Excellent book. The author describes in great detail some 10 years of study in the Amazon River basin: the fauna, flora and its people. [SPOILER] The final chapters where the author contracts a tropical disease and cuts his trip short and his farewell account when leaving this “tropical Eden” are quite moving. ( )

Henry Bates was a very famous mid-19th century English naturalist who spent 11 1/2 years in the Amazon River area, eventually going from the outlet at the Atlantic at what is now Belem to the border of Brasil with Peru. He collected thousands of specimens of EVERYTHING--birds, mammals, especially insects, many of which were unknown at the time. Many of his specimens now reside in the British Museum.

In those days, a "naturalist" was no specialist. It is a marvel to me to read today of someone who is knowledgeable not only in all of the above but a massive variety of plants as well. Today, a botanist, for example, would specialize maybe in one family of palms, let's say.

The book is well written, but the structure is not the easiest to deal with: the paragraphs can be very long. Also, you can get very tired of the verb 'to ramble".

There is a wealth of information although not too specialized. Bates became famous for many things but not the least his exposition on what are now known as army ants! His descriptions of the insect pests are lively and also deceptive. One fly, called the Puím, is a blood-sucking monster that he calmly disposes of by remarking that they’re sluggish and so easily picked off with the fingers! Yellow fever was a problem on the lower Amazon; it is fascinating from a modern point of view to know that at that time, there was no knowledge of the relationship of the appropriate mosquito with the disease. He finally contracted malaria, which forced him to leave the country somewhat earlier than he had anticipated. Again, no understanding of the fact that the disease is mosquito-borne; he attributed to the unhealthiness of the surroundings but not to the insect vector.

His descriptions of he rain forest are superb, as he differentiates what grows in the different areas and stretches of the river—it is not all identical. He readily saw that the soil of the Amazon River basin is not all poor and clayish; it seems that just in recent years has it been acknowledged that there are verdant areas of the Amazon that are rooted in deep, fertile, productive soil.

He also wrote extensively on the native populations he found living along the River; it's interesting to read, because while he praises many aspects of their culture (for most although not all tribes), he considers them without imagination and without creation myths! It's hard to judge 150 years later. Bates spoke both Portuguese and Tupí, the common Indian language, fluently, so it wasn't a lack of language skills.

Here is Bates on the Indians of Pará (Belém): “The people all seemed to be contented and happy but idleness and poverty were exhibited by many unmistakable signs”. Clearly Bates views these as unacceptable qualities and signs that the native peoples were inferior.

He spent 4 1/2 years in Ega which is now Tefé, where I've spent a lot of time. His descriptions are fascinating; I hardly recognized the geography. There is a memorable section on harvesting turtle eggs and his prediction that such a quantity of eggs lost had to mean the diminution of the then-abundant Amazon turtle, at least in that area.

I could go on and on about this wonderful book, but I suspect that despite my enthusiasm, it will hold little attraction except for those of us who either have spent time in the Amazon region and have fallen in love with that magic river or else for “naturalists", either amateur or professional, who recognize Bates’ monumental achievement. ( )