1491, New Revelations of Americas Before Columbus  •  Charles C. Mann HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 560 PAGES A thought-provoking, speculative history of the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans. Mann portrays the successes and failures of the complex societies of the Mississippi River, Central Mexico, the Andes and the Amazon. (WLD61, $15.95)
Amazon Expeditions, My Quest for the Ice-Age Equator  •  Paul Colinvaux SCIENCE •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 328 PAGES In this vivid memoir of a life in science, ecologist Paul Colinvaux takes his readers from the Alaskan tundra to steamy Amazon jungles, from the Galapagos Islands (before tourists had arrived) to the high Andes and the Darien Gap in Panama. He recounts an adventurous tale of exploration in the days before GPS and satellite mapping, and a tale no less exhilarating of his battle to disprove a hypothesis endorsed by most of the scientific community. Colinvaux's grand endeavor, begun in the 1960s, was to find fossil evidence of the ice-age climate and vegetation of the entire American equator, from Pacific to Atlantic. The accomplishment of the task by the author and his colleagues involved finding unknown ancient lakes, lugging drilling equipment through uncharted Amazon jungle, operating hand drills from rubber boats in water 40 meters deep, and inventing a pollen analysis for a land with 80,000 species of plants. Colinvaux's years of arduous travel and research ultimately disproved a hotly defended hypothesis explaining bird distribution peculiarities in the Amazon forest. The story of how he arrived at a new understanding of the Amazon is at once an adventurous saga, an account of science as it is conducted in the field, and a cautionary tale about the temptation to treat a favored hypothesis with a reverence that subverts unbiased research. (AMZ113, $32.50)
Amazon Sweet Sea, Land, Life, and Water at the River's Mouth  •  Nigel J.H. Smith NATURAL HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 248 PAGES • COMING IN A lively, well informed and illustrated portrait of the natural resources, nature, history, and conservation of the Amazon delta. With 138 color photos by the author, who has conducted research in the region for decades. It's the world's biggest estuary. (AMZ78, $39.95)
Amazonia at the Crossroads, The Challenge of Sustainable Development  •  Anthony Hall SCIENCE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 280 PAGES A wide-ranging analysis of development alternatives for the Amazon, including logging, mining, fisheries, agroforestry, and pharmaceuticuals. (AMZ106, $19.95)
Amazonia: Man and Culture in a Counterfeit Paradise  •  Betty Meggers CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1995 •  PAPER A groundbreaking study of cultural adaptation in the Amazon, first published in 1971. The book looks at common patterns and ways of life among independent aboriginal groups along the river and in the forest. It gives a brief account of each society, focusing on common adaptations to an impoverished environment that limit social complexity and population density. Revised and updated for this new edition, the book makes a strong argument that any plans for the region that fail to take into account the ecological realities of the Amazon are doomed to fail. (AMZ47, $17.95)
At Play in the Fields of the Lord  •  Peter Matthiessen LITERATURE •  1991 •  PAPER  • 373 PAGES Following the fate of two gringos at a frontier outpost and the clash between them, this wonderfully written thriller reflects Matthiessen's knowledge and love of the Amazon. (AMZ29, $14.95)
The Biogeochemistry of the Amazon Basin  •  Michael McClain  •  Reynaldo Victoria  •  Jeffrey Richey NATURAL HISTORY •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 384 PAGES A collection of review articles on nutrients, nutient cycling and the hydrogeology of the Amazon basin. (AMZ103, $97.00)
The Birds of South America, The Oscine Passerines, Vol. 1  •  Guy Tudor  •  Robert Ridgely FIELD GUIDE •  1989 •  HARD COVER  • 596 PAGES An authoritative reference, this hefty volume features 31 splendid full-color plates by Guy Tudor covering 700 species of jays and swallows, wrens, thrushes, vireos and wood-warblers, tanagers, icterids and finches. The first of four anticipated volumes on the birds of South America. With distribution maps and species descriptions by ornithologist Robert Ridgely. (FG28, $95.00)
The Birds of South America, The Oscine Passerines, Vol. 2  •  Guy Tudor  •  Robert Ridgely FIELD GUIDE •  1994 •  HARD COVER The second volume of the projected four-volume series, this field guide and handbook covers the flycatchers, antbirds and furnariids. With fine color plates by Guy Tudor and lucid text by Ridgely. (FG29, $95.00)
