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Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire
"One of the intense pleasures of travel is the opportunity to live among people who have not forgotten the old ways, who still feel their past in the wind, touch it in stones polished by rain, recognize its taste in the bitter leaves of plants."
In this riveting collection of stories and essays, gifted scientist, anthropologist, and writer Wade Davis offers a captivating look at indigenous cultures around the world--from the nomadic Penan of Malaysia to the Vodoun practitioners of Haiti--and a poetic, timely examination of the rapport between humans and the natural world. Traveling from the mountains of Tibet to the jungles of the Amazon, Davis delves into the mysteries of shamanic healing, experiences first-hand hallucinogenic plants, explores the vanishing Borneo rain forests, and describes the ingenuity of the Inuit as they hunt narwhale on the Arctic ice.
A compelling and utterly unique celebration of the beauty and diversity of our planet, Shadows in the Sun is about landscape and character, the wisdom of lives drawn directly from the land, and the hunger of those who seek to rediscover such understanding. Davis shows that preserving the diversity of the world's cultures and spiritual beliefs is as important as preserving endangered plants and animals--and vital to our understanding of who we are.
In this riveting collection of stories and essays, gifted scientist, anthropologist, and writer Wade Davis offers a captivating look at indigenous cultures around the world--from the nomadic Penan of Malaysia to the Vodoun practitioners of Haiti--and a poetic, timely examination of the rapport between humans and the natural world. Traveling from the mountains of Tibet to the jungles of the Amazon, Davis delves into the mysteries of shamanic healing, experiences first-hand hallucinogenic plants, explores the vanishing Borneo rain forests, and describes the ingenuity of the Inuit as they hunt narwhale on the Arctic ice.
A compelling and utterly unique celebration of the beauty and diversity of our planet, Shadows in the Sun is about landscape and character, the wisdom of lives drawn directly from the land, and the hunger of those who seek to rediscover such understanding. Davis shows that preserving the diversity of the world's cultures and spiritual beliefs is as important as preserving endangered plants and animals--and vital to our understanding of who we are.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Wade Davis
73 books770 followersEdmund Wade Davis has been described as "a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet, and passionate defender of all of life's diversity."
An ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker, he holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Mostly through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent more than three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among 15 indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6,000 botanical collections. His work later took him to Haiti to investigate folk preparations implicated in the creation of zombies, an assignment that led to his writing Passage of Darkness (1988) and The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986), an international best seller that appeared in ten languages and was later released by Universal as a motion picture.
His other books include Penan: Voice for the Borneo Rain Forest (1990), Shadows in the Sun (1993), Nomads of the Dawn (1995), The Clouded Leopard (1998), Rainforest (1998), Light at the Edge of the World (2001), The Lost Amazon (2004), Grand Canyon (2008), Book of Peoples of the World (ed. 2008), and One River (1996), which was nominated for the 1997 Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction. Into the Silence, an epic history of World War I and the early British efforts to summit Everest, was published in October, 2011. Sheets of Distant Rain will follow.
Davis is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2002 Lowell Thomas Medal (The Explorers Club) and the 2002 Lannan Foundation prize for literary nonfiction. In 2004 he was made an honorary member of the Explorers Club, one of just 20 in the hundred-year history of the club. In recent years his work has taken him to East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the high Arctic of Nunavut and Greenland.
A native of British Columbia, Davis, a licensed river guide, has worked as park ranger and forestry engineer and conducted ethnographic fieldwork among several indigenous societies of northern Canada. He has published 150 scientific and popular articles on subjects ranging from Haitian vodoun and Amazonian myth and religion to the global biodiversity crisis, the traditional use of psychotropic drugs, and the ethnobotany of South American Indians.
Davis has written for National Geographic, Newsweek, Premiere, Outside, Omni, Harpers, Fortune, Men's Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, Natural History, Utne Reader, National Geographic Traveler, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, and several other international publications.
His photographs have been featured in a number of exhibits and have been widely published, appearing in some 20 books and more than 80 magazines, journals, and newspapers. His research has been the subject of more than 700 media reports and interviews in Europe, North and South America, and the Far East, and has inspired numerous documentary films as well as three episodes of the television series The X Files.
A professional speaker for nearly 20 years, Davis has lectured at the National Geographic Society, American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and California Academy of Sciences, as well as many other museums and some 200 universities, including Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Yale, and Stanford. He has spoken at the Aspen Institute, Bohemian Grove, Young President’s Organization, and TED Conference. His corporate clients have included Microsoft, Shell, Hallmark, Bank of Nova Scotia, MacKenzie Financials, Healthcare Association of Southern California, National Science Teachers Association, and many others.
