There’s a Book for That: Amazon Rainforest

The fires raging across the Amazon rainforests have caused an international outcry. Tropical forests are home to many species of plants and animals found nowhere else. They are also important refuges for indigenous people, and contain enormous stores of carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change. Breaking news this week reports that the special communications office for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told CNN that the country would turn down the $20 million in international aid for the fires that was pledged at the G7 summit in France on Monday. According to the Rainforest Action Network, concerned individuals have raised millions of dollars in aid via social media fundraisers. To further illuminate the importance of Amazon’s Rainforest, we present the following titles for adult and younger readers:

WALKING THE AMAZON: 860 DAYS. ONE STEP AT A TIME by Ed Stafford

From the comes a riveting, adventurous account of one man’s history-making journey along the entire length of the Amazon.

In April 2008, Ed Stafford- star of Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Marooned” – set off to become the first man ever to walk the entire length of the Amazon. His journey lead on through parts of Colombia and right across Brazil; all while outwitting dangerous animals, machete wielding indigenous people as well as negotiating injuries, weather and his own fears and doubts. On his grueling 860-day, 4,000-plus mile journey, Stafford witnessed the devastation of deforestation firsthand, the pressure on tribes due to loss of habitats as well as nature in its true-raw form. The book is also available as a Spanish edition: Caminado El Amazonas.

THE LOST CITY OF Z: A TALE OF DEADLY OBSESSION IN THE AMAZON by David Grann

In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless people perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called “The Lost City of Z.” In this masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, journalist David Grann interweaves the spellbinding stories of Fawcett’s quest for “Z” and his own journey into the deadly jungle, as he unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century.

THE UNCONQUERED: IN SEARCH OF THE AMAZON’S LAST UNCONTACTED TRIBES by Scott Wallace

The extraordinary true story of a journey into the deepest recesses of the Amazon to track one of the planet’s last uncontacted indigenous tribes. Laced with lessons from anthropology and the Amazon’s own convulsed history, and boasting a Conradian cast of unforgettable characters, The Unconquered reveals this critical battleground in the fight to save the planet as it has rarely been seen, wrapped in a page-turning tale of adventure.

1491: NEW REVELATIONS OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS (second edition) by Charles C. Mann

This book makes the case that pre-Columbian Native Americans used land management techniques that were in far better balance with the Amazonian ecosystem than what we use in the modern era. Aggressive development of the Amazon basin, for logging and agriculture, is part of what’s causing the terrible fires we see today.

THE SMITHSONIAN ATLAS OF THE AMAZON by Michael Goulding

More than 150 color maps and nearly 300 vivid photographs provide spectacular views of the river and rainforest. Along the way, the authors explore many intriguing topics such as why some of the Amazon’s tributaries have black water, what happens when the freshwater of the Amazon reaches the salty ocean, and why we all should be concerned about the deforestation that contributes to the loss of species biodiversity.

FOR YOUNGER READERS

THE AMAZON: STEP INTO THE WORLD’S LARGEST RAINFOREST AND LEARN ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MIGHTY AMAZON RIVER by DK Eyewitness Books

This uniquely beautiful illustrated guide dives into the beauty and diversity of the Amazon: the rain forest and the river; its flora, fauna, and life cycles; and the people who live in the region.

WHERE IS THE AMAZON? By Sarah Fabiny, Who HQ, Daniel Colon

The Amazon River basin teems with life—animal and plant alike. It’s a rainforest that is home to an estimated 390 billion individual trees, 2.5 million species of insects, and hundreds of amazing creatures and plants that can either cure diseases, or, like the poison dart frog, kill with a single touch. Where Is the Amazon reveals the amazing scale of a single rainforest that we are still trying to understand today and that, in many ways, supports our existence on this planet.

THE QUEST FOR Z: THE TRUE STORY OF EXPLORER PERCY FAWCETT AND A LOST CITY IN THE AMAZON by Greg Pizzoli

British explorer Percy Fawcett believed that hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest was an ancient city, lost for the ages. Most people didn’t even believe this city existed. But if Fawcett could find it, he would be rich and famous forever. This is the true story of one man’s thrilling, dangerous journey into the jungle, and what he found on his quest for the lost city of Z.