Bradt Guide Amazon  •  Roger Harris GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES A compact guide to the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. (AMZ92, $25.99)
Brazil and Uruguay Map  •  Auto Mapa MAP A regional map of Brazil and Uruguay from Rio south to Montevideo and Buenos Aires at a good scale of 1:2.5 million. It includes basic city plans of Sao Paulo, Rio and Curitiba. Published in Argentina. (BZL08, $11.95)
Brazil in Focus, A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture  •  Jan Rocha GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 100 PAGES Authoritative and up-to-date, this slim guide focuses on the history of Brazil, its cultural heritage and current political, environmental and economic challenges. With maps, photographs and some travel information. It's an excellent synopsis from an unabashedly left-leaning perspective, strong on facts. (BZL03, $12.95)
Brazil Map  •  Borch Maps 2006 •  MAP A handy folded, laminated map of Brazil at a scale of 1:4,000,000. (BZL17, $11.95)
The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics  •  Robert M. Levine  •  John J. Crocitti CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1999 •  PAPER  • 525 PAGES • COMING IN A diverse selection of letters, interviews, excerpts and other documents from early colonization to contemporary literature, this book is an excellent overview of the history and culture of Brazil. Each selection and author is introduced by the editors. Half the book is devoted to contemporary issues. (BZL12, $25.95)
Brazil: Amazon & Pantanal, Travellers' Wildlife Guides  •  Les Beletsky  •  David Pearson FIELD GUIDE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 500 PAGES A comprehensive guide and handbook to the flora, fauna and habitats of Brazil, with a focus on the Amazon and Pantanal. An Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide, the book features color illustrations of commonly encountered birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The 100 color plates feature 90 species of amphibians and reptiles, 310 birds, 70 mammals, 30 insects and 50 common trees and plants. Second Edition. (BZL30, $27.95)
The Brazilians  •  Joseph Page CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  PAPER  • 540 PAGES A clear and compelling introduction to the country, covering politics, history, economics, culture, and character. The turmoil and ecological destruction in the Amazon basin is discussed in one of the many thought-provoking chapters. (AMZ16, $22.95)
Chasing Neotropical Birds  •  Vera and Bob Thornton NATURAL HISTORY •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 254 PAGES This portfolio of 116 color photographs of dazzling, rare and favorite birds of tropical America, presented by an intrepid husband-and-wife team is worth it for the photographs alone. The accompaning travelogues, invaluable resource list and suggestions for birdwatching and photography make the book essential for anyone with a healthy interest in travel and birds in Central and South America. The book documents the Thorntons' encounters with motmots, manakins, trogans, toucans, hummers, herons and all the rest range across 11 countries over 15 years. With maps, bird log, and photographic notes. (SAM76, $34.95)
Conquistadors  •  Michael Wood HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A lively, illustrated account of the Spanish conquest of the New World by the intrepid writer-filmmaker Michael Wood, who traveled in the footsteps of Hernan Cortes, Pizarro and others, often by horse, raft or other original means. It's an excellent introduction to the overwhelming impact of the Spanish in the Americas, wonderfully illustrated with maps, drawings and full color paintings. (SAM48, $22.95)
The Creature in the Map, A Journey to El Dorado  •  Charles Nicholl TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 398 PAGES Nicholl uncovers fascinating facts about the original, ill-fated 16th-century voyage of Sir Walter Ralegh while describing his own experiences on the Orinoco river of today in this meeditative account of a quest for the golden city of El Dorado. (VNZ05, $16.00)
Darkness in El Dorado, How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon  •  Patrick Tierney CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES A controversial indictment of the anthropologists, government officials and others who sought to cash in on the study of the Yanomami. Tierney's targets especially French anthropologist and filmmaker Napoleon Chagnon and his colleagues at the University of Southern California at Santa Barbara in this highly charged attack. (AMZ64, $14.95)