An honorary research associate of the Institute of Economic Botany of the New York Botanical Garden, he is a fellow of the Linnean Society, the Explorers Club, and the Royal Geographical Society.
(Source: National Geographic)
An ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker, he holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Mostly through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent more than three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among 15 indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6,000 botanical collections. His work later took him to Haiti to investigate folk preparations implicated in the creation of zombies, an assignment that led to his writing Passage of Darkness (1988) and The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986), an international best seller that appeared in ten languages and was later released by Universal as a motion picture.
His other books include Penan: Voice for the Borneo Rain Forest (1990), Shadows in the Sun (1993), Nomads of the Dawn (1995), The Clouded Leopard (1998), Rainforest (1998), Light at the Edge of the World (2001), The Lost Amazon (2004), Grand Canyon (2008), Book of Peoples of the World (ed. 2008), and One River (1996), which was nominated for the 1997 Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction. Into the Silence, an epic history of World War I and the early British efforts to summit Everest, was published in October, 2011. Sheets of Distant Rain will follow.
Davis is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2002 Lowell Thomas Medal (The Explorers Club) and the 2002 Lannan Foundation prize for literary nonfiction. In 2004 he was made an honorary member of the Explorers Club, one of just 20 in the hundred-year history of the club. In recent years his work has taken him to East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the high Arctic of Nunavut and Greenland.
A native of British Columbia, Davis, a licensed river guide, has worked as park ranger and forestry engineer and conducted ethnographic fieldwork among several indigenous societies of northern Canada. He has published 150 scientific and popular articles on subjects ranging from Haitian vodoun and Amazonian myth and religion to the global biodiversity crisis, the traditional use of psychotropic drugs, and the ethnobotany of South American Indians.
Davis has written for National Geographic, Newsweek, Premiere, Outside, Omni, Harpers, Fortune, Men's Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, Natural History, Utne Reader, National Geographic Traveler, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, and several other international publications.
His photographs have been featured in a number of exhibits and have been widely published, appearing in some 20 books and more than 80 magazines, journals, and newspapers. His research has been the subject of more than 700 media reports and interviews in Europe, North and South America, and the Far East, and has inspired numerous documentary films as well as three episodes of the television series The X Files.
A professional speaker for nearly 20 years, Davis has lectured at the National Geographic Society, American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and California Academy of Sciences, as well as many other museums and some 200 universities, including Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Yale, and Stanford. He has spoken at the Aspen Institute, Bohemian Grove, Young President’s Organization, and TED Conference. His corporate clients have included Microsoft, Shell, Hallmark, Bank of Nova Scotia, MacKenzie Financials, Healthcare Association of Southern California, National Science Teachers Association, and many others.
An honorary research associate of the Institute of Economic Botany of the New York Botanical Garden, he is a fellow of the Linnean Society, the Explorers Club, and the Royal Geographical Society.
(Source: National Geographic)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 17, 2021
Wade Davis is a true adventurer.
His recollections reveal a man fascinated by the natural world, by Native culture, by explorations of consciousness and one devoted to using every precious drop of time in the pursuit of discovery.
Recommended.
His recollections reveal a man fascinated by the natural world, by Native culture, by explorations of consciousness and one devoted to using every precious drop of time in the pursuit of discovery.
Recommended.
May 27, 2021
Confesso que tinha uma expectativa diferente sobre esse livro. Devo ter lido apressado a descrição sobre o autor e assumi que o livro refletiria sua visão de antropólogo nesses lugares remotos a que o título se refere. O que rola de fato é mais sua visão integrada de biólogo e antropólogo, que forma a tal Etnobiologia, campo totalmente desconhecido pra mim.
Daí que a descrição detalhada dos biomas, meio ambiente e até as substâncias alucinógenas (cara gasta uns 3 capítulos para falar de Ayahuasca, sapo que secreta um líquido alucinógeno, entre outros) se sobressai sobre as histórias das pessoas, que era o que eu esperava. Somado a um inglês mais difícil, o livro fica bem arrastado em alguns momentos.
