Between 1890 and 1930, Cândido Rondon navigated scores of previously unmapped rivers, traversed untrodden mountain ranges, hacked his way through inhospitable jungles, and led Theodore Roosevelt and his son Kermit on their celebrated “River of Doubt” journey in 1913-14. Upon leaving the Brazilian Army in 1930, Rondon, himself of Indigenous descent, devoted the remainder of his life to not only writing about the region’s flora and fauna, but also advocating for the peoples who inhabited the rainforest and lobbying for the creation of a system of national parks. Rondon’s many achievements earned him three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, and yet he has never received his due. Originally published in Brazil, Into the Amazon is the first comprehensive biography of the greatest tropical explorer in history.
This program is sponsored by the Mass Book Awards Speakers Bureau and is presented in collaboration with the Massachusetts Center for the Book.
Larry Rohter was the Rio de Janeiro bureau chief for the New York Times from 1998 to 2008 and held the same role at Newsweek from 1977 to 1982. He is the author of two previous books about Brazil, one in Portuguese and one in English: Deu no New York Times and Brazil on the Rise: The Story of a Country Transformed. He divides his time between the United States and Brazil.