Edge of the Jungle  •  William Beebe EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 303 PAGES A collection of 12 essays on the Amazon and its ecology and wildlife. A scientist-explorer with the soul of a poet, Beebe wrote dozens of books about his adventures in tropical America. This book, originally published in 1921, dates from his time as director of the New York Zoological Society's research center in Guyana. (AMZ75, $17.95)
Entangled Edens, Visions of the Amazon  •  Candace Slater HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 332 PAGES Slater looks at the many stories, myths and labels that have been placed onto the Aamzon, particulary European ideas of the place, in this enlightening overview of the region. (AMZ71, $50.00)
Evolution, The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory  •  Edward Larson NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and historian Edward Larson examines the multifaceted history of the scientific theory which has had such an impact on twentieth century thought. Larson begins his study before Darwin, with the scientific breakthroughs of the French Revolution, and then examines Darwin's work and its effects, from the age of Social Darwinism up to present day genetics and evolutionary studies. He focuses on the social and political controversies that have surrounded evolutionary theory, particularly in the United States. (NAT64, $14.95)
Explore the Inca Trail  •  Jacquetta Megarry  •  Roy Davies GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  FLEXI-BOUND  • 64 PAGES A brief, ingeniously designed guide to trekking in the Sacred Valley from Cusco to Machu Picchu with color photographs, a fold-out map of the route, site diagram of Machu Pichu and a camp-to-camp overview of the Inca trail. The authors, both experienced trekkers, include detailed avice on preparing for the trip, and a good overview of the site itself. The step-by-step sections cover the Classic trail from Chilca/Km 82/Km 88, the shortest option from Km 104, and the 5-6 day, more strenuous Mollepata trek. (AND33, $15.95)
The Explorers of South America  •  Edward Goodman EXPLORATION •  1992 •  PAPER  • 408 PAGES A narrative history of exploration from Christopher Columbus to the 19th century, with journal excerpts, diaries and other writings of the explorers themselves. Goodman has marshaled his wide-ranging research and lifelong interest in exploration into a comprehensive, scholarly history. A reprint of the original 1972 edition, the tales have lost none of their luster. With maps, illustrations and extensive notes. (SAM10, $24.95)
The Fish People, Linguistic Exogamy and Tukanoan Identity in North Western Amazonia  •  Jean E. Jackson CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1983 •  PAPER  • 302 PAGES The Bará, or Fish people of the Northwest Amazon form part of a network of intermarrying local communities - each community speaks a different language and marriages must take place between people from different communities with different languages. Here, Jean Jackson discusses Bar· marriage, kinship, spatial organization and other features of their social landscape. (AMZ116, $55.00)
Flowers of the Amazon Forest, The Botanical Art of Margaret Mee  •  Margaret Mee NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 160 PAGES Featuring 60 of explorer and artist Mee's splendidly detailed, gorgeous botanical illustrations, along with field sketches and diary excerpts. (AMZ104, $39.50)
Fodor's Brazil  •  Shan Kelly GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 506 PAGES A practical guide in the popular series, saturated with valuable information on accommodation, shopping, sights, and dining. (BZL71, $22.00)
Fordlandia  •  Patricia J. Duncan  •  Eduardo Sguiglia LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES • COMING IN This novel mythologizes automaker Ford's grandly misbegotten adventure to cultivate a rubber plantation deep in the Amazon Jungle. In the process, the Argentine writer paints a portrait of conflict between capitalist economic interests and the primordial mystery of nature. (AMZ72, $13.95)
Four Neotropical Rainforests  •  Alwyn Gentry NATURAL HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 627 PAGES The results of a symposium on tropical ecology held in 1987 at Ohio State, this book is a good reference to the flora, fauna and ecology of four representative tropical forests: Manaus (Brazil), Park Manu (Peru), Barro Colorado Island (Panama) and La Selva (Costa Rica). (AMZ33, $55.00)
Frommer's Brazil  •  Shawn Blore GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 500 PAGES A practical travel guide featuring excellent annotated listings of what to do and where to eat and sleep. With one-color maps and suggested excursions. (BZL70, $21.99)