O fato é que essa falta de engajamento me fez demorar pra entender o grande objetivo do livro, que é justamente chamar a atenção da degradação ambiental como fator de degradação das relações humanas, extinção de tribos e línguas de forma irrecuperável e outras consequências difíceis de mensurar. Sorte minha que, tais quais aqueles filmes ruins de suspense, o último capítulo é bem didático e reforça essa mensagem, provavelmente de forma desnecessária para quem a captou ao longo de toda a narrativa...
Daí que a descrição detalhada dos biomas, meio ambiente e até as substâncias alucinógenas (cara gasta uns 3 capítulos para falar de Ayahuasca, sapo que secreta um líquido alucinógeno, entre outros) se sobressai sobre as histórias das pessoas, que era o que eu esperava. Somado a um inglês mais difícil, o livro fica bem arrastado em alguns momentos.
O fato é que essa falta de engajamento me fez demorar pra entender o grande objetivo do livro, que é justamente chamar a atenção da degradação ambiental como fator de degradação das relações humanas, extinção de tribos e línguas de forma irrecuperável e outras consequências difíceis de mensurar. Sorte minha que, tais quais aqueles filmes ruins de suspense, o último capítulo é bem didático e reforça essa mensagem, provavelmente de forma desnecessária para quem a captou ao longo de toda a narrativa...
September 3, 2024
so good :) my third wade davis book and they are all stellar.
"When we parted, it was with the sense that each of us might inform the other, that my journey into his mountains might reveal something of benefit, and that his goal might one day become mine, the unsentimental embrace of all existence."
"When we parted, it was with the sense that each of us might inform the other, that my journey into his mountains might reveal something of benefit, and that his goal might one day become mine, the unsentimental embrace of all existence."
August 13, 2012
I don't love every word that Wade Davis writes. He occasionally gets lost in superfluous details and overly romanticized descriptions. But every one of his books has at least several passages that perfectly harmonize the importance of seeing the world holistically, distill the importance of why one should care. The following is one of my favorite passages from this book:
"Sensitivity to nature is not an innate attribute of indigenous peoples. It is a consequence of adaptive choices that have resulted in the development of highly specialized peripheral skills. but those choices in turn spring from a comprehensive view of nature and the universe in which man and woman are perceived as but elements inextricably linked to the whole. "
Another:
"A simple intuition, a single observation, can open vistas of unimagined potential. Once caught in the web of an idea, the researcher is happily doomed, for the outcome is always uncertain, and the resolution of the mystery may take years to unfold. Such was the case in my encounter with the magic toads of the Americas."
Really his chapter about toads is incredible. If you only read one part of this book, choose that one.
"Sensitivity to nature is not an innate attribute of indigenous peoples. It is a consequence of adaptive choices that have resulted in the development of highly specialized peripheral skills. but those choices in turn spring from a comprehensive view of nature and the universe in which man and woman are perceived as but elements inextricably linked to the whole. "
Another:
"A simple intuition, a single observation, can open vistas of unimagined potential. Once caught in the web of an idea, the researcher is happily doomed, for the outcome is always uncertain, and the resolution of the mystery may take years to unfold. Such was the case in my encounter with the magic toads of the Americas."
Really his chapter about toads is incredible. If you only read one part of this book, choose that one.
January 9, 2020
A fantastic collection of essays on forests, adventure, wild nature, botany and spirituality. Davis does a great job setting the stage, couching the story, and transporting you to a place to experience nature and its people. Some of my favorites were "Hunters on the Northern Ice," in which Davis spends some time with the Inuit in northern Canada; "White Blood of the Forest," which tells the tragic tale of rubber production; "Smoking Toad," that explores Davis' scientific exploration of the myth of licking toads and stumbles onto some fun discoveries along the way; and, "In the Shadow of the Red Cedar," that looks at how the evolution of the red cedar in the Pacific Northwest and the BC Coast led to the magnificent giants in those magical and diverse temperate rain forests.
Highly recommended for those that love beautiful nature essays, exploration of different cultures, ethnobotany, and good storytellers.
Highly recommended for those that love beautiful nature essays, exploration of different cultures, ethnobotany, and good storytellers.
November 7, 2018
I actually read this collection of essays in a different version titled "The Clouded Leopard: A Book of Travels," (Tauris-Parke publisher) which differed by one essay, but otherwise it's the same. As always, I love Davis's writing style and his observations about nature and all the places where he's traveled and studied. Based on a series of his lectures, the essays sometimes overlap or repeat material from Davis's other works, but it's hardly noticeable because the material is so diverse and fascinating. I was sorry to reach the end of this book!
