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At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth. The River of Doubt--it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron. After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil's most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever. Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived. From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt's life, here is Candice Millard's dazzling debut.… (more)
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In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt failed to win an unprecedented third term in the White House. By 1913, he had organized a group of men who would accompany him in an exploration of the thousand mile long River of Doubt through Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. In addition to his son Kermit, he was accompanied by Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Brazil’s most famous explorer, naturalist George Cherrie and a team of South American camaradas.
Candice Millard did a remarkable job bringing to light the tremendous feat accomplished by the Roosevelt expedition. Against improbable odds and in a way that left the experts in disbelief, Roosevelt and his crew faced mind-boggling adversity including starvation, disease, drowning, venomous snakes, unremitting whitewater rapids and even murder. And the possibility of being attacked by Indians, evidence of which is just about everywhere they turned. Add to the mix that Roosevelt himself was near death during a good portion of the trip and you have the makings of an astonishing bio.
It’s one thing to tell an adventure story like this in dry non-fiction prose. It’s quite another to put all the facts together in a narrative that fairly sings and has the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end. That’s what Millard has done: turned a presidential biography into a page turning thriller, and oh what a ride it is. Very highly recommended.
-T.R.
After a humiliating election defeat in 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was asked to head an expedition to the Amazon. After much deliberation, he decided he needed an adventure and boy did he get one, nearly killing himself and his son Kermit, in the
The mission was to trace Rio da Dúvida (“River of Doubt”), a Brazilian tributary of the great Amazon River. Completely ill-prepared, this exploration seemed doomed from the start.
Millard, in her debut, presents an exciting, well-researched story, filled with courage, foolhardiness, unexpected horror, resilience and breath-taking descriptions of a majestic, yet cruel and unyielding, jungle.
This would make an excellent companion piece to The Lost City of Z, one of my favorite non-fiction titles from a couple years ago. Highly recommended.
Having just lost his third run for president, Theodore Roosevelt was feeling uncharacteristically hurt and adrift. A man of unusual energy and drive, he was lost without the constant clamor of politics around him. When he receives a letter
I received this book as a gift and felt compelled to begin reading it right away. Within a chapter, I was spellbound. I'm not a reader of presidential memoirs in general, but the combination of excellent writing, larger than life characters, and an unbelievable storyline kept me flipping pages like I was looking for a plumber in the phone book. The author weaves politics, natural history, and the story of Brazilian relations with native peoples into a tapestry that explains and augments the journey without dragging it down. So intrigued did I become with facets of Roosevelt's character, that I picked up another Roosevelt memoir as soon as the last page of this one was turned. Candice Millard is a storyteller, and she picked a good story to tell. I hope she finds another soon, because this was a great read.
The River of Doubt is about an exploration of a 1,000 mile tributary of the Amazon through dense rain forest and hostile native tribes. However, the most notable part of the exploration is that one of its leaders was former President Teddy Roosevelt. Shortly
Millard, who is an excellent writer, explains how the idea then spun out of control with plans being made for an expedition by people who did not understand what exploring this part of the world meant. Meanwhile, Roosevelt who had a long history of adventure seeking and challenging himself, failed to grasp until very late in the process that the organizers to whom he had entrusted the details did not really understand the undertaking well enough. Moreover, Roosevelt himself comes across as foolishly confident of his ability to persevere, especially considering his age.
The story of the expedition makes clear just how dangerous the journey truly was and how close Roosevelt came to dying in the attempt. The idea of an ex-President disappearing into the wilderness for months today in order to explore unknown lands is unthinkable today. Of course, the modern world also has fewer blank spaces on our maps too. There are no 1,000 mile rivers that lay undiscovered and it has now become a challenge to avoid contact with the rest of the world for months, even in remote places.
Millard's book was a fascinating read for her discussion of Roosevelt's character and the events of the trip itself. I will say that much of the description of the perils of the rain forest read a lot like the descriptions in Jungleland and the Lost City of Z but I suppose there are only so many ways to describe the environment. Ultimately though it is the involvement of Roosevelt that elevates this well done book of exploration into a unique historical event.
While this story is merely a short chapter in the incredible life of Roosevelt, it is an excellent indicator of his view of life and his character. For those who have read more comprehensive biographies of Roosevelt, many of the details of the journey will not be surprising. In my opinion, Roosevelt (along with perhaps Benjamin Franklin) is the most "American" of all historical Americans. From a childhood marked by poor health and personal tragedy, Roosevelt rehabilitated both his physical and emotional beings through a succession of personal tests. Cattle ranching on the plains of the unsettled Dakota badlands, leading the Roughrider charge on San Juan Hill, winning the Presidency, African safaris and finally charting the previously undiscovered Rio du Duvida (River of Doubt) were a series of challenges confronted and ultimately conquered by Roosevelt. I feel strongly that it is only the absence of a history defining event during his Presidency that prevents him from being held in the same regard as Lincoln and Washington in our pantheon of Presidents (he is after all on Mount Rushmore).