The Green Pharmacy  •  James A. Duke NATURAL HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 507 PAGES An A to Z catalog of ailments and the herbal remedies that heal them. Full of facts on the ecology and traditional uses of medicinal plants by a leading ethnobotanist who has conducted much of his research in the Upper Amazon of Peru. Each chapter begins with an anecdote of an encounter with a patient and leads to easy "how-to" instructions for treating the health condition. The chapters cover minor and serious complaints, ranging from bad breath to depression, high cholesterol to wrinkles, morning sickness to viral infections. (AMZ40, $19.95)
A Guide to the Birds of Colombia  •  Steven Hilty  •  William Brown FIELD GUIDE •  1986 •  PAPER  • 836 PAGES A classic South American bird guide with good coverage of the Amazon basin. It features 56 color plates by Guy Tudor, illustrating 1,700 species -- nearly half of all the species of South America. With a short description on the facings edge along with extensive notes and range maps. It may weigh in at almost three pounds but serious birders won't leave home without it -- and you can always have the color plates bound separately for use in the field. (FG14, $67.50)
A History of Brazil  •  E. Bradford Burns HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 579 PAGES • COMING IN A wide-ranging social, intellectual and cultural history of Brazil. (BZL02, $26.00)
In Search of the Golden Frog  •  Marty Crump BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 312 PAGES Crump, a herpetologist, conservationist and mother, tells of her 30 years of field work in Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina. An entertaining memoir, written with a light touch, it combines the personal with the scientific. (CON18, $27.00)
In the Heart of the Amazon Forest  •  Walter Henry Bates LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 108 PAGES A riveting account of adventures in the tropical rainforest of the northern Amazon, excerpted from the classic Naturalist of the River Amazonas (1863). Bates spent 11 years in the Brazilian Amazon, originally in the company of Alfred Russel Wallace. (AMZ109, $10.00)
In the Rainforest, Report from a Strange, Beautiful, Imperiled World  •  Catherine Caufield NATURAL HISTORY •  1984 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES This investigative journalist deftly combines good basic information on the ecology of the world's rain forests, a report on thorny conservation issues and a sympathetic treatment of indigenous inhabitants through masterly prose. In this fact-filled book, we travel with Caufield to some of the most spectacular and endangered places on earth: the rain forests of Africa, Central and South America, India, the Philippines and Indonesia. Originally published in 1984, this is still an excellent survey of rainforest ecology and issues worldwide. (FST01, $16.00)
Insight Guide Brazil  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 383 PAGES This handsome guide is a profusely illustrated overview of the country, featuring concise essays by well regarded authors on natural history, politics and culture. With hundreds of photos and excellent maps. (BZL01, $22.95)
Insight Guide Peru  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES In its hallmark style, this guide brings Peru to life in hundreds of color photographs and vividly written essays by a team of experts. Panoramic in scope, the book takes us from the crowded streets of Lima to famed archeological sites, providing genuine insight into a complex land and people. Its chapters include a history of the Incas, daily life in the Andes, the author and politician Mario Vargas Llosa and an overview of people of the Amazon. With some travel information. (PRU01, $22.95)
Into the Heart, One Man's Pursuit of Love and Knowledge Among the Yanomami  •  Kenneth Good CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1991 •  PAPER  • 265 PAGES A first-hand report of life among the Yanomami people of the Venezuelan Amazon. More than an ethnography, the author's original 15-month project extended to more than a decade. In this personal account he describes his marriage to a local girl, falling out with his teacher, and much about living as a member of the tribe. (AMZ60, $45.00)
John Muir's Last Journey, South to the Amazon and East to Africa  •  Robert Michael Pyle  •  John Muir EXPLORATION •  2004 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A collection of letters and notes on Muir's eight-month voyage in 1911-1912, which took him up the Amazon, along the Pacific coast of South America and up into the Andes. He returned via Southern and Eastern Adrica, with excursions to the Zambezi, Lake Victoria, and the Headwaters of the Nile. Edited and annotated by Robert Michael Pyle. (SAM78, $29.95)
