The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
A while back someone left a copy of this book at our house. I'm not sure where it came from but about a couple of weeks ago I picked it up off the bookshelf on my way upstairs to bed. That night I stayed up way past my bedtime reading about the planning (or lack thereof) that went into Roosevelt's post-Presidency Amazon expedition.
I just finished it last night and seriously recommend this book. It appeals on so many levels. First, it is unfathomable to think of one of our recent Presidents doing something as ballsy as Roosevelt's expedition. Secondly, you can't read this book without thinking how fortunate we are to have the technologies we have, from kayaks to antibiodics-- Roosevelt's expedition covered amazing territory with less equipment than most of take with us on a walk in the woods. Finally, it helps to get one's head around just what it meant to live in a world where entire regions had not yet been "discovered."
Anyway, I highly recommend checking this one out from your local library. Here's the link on Amazon:
