Larry Rohter’s Into the Amazon is a masterful biography that rescues Cândido Rondon from the shadow of Theodore Roosevelt, revealing a soldier-philosopher whose radical non-violence and devotion to Indigenous rights made him a one-of-a-kind treasure in the history of exploration.
Most history books give you dates; Candice Millard gives you the dirt. In this book review of River of the Gods, we’re looking past the Victorian pedestals to the flawed, desperate men who “found” the Nile’s source—and the unsung heroes like Sidi Mubarak Bombay who actually kept them alive. From the East African slave trade to the burning of Burton’s legacy, it’s time to talk about what really happened on the riverbanks.
From “barefoot machete days” to protecting 110,000 acres, we review Paul Rosolie’s Junglekeeper. Learn how he is rewriting the story of the Amazon.