Journey of the Pink Dolphins, An Amazon Quest  •  Sy Montgomery NATURAL HISTORY •  2009 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES • COMING IN FEBRUARY A magical, mystical journey in the Brazilian Amazon, Montgomery (Spell of the Tiger) sets off with river guides, shamans, and conservationists in search of the strange bouto, a beaked dolphin that inhabits much of the Amazon and Orinoco river drainages. (AMZ61, $19.95)
Keep the River on Your Right  •  Tobias Schneebaum BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1982 •  PAPER  • 184 PAGES This is an amazing book, the strange tale of a young man on a Fulbright fellowship who wandered alone and defenseless into the Peruvian forest in 1955 in search of remote peoples. This is the haunting, lyrical diary of his experiences among the Akarama including -- in its most disturbing section -- a description of a raid on a neighboring tribe by Schneebaum and his warrior friends. He writes "I am a cannibal." Whether or not he really ate human flesh we cannot judge but, regardless, this is an extraordinary book. Schneebaum went on to live four years with the headhunting Asmat of New Guinea. (AMZ11, $12.50)
A Land of Ghosts, The Braided Lives of People and the Forest in Far Western Amazonia  •  David Campbell TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 260 PAGES This, the long-awaited sequel to Campbell's Crystal Desert, finds our scientist-hero not in the Antarctic but rather far up the Amazon not only with a paddle but also with an eccentric coterie of fellow biologists and locals. Campbell writes with flair and insight of the people, history and ecological discoveries in the far western reaches of the Amazon Basin, a place where he has focused much of his work. A tropical ecologist who has a way with words, Campbell has eight permanent study sites in the Brazilian Amazon. (AMZ90, $18.95)
The Last Forest, The Future of the Amazon in the Age of Globalization  •  Mark London NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 320 PAGES Part personal adventure narrative, part policy paper, London examines the fate of the Amazon with optimism. (AMZ102, $25.95)
Light at the Edge of the World  •  Wade Davis CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2007 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES Wade Davis, an ethnobotanist and popular science writer, surveys what he calls the "ethnosphere": the global diversity of peoples and cultures. He travels from the Arctic to the Amazon to Borneo, taking notes on world-views and customs. (WLD34, $16.95)
Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 1148 PAGES A comprehensive, detailed practical guide to traveling in South America. With a brief general overview and country-by-country review in the Lonely Planet style of sites, attractions, and where to go and what to do. (SAM44, $33.99)
Margaret Mee's Amazon, Diaries of an Artist Explorer  •  Margaret Mee NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 300 PAGES A handsome edition of the diaries, paintings and sketchbooks of the remarkable British botanist and painter Margaret Mee (1909-1988). Not just a terrific botanical illustrator, Mee was an intrepid traveler and collector who made 15 expeditions into the Amazon. Orgnized by expedition, the book features 250 botanical and other illustrations, along with a selection of photographs. This new edition published by Antique Collectors' Club in cooperation with Kew Gardens. (AMZ86, $59.50)
The Mighty Orinoco  •  Jules Verne LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 424 PAGES Appearing for the first time in English, this 1898 novel from science fiction pioneer Jules Verne features a harrowing trip up the uncharted Orinoco, full of encounters with dangerous creatures, fearsome Indians, and infectious diseases. Nicely translated with a good introduction, scholarly notes, and drawings from the original French edition. The intricate plot, various characters and adventures are a lot of fun. (VNZ07, $19.95)
Monkeys of the Amazon  •  Nick Gordon NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER A photographic celerbation of the diversity, beauty and nature of the primates of the Amazon basin. (AMZ110, $16.95)
Natural Acts, A Sidelong View of Science and Nature  •  David Quammen SCIENCE •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 272 PAGES A reissue and update of Quammen's first book, a collection of essays that first appeared in Outside Magazine and find him globetrotting from Romania to the Amazon musing on questions of both science and philosophy. (NAT134, $24.95)
The Naturalist on the River Amazons  •  Henry W. Bates EXPLORATION •  1987 •  PAPER  • 420 PAGES A spell-binding early account of the river and its environs, first published in 1863. A talented naturalist himself, Bates accompanied Alfred Russel Wallace on a collecting expedition for the British Museum in 1848. He stayed on for 11 years, traveling throughout the region. This classic chronicle of his adventures, part natural history and part travelogue, has inspired generations of tropical biologists. Darwin liked it too. (AMZ07, $24.95)
