Alumni Travel Reading 2018-2019: Amazon River

This ethnography engages the concept of the Anthropocene to the study of the world's largest tropical rainforest.

The River Sea presents a range of characters, mostly European, who entered the history of the region, frmo the first European traveler, Francisco de Orellana to the Peruvian Evangeline, Isabel Godin, who in 1769 crossed the continent,to reunite with her husband, whom she had not seen in twenty years.

“…Geographer Nigel Smith reviews the natural history of the area from the people's perspective, offering a large-scale portrayal of the culture and of the region not found in most books on Amazonia.” Publisher.

This book examines how the geologic history of the Amazon has been a driving force in shaping the biodiversity of both flora and fauna. Written by leading scientists in Amazonian research, it is an indepth review of the palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental evolution of northern South America.

In her memoir, lemur expert, Patricia Chapple Wright, describes her search for a mate for her pet-shop purchased owl monkey. This search takes her to the Amazon, where, in a remote research station in the wilds of Peru, she undergoes the experiences which lead to her career as a noted scientist.

Not available through Penn Libraries, but check it out from your local library.

Ed Stafford, National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year for 2010, is the only known man to have walked the entire length of the Amazon. If you are taking the trip to Machu Picchu, you might also take look at Mark Adams’ Turn Right at Machu Picchu (2012) another in the Plume series, “One Step at a Time.”

Not available through Penn Libraries, but borrow it from your local library.

More adventure than natural history, but good read for the airplane or other connecting travel--the true story of a young married couple who survive a plane crash and attempt to find their via raft across Peru and Bolivia--find out how they find their way back to safety.

Looking at Peru's culture from pre-Columbian times to today, Ferreira and Dargent-Chamot, provide an in depth look at the social integration of Peru’s Indian and Hispanic population. In particular, the two authors focus on how Peru’s geography has been an important factor in its cultural and social expression.

“Richly illustrated, this book describes the grandeur and richness of the numerous civilizations predating the Incas, including the Paracas, Nazca, Recuay, Sicán-Lambayeque, Moche-Sipán, and Chimú cultures, as well as the great Inca civilization.” Publisher

Inspired by José Carlos Mariátegui's Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality, Greene takes a philosophical appraoch to punk and the Peruvian state.

This text analyzes the importance of collaboration among tourism, culture and the community. This book studies the case of Peru, as a country that has distinguished itself in its links to cultural tourism and in the tourism management of its heritage.