In addition to setting out the seemingly impossible obstacles facing the expedition (hostile Indians, miserable weather, poor provisioning, debilitating disease, maddening insect infestation and other hazardous animal life), the book does an outstanding job of introducing the reader to other important members of the expedition, most importantly, Brazilian explorer and naturalist Colonel Candido Rondon and Roosevelt's son Kermit.
If you enjoy this type of story, I would highly recommend Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose, which details the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Before I picked up this book, I only knew stray tidbits about Theodore
Roosevelt. Roosevelt Dam outside of Phoenix is named after him. He stayed at
the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee. He inspired someone to make the first
Teddy bear
softly and carry a big stick." He seemed to like to travel the world with a
brace of guns and blow critters to smithereens.
I know a lot more about him now, thanks to Candice Millard.
Millard focuses on an episode of Teddy Roosevelt's search for adventure that
came within a whisker of ending in disaster. A year after he lost a
third-party bid for President in 1912, Roosevelt decided to chase away his
blues by accepting an invitation for a South American trip that rapidly
evolved into an ill-prepared journey down an unexplored tributary of the
Amazon known as the River of Doubt. Being a rather typical VIP, Roosevelt
was content to let someone else do the planning and packing. Big mistake.
The person who stepped up to the plate as trip planner was a media crazy old
priest who was more interested in photo opportunities than he was in
ensuring that the trip was a success. He, in turn, chose another man to
round up all the supplies that would be needed--a man who'd only gone
exploring in the Arctic, and had done such an abysmal job of planning and
packing that all the people in the expedition almost died of exposure and
starvation.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster so far, doesn't it?
What kept the expedition from failing was the rest of the men--including
Roosevelt himself; his son, Kermit; the "co-captain" Brazilian Colonel
Cândido Rondon; naturalist George Cherrie; and several of the camaradas
hired to lug supplies and boats. Not enough food was packed. The boats were
the wrong type to travel down a river filled with white water rapids. A
cannibalistic tribe of natives shadowed their every move. An injury
Roosevelt sustained became infected with flesh-eating bacteria and left him
so weak that, at his lowest moment, he told Kermit to leave him to die in
the rainforest. Through it all, another character looms large in the
narrative--the Amazon rainforest. It is truly one of the most remarkable
places on this planet.
Candice Millard has crafted a splendid, eminently readable and beautifully paced book that combines multiple biographic sketches, a history of the Brazilian rain forest and its native inhabitants with an exciting travel journey. Highly recommended.
Candice Millard's account of the Roosevelt-Rondon South American Expedition of 1914 is a fascinating book, if you continuously remind yourself how far our sense of science, exploration and knowledge have come in a hundred years, and how much the presidency and post-presidency endeavours have changed over the same course of time. Millard's writing is at times a bit awkward, but the journey into the unknown itself is the star of this book.
After Roosevelt lost the bid for President in 1912, he decided he needed something to take his mind off of the loss. In 1913, with his son Kermit, the
Although you will learn nothing about TR’s politics from this saga, you will learn a great deal about TR’s character, as well as about the beauty, strength, and invincibility of the rain forest.
I only wish I would have had that book available to me then (many moons ago) because I would have appreciated my personal journey better.
The
If you live in NYC go to the Museum of Natural History and view the small River of Doubt display to compliment this book.
Teddy Roosevelt is an interesting character, and a president with whom I should be more familiar, but I'm afraid before I read this book the only things I could remember about him was the Rough Riders and "Speak softly and carry a big stick." The book sets the stage deliberately with information about the Roosevelts, American politics and more, but once it moves into the expedition it's a rip-roaring survival story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The information about Brazilian Indian tribes, rainforest ecology and more was fascinating.
Candice Millard does a wonderful job describing not only the geologic history of the Brazilian rain forest, but the various plants, animals, dieses and Indian tribes that the expedition would have had to contend with. Readers are only left to marvel at how anyone could have survived such a journey. Let alone anyone as sick and exhausted as the former President. River of Doubt offers not only a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of the ex-President, but a first rate survival story as well.
Roosevelt had been a sickly youth who had built up his physical strength and stamina in early adulthood, he strove to live what he called “the strenuous life,” and believed that a strong will could overcome any obstacle. It was an attitude which served him well for much of his life, which included being a rancher on the plains of the Old West, a police commissioner in the rough and tumble New York City of the late 19th Century, the leader of the Rough Riders in the Spanish American War, and a political career that had seen him rise from Governor of New York to Vice President, and ultimately to the highest office in the land upon the assassination of William McKinley. All this accomplished before the age of 42. As many reviewers have noted, TR was probably not a man given to introspection, and one possessing a sense of self confidence that surely crossed the border into hubris. If so, then THE RIVER OF DOUBT, is the story of how he was humbled.