A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics  •  Marco Lambertini  •  John Venerella NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 338 PAGES A compact guide to the world's tropical zone, organized by biome. It's a good overview of the ecology of forests, mangroves, coral reefs, deserts, and grasslands found between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. A useful companion for travelers to tropical latitudes. With color photographs and color plates illustrating a sampling of the most conspicuous birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and fish. (CON17, $25.00)
Peru Map  •  Borch Maps 2007 •  MAP A detailed laminated relief map of Peru at a scale of 1:1,750,000. This is a very clear, colorful map, which also features detailed insets of Lima and Cusco, and even a site plan of Maccu Picchu. Peru itself is broken into three sections: North, Central, South. (PRU02, $10.95)
Pimsleur Quick & Simple Spanish  •  Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  AUDIO CD Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Spanish, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (SPN257, $19.95)
Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers  •  Richard Evans Schultes  •  Albert Hofmann NATURAL HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES An illuminating guide to indigenous peoples and their use of hallucinogenic plants, co-authored by the father of ethnobotany and discoverer of LSD. With hundreds of photographs, maps and drawings, it documents the ecology, chemistry, and especially the social history of hallucinogens. Excellent. (AMZ38, $29.95)
The Remarkable Life of William Beebe, Explorer and Naturalist  •  Carol Grant Gould BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  PAPER  • 447 PAGES This engaging biography of the explorer, naturalist, bestselling writer and underwater pioneer draws, for the first time, on the letters and journals Will Beebe kept from 1887 until his death in 1962. A popular science writer, Carol Grant Gould captures the curiosity and energy of Beebe, following his adventures from the bathysphere to the Galapagos, British Guiana, and at the Bronx Zoo, where he was the first curator of birds. (NAT70, $25.00)
Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon  •  R.D. Bartlett  •  Patricia Bartlett FIELD GUIDE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES A convenient guide to 250 colorful and commonly encountered snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs and salamanders of the Amazon Basin, each with clear color photographs and descriptive information. The Bartlett team, who lead trips to the Amazon, has written a series of book on the care of herps as well as a guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Florida. (AMZ84, $29.95)
Rio de Janeiro Map  •  Borch Maps 2006 •  MAP A laminated road map of Rio de Janeiro at a scale of 1:13,000. (BZL25, $8.95)
The Rivers Ran East  •  Leonard Clark TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 385 PAGES A Traveler's Tales Classic, this fast-paced account of adventures in the Amazon in the 1940s continues to thrill readers of all ages. Of course, he was in search of gold (and met up with head hunters). Clark died in 1957 under mysterious circumstances while on an expedition in search of diamonds in Venezuela. (AMZ94, $16.95)
Rough Guide Brazil  •  David Cleary GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 736 PAGES This comprehensive guide includes an excellent historical and cultural overview of Brazil, with special attention to its natural history. It's a detailed travel guide with region-by-region descriptions. The outstanding British Rough Guide series provides a keen sense of life for the locals -- and isn't so "rough" after all. (BZL09, $24.95)
Sacred Leaves of Candomble: African Magic, Medicine, and Religion in Brazil  •  Robert A. Voeks RELIGION •  1997 •  PAPER  • 236 PAGES A fascinating scholarly report on the ethnobotany of African religious and healing traditions in Brazil. Voeks, a geographer, documents the transformation -- and perseverance -- of Candomble beliefs and practices in the New World. With 33 black-and-white photographs and six maps. (BZL29, $25.00)
Saudades Do Brasil, A Photographic Memoir  •  Claude Levi-Strauss CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1995 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES These photographs by the great structural anthropologist, dating from the 1930s, are not just beautiful but an invaluable record of life in Sao Palo and the Amazon. (BZL04, $60.00)
