The title aptly describes the action. If you read O'Hanlon's Into the Heart of Borneo, this book follows without nary a break. While it doesn't have quite the originality of the first book, it doesn't fail to fulfill the promise of that book either. O'Hanlon's a little bit wiser, but still as trusting and stubborn. He presses on in circum- stances where most would have turned around--things like the fiercest tribe of natives in the world, torrential rainfall (not to be trifled with, especially on a river), and rapids in which he is dumped and unable to escape until a mile or so down river.

The best thing about O'Hanlon--although the amazing trips he takes are worthwhile in and of themselves--is the companions that he does manage to take. I'm not talking about the physical companions, who do provide humorous interludes, but the ones that are to be found in the books--the explorers who have traveled this route before. Rather than just supplying a bibliography, O'Hanlon uses them to annotate his own trip. An adventurer and a scholar, O'Hanlon's one of the best.

20 of 22 found the following review helpful:


Half of a good book  Aug 04, 1999
In the first half of this book, with the constantly hillarious Simon as a foil, Hanlon is hilarious. Through Simon's eyes and comments the reader can see the hilarity and, oftentimes, insanity of Hanlon's quests. But once Simon bugs out, Hanlon loses his reality check. The reader sees only Halnon's relentlessly cheery description of a journey that can only be becoming more unpleasant. Without Simon along to tell how it really is -- bizarre, unpleasant, and often painful -- the book loses its edge and becomes a mostly tedious recitation of the birds and plants seen along the way. The first half of the book would, by itself merit four or five stars, but the dull ending drags it down to three.

16 of 17 found the following review helpful:


Travel writing at its finest  Feb 05, 2002 By xaosdog "xaosdog"
O'Hanlon is an academic, really; the natural history editor of the Times Literary Supplement and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Furthermore, he claims to look like Benny Hill, a claim borne out by his book-jacket photographs.
He is, therefore, an entirely unlikely candidate for the outrageous adventures he gets himself into while traveling.

I have read a handful of his accounts, and they are all completely mad. But I have to conclude that this is the best of the lot.

Briefly, this is the account of his travels through Amazonia, in a small wooden boat, ultimately to the homelands of the Yanomami (the "Fierce People" in Napoleon Chagnon's memorable phrase). Everyone O'Hanlon meets is terrified of the violent, unpredictable Yanomami, and he is hard pressed to find anyone to accompany him on his journey. When he finally meets them, he loses no time before joining them in a blast or two of hallucinogenic ebene, afterwards falling into a stupor while gazing lustfully at the local chief's young daughter.

Anyone could make these adventures interesting to read. After treatment by a writer of O'Hanlon's skill and humor, the book is impossible to put down.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:


WELL WRITTEN AND FUNNY, OVER THE TOP AT TIMES  Sep 07, 2006 By Denis Benchimol Minev "Amazonia"
Redmond O'Hanlon is a good travel writer, bringing the reader into his canoe as he faces a torrent of dangers and unpleasant situations. His British humour is very well placed in presenting some of the absurb situations he gets himself into. Especially with Simon as his sidekick (which gives the reader a somewhat normal view of things), the story is quite captivating.

However, some of his descriptions and stories did leave me with the feeling that he may have augmented the danger of situations to make the story more interesting. He also blew up the stupidity of some characters, giving in to what sounds like basic stereotypes of indians and the fears white people have of indians.

Overall, this is a decent book. If you are into Amazon travel, this is a nice adition. However, if you just want an intro to the Amazon through the eyes of an adventurer, there are better books, such as David Campbell's (1st person, more scientific pop writing with lyrical qualities) or Candice Millard's (old travel, relating Roosevelt's exploration in the Amazon).

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Oops! - Leeches are Infesting My Shorts  Jun 29, 2003 By Robert W Coppen
Madcap and hilarious, this is a travel book written by a travel writer like no other. The natural history of the Venezuelan jungle, combined with an eclectic mix of characters so goofy and improbable as to seem fictional, told by a man who, if he wasn't already a science writer, would have made a nice addition to the Monty Python crew.

It's amazing that Mr. O'Hanlon is still alive, but I'm glad he is. I'm most definitely looking forward to reading some more of his adventures.

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