Amy D. (Iowan) reviewed The River of Doubt : Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey on + 173 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Intriguing look into a terribly planned, ill-executed exploration of an uncharted river in South America. Teddy Roosevelt lives up to his larger than life reputation when he takes on the wilds of the Amazonian rain forest. Great writing, well-researched and yet engaging.
Helpful Score: 3
This book chronicles Teddy Roosevelt's journey down an uncharted tributary to the amazon river. It is an amazing account of one of Roosevelt's many adventures. You get an close look at what the interior of the amazon rain forest looks like with an intriguing story of survival.
Quick read and a great book.
Quick read and a great book.
Joan L. (joanland) reviewed The River of Doubt : Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Outstanding story, very well researched and written, of Theodore Roosevelt's exploration down the Brazilian River of Doubt. Superb account of a trip through unknown territory.
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
Helpful Score: 1
An amazingly powerful book that I found riveting. That is a lot to say in eight words, but it was true for me.
I have read a number of books on Theodore Roosevelt and am very impressed with the man, although I do not always agree that what he did was right or the best for our country. While I knew that he took a long trip to South America after he lost the 1912 election, I had supposed that it was a type of gentleman's safari with plenty of creature comforts. Boy, was I wrong.
As a former Marine and someone who also had his share of tough treks backpacking for a week or more in the Rockies at high elevations in all kinds of weather, I am not sure I could have done what Teddy did on his trip down the River of Doubt.
I have read a number of books on Theodore Roosevelt and am very impressed with the man, although I do not always agree that what he did was right or the best for our country. While I knew that he took a long trip to South America after he lost the 1912 election, I had supposed that it was a type of gentleman's safari with plenty of creature comforts. Boy, was I wrong.
As a former Marine and someone who also had his share of tough treks backpacking for a week or more in the Rockies at high elevations in all kinds of weather, I am not sure I could have done what Teddy did on his trip down the River of Doubt.
Helpful Score: 1
I've been reading a lot of historical narrative over the last few years (Skeletons on the Zahara, In the Heart of the Sea, Over the Edge of the World, Unbroken, We Die Alone, The Devil in the White City) and The River of Doubt compares quite favorably with all of those. Candice Millard's parsing of Teddy Roosevelt's last great adventure in 1913 yields many captivating insights: biographical probing of Roosevelt's family and political life, the natural history of the Amazon River Basin and its indigenous tribes, South American politics, and of course a study of how human beings stand up under intense mental and physical duress. Millard has the unique ability to dredge up historical minutia while never letting the narrative bog down and her re-creation of the time, place and people is thoroughly engaging.