Savages  •  Joe Kane BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1996 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A first-hand account of a naive journalist among the Huaraoni of the Ecuadorian Amazon. In the struggle for the control of their homeland, it is certainly not the local people who behave as savages. Kane is an engaging, humorous guide to development issues in the Oriente of Ecuador. (AMZ20, $14.95)
Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest  •  Matthew Restall HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES In this provocative book, Restall tackles Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro and the misconceptions surrounding them. The conquisadores most certainly did not conquer the Americas with a handful of men, nor were they received as gods. (SAM52, $19.99)
Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy  •  Willard R. Trask  •  Mircea Eliade RELIGION •  1972 •  PAPER  • 610 PAGES An early, and now classic account of Shamanism among the native peoples of South America. (AMZ51, $24.95)
Shamans Through Time: 500 Year on the Path to Knowledge  •  Jeremy Narby  •  Francis Huxley RELIGION •  2004 •  PAPER  • 354 PAGES An anthology of observations and writings on Shamanism from the 16th-century to modern day. The compilation offers a wide variety of views on the Shaman, religion and culture. (GEN202, $14.95)
Snakes, The Evolution of Mystery in Nature  •  Harry W. Greene NATURAL HISTORY •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 288 PAGES Published to wildly enthusiastic reviews in 1997, this illustrated volume documents the ecology and diversity of snakes worldwide. Anecdotal, informative and entertaining, snakes couldn't have asked for a better advocate than herpetologist Harry Greene -- and the photographs are stunning. (BST33, $60.00)
South America Northeast Map  •  International Map Company 2004 •  MAP This brightly colored map of northeast South America at a scale of 1:2,800,000 covers the Atlantic coast of the continent south from the Caribbean to Rio de Janeiro, including the Amazon and Orinoco. With historical information on the region. (SAM16, $8.95)
The Spears of Twilight: Life and Death in the Amazon Jungle  •  Phillipe Descola CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  PAPER  • 458 PAGES Three years among the Jivaro (Achaur) of the Upper Amazon. A student of Claude Levi-Strauss, Descola proves himself to be an intelligent observer and born storyteller in this ethnographic account. (AMZ25, $24.95)
Spix's Macaw, The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird  •  Tony Juniper NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES In this suspenseful account Tony Juniper tells the story of the fight to save the habitat of the last remaining Spix's Macaw, an all-but-extinct Amazon parrot brought to the brink of extinction by smugglers. Juniper is executive director of Friends of the Earth (AMZ95, $14.00)
Stolen Continents, 500 Years of Conquest and Resistance in the Americas  •  Ronald Wright HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES A powerful history of imperialism and resistance in the Americas, with a focus on the Aztec, Maya, Inca, Cherokee and Iroquois. Wright's illuminating account, told largely from the point of view of the losers, details the rapid collapse of cultures and societies in the Americas following the arrival of the Europeans in 1492. Wright draws on an impressive range of archival material in reconstructing this classic account, originally published in 1993. Wright is also the author of Time Among the Maya. (NAM20, $17.00)
Tales from the Medicine Trail, Tracking Down the Health Secrets of Shamans, Herbalists, Mystics, Yogis, and Other Healers  •  Christopher Kilham TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 291 PAGES • COMING IN An account of journeys on the trail of medical herbs and botanicals with chapters on the author's travels in Amazonia, Peru and the Andes (maca), India (Ayurveda) and the Pacific (Kava). With notes and recipes for each herbal remedy. (GEN246, $19.95)
The Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone of Southeastern Peru, A Biological Assessment  •  Robin B. Foster NATURAL HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES The result of a "Rapid Assessment Program" survey by a multidisciplinary team, this book catalogs the biological resources of the Tambopata River, south of Puerto Maldonado in the upper Amazon of Peru. The well studied Explorer's Inn is just downstream of the study area. With maps, line drawings, and detailed animal checklists by region (scientific names only). (PRU17, $19.95)
The Thief at the End of the World, Rubber, Power and the Seeds of Empire  •  Joe Jackson BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 448 PAGES This riveting portrait of the determined, unscrupulous Henry Wickham, the man who smuggled rubber tree seeds out of the Amazon, provides a good look at Victorian Britain's profiteering in South America. (AMZ115, $27.95)