At a little more than 350 pages, Millard’s book is a tight read, filled with detail, not only about the personalities who accompanied the former President on his expedition, but also about the rain forest itself, which, as described, would have made Indiana Jones think twice. Exposition, a narrative killer if not handled right, is expertly woven into the story as we learn not only of the extraordinary symbiotic plants and trees, but also of the truly vicious animal life, which includes wild boars, Coral snakes, jaguars, piranha fish, and a tiny catfish called the candiru, capable of swimming up a man’s urethra—that made me wince for sure. Add water born diseases which flourished in the damp tropical climate, and malaria, which afflicted all who journeyed to the jungles with incessant fevers and chills. Top it all off with native tribes who had not had contact with the rest of humanity in over a thousand years, and who, if the notion took them, would deal in a most lethal manner with any interloper who invaded what they considered their territory. I was quick to feel apprehension as Millard shows how Roosevelt’s expedition was poorly planned from the beginning when he trusted the provisioning and supplying to individuals who had only a dim idea of what they were going up against. While Roosevelt is the central character, the book allows others to emerge from the pages and stand on their own, no more so than Colonel Candido Rondon, a Brazilian army officer and explorer, who was a hero in his own right. He was a co-leader of the expedition with Roosevelt, and though the two men had great respect for each other, they would not always see things the same way. Roosevelt’s oldest son, Kermit, who was working in South America at the time, accompanied his father down the river, and we get a portrait of a young man trapped in the shadow of an imposing father whom he loved, but could not escape.
All these characters would be put to the test when, as they made their way down the River of Doubt, they encountered rapids and waterfalls which required them to haul their dugouts through the jungle to get down river, slowing down the progress considerably. Soon, the poorly acquired rations were running low and the density of the jungle would not reveal enough fresh game to be hunted. The hardships took a toll on the dugouts and then on the men themselves, as nearly everyone became ill in the tropical climate and sustained injuries, including the mighty TR himself. The isolation and the oppressive nature of the rain forest inflicted a mental strain, that when combined with the physical hardships, slowed the expedition’s progress down to a crawl. More than once, despair threatened to overwhelm them all, even bringing Roosevelt to the brink of suicide.
How these men persevered in the face of such peril makes this a first rate adventure as well as a cautionary tale. I’ve always thought Theodore Roosevelt to be the epitome of what a great leader should be, he thrived on challenge and had no fear of confrontation. Yet at the age of 55, it is easy to conclude that his trip into the Amazon was biting off more than he could chew. Calling it “risky behavior” would be putting it mildly. But though TR is one of the essential figures in forging the America of the 20th Century, he was essentially a man of an earlier and very romantic time, one who considered combat on a battlefield to be the ultimate test of one’s manhood, and war to be something virtuous and sought after. That puts him at odds with the generations that followed to say the least. That’s what I liked the most about Candice Millard’s book, the story of an old lion out for adventure, and taking on whatever crosses his path, paying the price, and persevering to the end. It is a great story.
Hard to imagine
The miracle of the trip (other than making it home at all) was that he was able to engage Candido Rondon to lead it for him. The Brazilian Rondon was experienced in the area because as head of the telegraph commission, he had been leading teams of men stringing wire over an 800 mile stretch of roadless interior, cutting trees for poles and planting them by hand as they went. He also headed the bureau protecting Indians (though they did not know it, there being no communications), which was his lifelong passion. He had come from total poverty to the military (as his only chance out) and drove himself relentlessly and flawlessly to positions of respect. Despite his small size, slight stature, country accent, lack of education, or friends. He instituted logic, common sense and zero hypocrisy in his leadership style. He was an unimpeachable miracle in a state known for vast corruption, violence and cruelty. His repeated single directive was: Die, but do not shoot. He lived to 93 despite all his exposure to the jungles and rainforests. He attained the rank of marshal. He refused all entreaties to run for office or engage in politics. The state of Rondonia is named after him. He is the fascinating character of this book.
The Amazon Basin provides the intrigue. Millard spices the narrative with side trips to the geology, topology, meteorology, flora and fauna of the area. Everything is hidden; that’s the primary survival tactic. Fish eat men, flies attach their eggs to mosquitoes in flight, which then burrow under the skin of the mosquitoes’ victims. Insects act like no others on earth, infecting victims in ways science fiction has yet to leverage, killing them quickly through paralysis, slowly through blockage of the urethra, or endlessly through lifelong diseases. It rains in fierce downpours two or three times every hour. There is no letup. Every second is a fight for survival for every lifeform. The forest is utterly dark 24 hours a day, as everything that can competes for sunlight a hundred feet up. Everything has more enemies than it can handle. Rondon pushed the weakest ox into the river to distract the piranhas while the entire party crossed downstream. Indians followed them everywhere, but were never seen, in a trip lasting months. They were part of the landscape and environment, where the explorers were blundering intruders. It took months for them to go a hundred miles. Several didn’t make it. Roosevelt barely did.
This trip had everything a Hollywood film could want. It had failures, incompetence, selfishness, theft, horrific weather, worse luck, bad choices, insurmountable obstacles, sickness, weariness, starvation, exhaustion, murder, conflict, and at the last possible moment – deliverance.
There are plenty of larger-than-life Roosevelt stories along the way. But on the journey itself, he was known for never shutting up. Rondon never heard a man talk so much in his life – when eating, when bathing, when anything, Roosevelt was telling stories. The great hunter of Africa was able to deliver nothing – not even a fish – the entire trip. It all makes for a most intriguing adventure.