Overview

"A work of literary nonfiction blending reportage, history, anthropology, and personal memoir, Amazon Journal is a unique and critical look at how cultural differences in the Amazon have resulted in incidents ranging from comic misunderstandings to blatant exploitation, environmental disaster, and even genocide. Beginning by revisiting the period in the late 80's when the ""save the rainforest"" campaign, the indigenous rights movement, and the assassination of Chico Mendes became the focus of a media storm, O'Connor stuck with his story long enough to tell us what happened when the world turned its attention elsewhere.Peopled by a colorful cast of real-life characters, O'Connor's startling narrative is a journey into a contemporary heart of darkness, a compelling and compassionate look at a vanishing people, and a blistering account of the forces of destruction, both human and environmental, at work within the greatest forest on earth."

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9780452276109

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Reviews

In the late '80s and early '90s, while the world worked itself in a lather over the disappearing Amazon rain forests, reporter and filmmaker Geoffrey O'Connor found an even bigger story behind the movement. While the world turned its attention to saving the Brazilian rain forest, O'Connor found that the indigenous Indian culture was on the brink of being destroyed by loggers, miners and corrupt politicians. In turning the focus on indigenous societies caught up in the gold rush taking placing on Indian lands in the rain forest, O'Connor found a far more ambiguous and complex story beyond the simple predictable tale of Indian victims battling a virtual army of 45,000 gold miners. -The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia) Not only recounts his own reactions to what he sees and hears in a strikingly honest way; it also analyzes the variables of greed, racism, hunger, sentimentality, adventure, idealism, violence and corruption that confuse how the Amazon is perceived. -Alan Riding, New York Times These doubts, and the historical perspective O'Connor adopts, are the chief virtues of this book, along with his sharp, visual prose. -Michael Harris, Los Angeles Times

In the late '80s and early '90s, while the world worked itself in a lather over the disappearing Amazon rain forests, reporter and filmmaker Geoffrey O'Connor found an even bigger story behind the movement. While the world turned its attention to saving the Brazilian rain forest, O'Connor found that the indigenous Indian culture was on the brink of being destroyed by loggers, miners and corrupt politicians. In turning the focus on indigenous societies caught up in the gold rush taking placing on Indian lands in the rain forest, O'Connor found a far more ambiguous and complex story beyond the simple predictable tale of Indian victims battling a virtual army of 45,000 gold miners. --The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia) Not only recounts his own reactions to what he sees and hears in a strikingly honest way; it also analyzes the variables of greed, racism, hunger, sentimentality, adventure, idealism, violence and corruption that confuse how the Amazon is perceived. --Alan Riding, New York Times These doubts, and the historical perspective O'Connor adopts, are the chief virtues of this book, along with his sharp, visual prose. --Michael Harris, Los Angeles Times

In the late '80s and early '90s, while the world worked itself in a lather over the disappearing Amazon rain forests, reporter and filmmaker Geoffrey O'Connor found an even bigger story behind the movement. While the world turned its attention to saving the Brazilian rain forest, O'Connor found that the indigenous Indian culture was on the brink of being destroyed by loggers, miners and corrupt politicians. In turning the focus on indigenous societies caught up in the gold rush taking placing on Indian lands in the rain forest, O'Connor found a far more ambiguous and complex story beyond the simple predictable tale of Indian victims battling a virtual army of 45,000 gold miners. --The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia) <p/> Not only recounts his own reactions to what he sees and hears in a strikingly honest way; it also analyzes the variables of greed, racism, hunger, sentimentality, adventure, idealism, violence and corruption that confuse how the Amazon is perceived. --Alan Riding, New York Times <p/> These doubts, and the historical perspective O'Connor adopts, are the chief virtues of this book, along with his sharp, visual prose. --Michael Harris, Los Angeles Times

Author Information

"Geoffrey O'Connor is a documentary filmaker whose film ""At the Edge of Conquest"" was nominated for an Academy Award. He lives in New York City."

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