Travelers' Tales Brazil  •  Annette Haddad TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A collection of stories, articles and excerpts on Brazil -- an excellent introduction to the people, culture and traditions of the country as seen through the eyes of modern writers. (BZL06, $18.95)
Traveling with Che Guevara, The Making of a Revolutionary  •  Alberto Granado  •  Lucia Alvarez de Toledo TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES This is Alberto Granado's companion book to Che Guevara's well-known Motorcycle Diaries (and one of the sources for the movie). It's Granado's own account of travels with Che via motorbike through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. (SAM68, $14.95)
Tropical Rainforest  •  Ben Shedd NATURAL HISTORY •  1992 •  DVD This beautiful documentary, filmed in Australia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, and Malaysia, showcases the nature, ecology and conservation challenges of tropical rainforests worldwide. Originally presented in IMAX theaters and narrated by Geoffrey Holder. 40 minutes. (AMZ89, $19.99)
Two to Tango  •  Peter Guttridge MYSTERY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 218 PAGES Dangerous creatures -- and killers -- in the Amazon threaten Nick Madrid, the self-deprecating, yoga-loving British journalist, as he attempts to prevent the murder of a rockstar in the third book of this popular series. The Rock Against Drugs tour quickly becomes a race against time as the rock star nears his final concert at Machu Picchu. (AMZ98, $14.00)
Vine of the Soul, Medicine Men, Their Plants, and Rituals in the Colombian Amazon  •  Richard Evans Schultes  •  Robert F. Raffauf CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2004 •  PAPER  • 282 PAGES Written by Schultes, the father of ethnobotany, with a colleague, this book features 150 photographs along with a detailed and authoritative text describing the many uses of plant substances. (AMZ59, $29.95)
Wallpaper City Guide Rio De Janeiro  •  Wallpaper Magazine GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER A stylish, thin (it fits in your back pocket) city guide compiled by the design magazine Wallpaper's local reporters. Well-organized, with chapter tabs, many photographs and of-the-moment recommendations. (BZL56, $8.95)
Where to Watch Birds in South America  •  Nigel Wheatley NATURAL HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 431 PAGES A compact practical guide to 206 recommended birdwatching sites throughout South America. Organized by country, each site guide includes an introduction, noteworthy species, maps, and directions, checklists. An invaluable handbook for birders. (SAM40, $24.95)
With Broadax and Firebrand, The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest  •  Warren Dean HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 504 PAGES A vivid, scholarly environmental history of Brazil from early settlement through the 1990s. Once extending along the coast of much of Brazil, the coastal forest has been burned, cleared and cut down to make way for Brazil's largest cities, mining, farming and industrialization. (BZL31, $29.95)
The World as You Dream It, Shamanistic Teachings from the Amazon and Andes  •  John M. Perkins RELIGION •  1994 •  PAPER  • 139 PAGES An activist on behalf of indigenous cultures and founder of the "Earth Dream Alliance", the author provides a personal account of his sometimes hard-to-believe experiences with curanderos (or shamans) in the highlands and Amazon of Ecuador. Whatever your thoughts on the concept a vision quest, the book includes an fascinating account of the author's time with the Shuar people, their rituals and religious ideas. (AMZ46, $12.95)
Yanomami, The Fierce Controversy and What We Might Learn from It  •  Robert Borofsky CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 397 PAGES A scholarly reader and study of the controversy surrounding anthropological studies of the Yanomami of northern Brazil and neighboring Venezuela. It follows in the wake of Patrick Tierney's best-selling book, Darkness in El Dorado. With Bruce Albert, Ray Hames, Kim Hill, Lêda Leitão Martins, John Peters, and Terence Turner. (SAM67, $22.95)
Yanomami, The Fierce Controversy and What We Might Learn from It  •  Robert Borofsky CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 397 PAGES A scholarly reader and study of the controversy surrounding anthropological studies of the Yanomami of northern Brazil and neighboring Venezuela. It follows in the wake of Patrick Tierney's best-selling book, Darkness in El Dorado. With Bruce Albert, Ray Hames, Kim Hill, Lêda Leitão Martins, John Peters, and Terence Turner. (SAM67, $22.95)