Table of Contents

1: A naturalist’s paradise • 2: Antecedents • 3: Enterprising young men • 4: The mouth of the Amazon • 5: Into Amazonia • 6: Manaus • 7: Wallace on the Rio Negro • 8: Into the unknown • 9: Calamities • 10: Bates on the Amazon • 11: Spruce climbs to the Andes • 12: Later lives: the Amazonian legacy

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A brilliantly told account of the travels and travails of three of the 19th century’s outstanding scientists

About the Author

John Hemming was Director of the Royal Geographical Society for over twenty years. He has travelled extensively in the Amazon region, where he experienced many of the same thrills and hardships as the naturalists featured in this book. He was awarded Peru's highest civil decoration, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit.

Reviews

'Hemming’s fascination [with the Amazon] shines out of every page … a compelling story … Hemming tells the story of this extraordinary trio without hype, wisely content to let the facts and their own reflections speak largely for themselves' - Daily Mail

'A splendid, indeed brilliant book … the first comprehensive account of those three historic figures' - Wade Davis, winner of the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize

'Clear and compelling … Hemming tells a hardly believable story with great clarity and sympathy' - Financial Times

'Hemming turns the technical nightmare of combined biographies into a seamless daydream … his book is itself a little piece of intellectual paradise' - The Oldie

'This beautifully crafted book is not only a pleasure to handle but also a valuable reference work as it is complemented by a substantial bibliography and detailed cross-references' - Archives of Natural History