a very interesting story.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:40:43 +0000
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