What's it like...

View down the Iriri River

Often people are curious as to what life is like in our corner of Brazil.  However, most of us are not academically minded nor do we have the time, drive, or desire to do any deep research into the life, culture, language, history or geographic uniqueness that led to the formation of the people in this region. 

So, I have lined up four non-academic, fairly entertaining books that will give you picture of the region in vwhich we live and work.  It is an imperfect picture, for sure.  The reading will definitely provide some insights and ideas into the various aspects of the region. 

"The Testament" by John Grisham is a fictional work.  The story includes a search for a missionary in the Pantanal of Brazil, a region similar in many ways to the Amazon.  Grisham researched his story with trips to the region and his description of Brazil, the people, the culture, and the way things can happen is pretty accurate.

"The River of Doubt" by Candice Millard is a non-fiction work which describes Teddy Roosevelt's expedition down a tributary of a tributary of the Amazon in the early 1900's.  Roosevelt's group was the first non-indigenous group to explore the river.  The atmosphere, the climate, and the experience is not too far removed from life in the interior now,  even though it is 100 years later. 

"The Lost City of Z" by David Grann is another non-fiction book that follows the life of a British explorer, Percy Fawcett, as he sought the mythical city of "El Dorado".  The story takes place in the 1920's and developed even earlier.  His search led him to the region that is the upper Xingu River region and the book gives some interesting background info into the people, culture and geography of the region. 

"Explorers of the Amazon" by Anthony Smith is a historical account by a British History professor.  He covers much of the history of the Amazon region from it's discovery in before the 1500.  He follows the chronology of the region as it opened up to explorers over the centuries.  The book is written by a history professor and sometimes it feel that way.  However, it is very interesting and enlightening for those that want to dig deeper into the life and development of the region. 

So, there they are -four books that can be fairly light reading and provide some clues to what life is like in our part of the world.

Xingu Mission

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Comments

[Isaac Downing]

Thanks! This is great!

We have the Testament, but I haven't read it (my wife is a big Grisham fan). I'll make it a point to add that one to my reading list now!

[Bud Simon]

Isaac,

I am glad you enjoyed the recommendations. I usually enjoy reading on subjects that are related to the things I am interested in and know that others often feel the same thing.