The Amazon

The Amazon (1971) – Robin Furneaux
Readers Union edition — offered by Crappy Old Books

A sweeping journey from the Andes to the Atlantic, Robin Furneaux’s classic tells the story of the world’s greatest river—its rainforest, peoples, wildlife, and the outsiders who tried to map, mine, missionise, and mythologise it. Blending history with vivid travel writing, Furneaux traces conquistadors and naturalists, rubber barons and river pilots, showing how the Amazon shapes—and is shaped by—human ambition and the relentless pulse of water and forest.

Why you’ll like it:

• Big-picture narrative with lively detail—geography, ecology, and culture in one readable volume

• Clear-eyed on exploration, exploitation, and the fragile richness of the basin

• A foundational mid-century account for armchair travellers and Amazon obsessives alike

Crappy Old Books: rescuing the well-thumbed and the weird since forever. This one’s ready for another voyage up-river (and onto your shelf).

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