January 3, 2020
A collection of 15 essays, with no real theme to connect them (except how much Davis has travelled); many of them published previously. I enjoyed most of them, except the two where he tried his hand at reviews of what turned out to be bad movies - very incongruous with his other writing. The best are those from his experience as an ethnobotanist: trying hallucinogens in Peru, the Amazon and the Sonoran Desert; teaching us about the risk of losing bio-diversity in tropical & temperate rainforests. Good writing, but felt like a series of magazine articles.
December 8, 2020
A fantastic collection of ethnobotanical stories (stories of how plants are used by cultures) centered around drug use rituals. However, it begs the question of emic versus etic in some of the more fantastical claims Davis makes. Davis is a participatory observer, so he takes the substances with the villagers, leading to a richer personal insight in some ways, but one that must be taken with caution.
March 18, 2022
An addicting collection of strange travels with gems like:
"Between these two extremes, isolated from the world at large, were some hippies of the norther rain forest who had chosen life in the wild over civilization. They had found in the toads a pathway to oblivion. An Australian film crew recorded the testimonial from an avid, if less than articulate, toad acolyte:
...I am seeing the world...er...through the consciousness of a toad."
"Between these two extremes, isolated from the world at large, were some hippies of the norther rain forest who had chosen life in the wild over civilization. They had found in the toads a pathway to oblivion. An Australian film crew recorded the testimonial from an avid, if less than articulate, toad acolyte:
...I am seeing the world...er...through the consciousness of a toad."
June 29, 2023
This was required reading for an anthropology class I took. Overall, I really enjoyed the way each chapter shined light on different ways of life and cultural beliefs. The way the author wove all these together stories together with how interconnected human culture is with nature really spoke to me and I am happy to have read this book.
September 29, 2020
World enveloping view of that which we overlook and sometimes contribute to the destruction of. Beautifully narrated with facts and backstories making the convincing argument to "leave it and them, be".
February 8, 2023
An absolute great dive into different cultures around the world and what it takes to live in those various areas. Sprinkled with part adventure and part Anthropological research, this is sure to make you appreciate cultural differences and tweak your inner explorational desires.
September 10, 2020
Outstanding. Although, we should expect nothing less from Mr Davis at this point.
September 17, 2021
This should be a classic.
February 27, 2022
First book in English I picked up at Cascada Verde in Uvita, Costa Rica. Safe to say I'm glad it returned to the States with me :)
April 23, 2023
Such beautiful descriptions of the history and culture and practices of different native cultures
November 21, 2022
This collection of essays by ethnobotanist Wade Davis sat on the shelf accompanied by my longing for recall of memories to distant lands, some of which we have both visited. But these essays also highlight the tragic destruction of indigenous plants and peoples across the globe.
Nearing the midpoint (Clouded Leopard) a fellow explorer discusses his views on conservation (in Tibet, saying "We all need a place on earth to hide the wild parts of ourselves. With land preserved, each generation can search again for the yeti and discover the sciences of life, which is ecology... In the end what we discovered is a greater sense of who we are, and a knowledge that what we are is just what is."
I nearly gave up around the toad licking/smoking though that scientific discovery is notable in Davis' work...
At the close I was glad to have slugged on to the powerful essay on Canada, Breaking Trail, where he discusses the work of Canadian Frederick Phillip Grove, noting "He preferred to speak of survival, of winters when the winds blew so hard that caribou froze, dogs died, people were reduced to eating spruce bark, and parents had to choose which of their young would live and which would be abandoned to die."
Then, in The End of the Wild, he says, "Nowhere is the crisis more intense, of the outcome more consequential, than in the tropical rain forests, home to the greatest concentration of biological wealth on Earth. When Joseph Conrad wrote that the jungle was less a forest then a primeval mob, a remnant of the ancient era when vegetation rioted and consumed the earth, he referred to a time still known to our fathers and mothers, a time when the tropical rain forest of the world stood immense, inviolable, a mantel of green stretching across entire continents. Today, sadly that era is no more. In many parts of the tropics, the clouds are of smoke, the scents are of grease and lube oil, and the sounds are of machinery, the buzz of chainsaws, and the cacophony of enormous reptilian earth movers hissing and moaning with exertion. It is a violent overture, like the opening notes of an opera about war, a war between humans and the land, a wrenching terminal struggle to make the latter conform to the whims and desires of the former..."
Not an easy read, but perhaps a necessary one, focusing our reflection on the underbelly of mankind's use of the earth and its bounty.
