3 WEEKS IN THE RAINFOREST

Can’t travel to study a rainforest? Read the next best thing.

This exceptionally vivid account of field science in the Andes-Amazon region is also a sensitive appreciation of the role of local communities in planning conservation of their land. Swanson doesn’t underplay the threats facing this ecosystem, but she also offers hope as she explains the work of Chicago’s Field Museum. For 20 years, the museum has sent groups of scientists who, coordinating with local experts and inhabitants, conduct inventories of the area, collecting information on the wildlife and people living there; the book focuses on the inventory conducted in 2018. A map shows the destination; chapters detail the activities of the six sub-groups of scientists surveying biology, fish, plants, reptiles and amphibians, birds, and human communities. Swanson details what’s involved with selecting the four study sites, including getting there, preparing campsites, and hauling supplies, followed by accounts of long and arduous but thrilling days of “catching, counting, and photographing” while avoiding natural and human-caused dangers. She provides specific information about the study and each site; writing in an unpretentious, conversational style, she describes how scientists preserve botanical samples, catalogue specimens, and more. Spectacular color photos of specimen close-ups, scientists and community members, and the gorgeous setting will spark excitement. Swanson’s conclusions about future preservation of the Amazon are optimistic but not unrealistic.

Rich in detail, lively, and enthralling.