Tim G. reviewed on 10/12/2012 + 2 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I've been reading a lot of historical narrative over the last few years (Skeletons on the Zahara, In the Heart of the Sea, Over the Edge of the World, Unbroken, We Die Alone, The Devil in the White City) and The River of Doubt compares quite favorably with all of those. Candice Millard's parsing of Teddy Roosevelt's last great adventure in 1913 yields many captivating insights: biographical probing of Roosevelt's family and political life, the natural history of the Amazon River Basin and its indigenous tribes, South American politics, and of course a study of how human beings stand up under intense mental and physical duress. Millard has the unique ability to dredge up historical minutia while never letting the narrative bog down and her re-creation of the time, place and people is thoroughly engaging.

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