Nearing the midpoint (Clouded Leopard) a fellow explorer discusses his views on conservation (in Tibet, saying "We all need a place on earth to hide the wild parts of ourselves. With land preserved, each generation can search again for the yeti and discover the sciences of life, which is ecology... In the end what we discovered is a greater sense of who we are, and a knowledge that what we are is just what is."
I nearly gave up around the toad licking/smoking though that scientific discovery is notable in Davis' work...
At the close I was glad to have slugged on to the powerful essay on Canada, Breaking Trail, where he discusses the work of Canadian Frederick Phillip Grove, noting "He preferred to speak of survival, of winters when the winds blew so hard that caribou froze, dogs died, people were reduced to eating spruce bark, and parents had to choose which of their young would live and which would be abandoned to die."
Then, in The End of the Wild, he says, "Nowhere is the crisis more intense, of the outcome more consequential, than in the tropical rain forests, home to the greatest concentration of biological wealth on Earth. When Joseph Conrad wrote that the jungle was less a forest then a primeval mob, a remnant of the ancient era when vegetation rioted and consumed the earth, he referred to a time still known to our fathers and mothers, a time when the tropical rain forest of the world stood immense, inviolable, a mantel of green stretching across entire continents. Today, sadly that era is no more. In many parts of the tropics, the clouds are of smoke, the scents are of grease and lube oil, and the sounds are of machinery, the buzz of chainsaws, and the cacophony of enormous reptilian earth movers hissing and moaning with exertion. It is a violent overture, like the opening notes of an opera about war, a war between humans and the land, a wrenching terminal struggle to make the latter conform to the whims and desires of the former..."
Not an easy read, but perhaps a necessary one, focusing our reflection on the underbelly of mankind's use of the earth and its bounty.
August 8, 2011
In typical Wade Davis fashion, this story reads like a storybook, teaches like a textbook, and ushers in adventure at every turn of the page! The enlightening combination of storytelling used in solid historical and scientific context paired with captivating subject matter allows for a wonderful expedition around the world! This trek not only entertains, but educates throughout the entire length of the journey to the very last page.
As an ethnobotanist, many of Davis' stories and essays incorporate information about localized plant use for various purposes, showing the importance of maintaining and growing accumulated local wisdom and knowledge and illustrating just how easily it can be lost. However, Davis doesn't simply stop at evaluating this plant and local resource use. Instead, his stories focus on a range of topics including wildlife, environmental circumstances and threats, societal and cultural issues, and the potential for improvement on all of these areas in a host of countries on the global scale.
Davis' travels have taken him into remote regions that most of us know little to nothing about, thus his stories will be of great interest to any who feels the urge to learn a bit more about these locales and cultures. After all, many of these cultures as they exist today are vanishing and may not be around to learn about them in the future.
As an ethnobotanist, many of Davis' stories and essays incorporate information about localized plant use for various purposes, showing the importance of maintaining and growing accumulated local wisdom and knowledge and illustrating just how easily it can be lost. However, Davis doesn't simply stop at evaluating this plant and local resource use. Instead, his stories focus on a range of topics including wildlife, environmental circumstances and threats, societal and cultural issues, and the potential for improvement on all of these areas in a host of countries on the global scale.
Davis' travels have taken him into remote regions that most of us know little to nothing about, thus his stories will be of great interest to any who feels the urge to learn a bit more about these locales and cultures. After all, many of these cultures as they exist today are vanishing and may not be around to learn about them in the future.
April 3, 2010
It is rare that a scientific-minded individual can write with the engaging fluidity of creative non-fiction author, but Wade Davis strides both worlds effortlessly. It never occurred to me that an ethnobotany could be so riveting. Wade Davis takes you to his homeland Canada, to the heights of Peru and the depths of the Amazon basin, to Haiti and Tibet in pursuit of the secrets of plants and how mankind has used them over the centuries. The accounts in this book of travels reveal mysterious practices of the shamans in Amazon, the horrid outcome of human intervention in nature’s plan, and the importance of our connection to the land. You will learn, you will smile and you will wonder why this author has not received more popular acclaim. The message is clear. We are living in an ecological disaster. It is our responsibility to understand and reclaim the natural order of things, but the medium is one of pure entertainment. A must read if you dare to care about our planet.
www.lindaballouauthor.com
Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales
www.lindaballouauthor.com
Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales
January 18, 2012
After reading the first chapter of The Clouded Leopard, I was a little worried. I kept reading however, and the book greatly improved. Every chapter was completely different, which is why I think of this book in terms of chapters. Some chapters I learned a lot from, and some I was left wondering what I should have learned. Overall, Davis's message speaks to the conservation of culture and the environment. What I really found interesting were Davis's parallels between tradition medical advances and western medical advances. Davis does a great job at showing how advanced non-western healer's medical knowledge is, and how much western pharmaceutical companies benefit from their knowledge. Davis also does a great job at showing just how linked to nature we are. While I often wonder about the resources that go into make a specific product, Davis's chapter on the rubber industry gave an in depth look at just how complex this web is. While, as I said, not every chapter is a gem, overall this book is a very good read. Informative and well paced, I learned a lot.
July 10, 2011
A series of globe-spanning essays on the confluence of land and human culture - both our inherently destructive, all-consuming materialist culture and the well-adapted, respectful and harmonious culture of the indigenous. Davis is an ethnobotanist, an anthropologist concerned with plants and their human uses. He's been blessed with some serious traveling and immersion opportunities, and his intrepid spirit leaps of these pages. His writing is clear, strong and persuasive - although, while there are many similarities, he's not quite as good as Barry Lopez. Suffused throughout the book is the implicit and occasionally explicit plea that his readers, and his whole culture, learn to respect the wisdom of the indigenous and take the lessons of wise land inhabitance and stewardship they have earned over the centuries and apply them before we kill the entire planet.
December 7, 2012
Interesting. Had some cool mini sections about Peru, the coca leaf, ayuasca and san pedro. . . all names I heard often while in Cusco. Also gives the reader a really good idea of just how many medicinal plants are being destroyed everyday with the deforestation of the Amazon. How sad. . . It was kinda funny near the end of the book though. It pretty much seemed like a guy who loved trying out new natural psychadelics solely for the name of science. Still pretty cool bringing up the connection between native plants with their the native populations from so many different parts of the world and how their "shamans" are incredibly wise. Oh nature. .. how I love thee and want to understand your plants better too
May 28, 2007
Great collection of essays from a true adventurer. Fascination with visionary plants and traditional medicine, admiration and respect for indigenous cultures. The spirit of exploration and discovery. Occasionally the essays meander a little bit, like in "Smoking Toad." Others are focused explanations of the possible links between ecological disaster and economic crisis, as in the case of rubber ("White Blood of the Forest"). Davis has been referred to as the "real Indiana Jones," and this book won't dispel that notion.
July 25, 2016
Amazing accounts of different places and spaces throughout the world. The cultural exploration and diversity in this book had me hooked from the first page. It is a compilation of stories from around the world detailing the lives of little known cultures and the amazing rituals/traditions they have. This book made me want to be an anthropologist (unfortunately my Pre-History class took away that desire) but this will be a book that stays on my shelf forever. A must read for anyone interested in different cultures around the world.
March 6, 2016
A little uneven and a bit repetitive in parts, and yet the whole is still a very good and ultra - informative read. Encompassing everything from toad licking in the America's to clear cutting in Borneo, the author brings forth a number of unusual tales all rooted in the natural world. Much of his information in regards to loss of biodiversity and environmental ruin is utterly frightening and truly astounding. Solid 4 stars!
March 17, 2013
A book of intelligence and beauty. This was Wade Davis before he became a household name on National Geographic TV. The author has followed the less travelled path of ethnobotany and knows more on the subject than any living writer. This is a book for anybody that is alive and can think. A monument of a book.
August 19, 2013
A Wonderful collection of essays w an anthropological twist - Davis reflects on the Arctic ice, hallucinogenics of the Amazon and the US, the elusive clouded leopard of Tibet, Shamanic healing, smoking toads - really interesting, always with a deper look at the people. Fasinating reading, highly recommended.
February 17, 2016
This book provides a collection of essays on Wade Davis' travels, especially amongst indigenous peoples of the world. There is detailed sections on various groups in North and South America. Although there is no broad single theme of the book, all of the essays in some way stress the need to embrace indigenous knowledge, and begin to halt the destruction of the natural environment.
August 15, 2007
A bunch of great short articles about the plants, cultures, and atmosphere of the wilderness. Awesome beach book, and especially for those with shorter attention spans but a thirst for knowledge, this is a great book.
March 19, 2016
Did not really like this book because it was way too disturbing, with nothing to cushion the blow. I was perhaps looking for something that this book was not meant to offer. It is beautifully written and takes on journeys with Wade Davis in very remote places.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews