JOURNEY TO THE FAR AMAZON

by Alain Gheerbrant ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 12, 1954

Following close on the heels of Orinoco Adventure (reported in the January 1, 1954 bulletin, p. 24), Alain Gheerbrant's account of a Venezualan-Colombian-Brazilian expedition undertaken by three Frenchmen and a Colombian touches on some of the same territory with a very different quality. In place of the jaunty racontage of Senor Acebes, Monsieur Gheerbrant writes conscientiously and often pensively of the jungle cultures he sought as an ethnographer to understand, and of the consequence of men in various stages of cultural evolution coming together. First there were the men of the llanos, then the Guayaberos and discovery of a magnificent rock painting carefully photographed. On the Orinoco they sought the Guahibos, then the Piaroas, where the ritual and background of the New Year celebration provided fine field material. On the route to the Sierna Parima the Maquiritares and their less advanced neighbors, the Guaharibos, afforded further study. Armed with intelligence, tact, trade goods, the vital camera and recording equipment which would reveal the priceless treasures of little known cultures, the valiant four survived a Kaserapi attack and the rapids of the Amazon to share their rich rewards -- in terms of art, social science, and human relationships.

Pub Date: May 12, 1954

ISBN: 1163810495

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION