Amazonia - Hardcover

This magnificent volume represents the culmination of a distinguished career in photojournalism. McIntyre has spent more than half a century in South America; he has served as military adviser in Peru, worked in a foreign aid program in Bolivia and reported for National Geographic and Geo. In years of travel in the Amazon basin, he lived with remote Indian tribes and, in 1971, discovered the source of the Amazon River. Though his dazzling photographs here command attention, the narrative is a worthy complement remarkably comprehensive for its brevity and offering information on history, exploration and exploitation. McIntyre organizes his material around the river system: white water from the western Andean slopes, black water from the Rio Negro and its tributaries in the north, blue water from the south and central Brazilian highlands and the brown mainstream. The photographs show spectacular aerial views, cloud- and fog-shrouded landscapes, native peoples and wildlife. In an epilogue, the author also discusses the future of Amazonia--"Treasure Chest or Pandora's Box." Photos. 20,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Sierra Club imprint has come to stand for superbly illustrated, well-written books, and this is no exception. The author has traveled widely in the Amazon region and is obviously fascinated by it. He knows its history, both human and natural, and respects its inhabitants, not as anthropological curiosities, but as people. From the upper reaches of the Amazon, based in the Andes, to the estuary thousands of miles away in the Atlantic, he follows its course and the course of its tributaries with dazzling photography and cogent comment. The last chapter "Amazonia: Treasure Chest or Pandora's Box?" is a microcosmic summary in one area--Rondonia--of the struggle of developing nations to progress economically versus the environmentalists, mostly whites from developed countries, to maintain Amazonia as it is. Highly recommended, but smaller libraries should be aware of its cost and coffee-table format.
- Eleanor Maass, Maass Assocs . , New Milford, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.