The Lost Amazon: The Pioneering Expeditions of Richard Evans Schultes

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About The Lost Amazon: The Pioneering Expeditions Of

Product Description Explore the uncharted Amazon with acclaimed botanist and pioneering Amazonian explorer, Richard Evans Schultes, guided by an intimate narrative that supplements his photography of indigenous tribes, hallucinogenic plants, stunning vistas, and much more. From the Back Cover An extraordinary document, as rich in rare, beautiful photographs as it is in the story of a true adventurer, The Lost Amazon chronicles the journeys of legendary explorer Richard Evans Schultes. Regarded as the father of ethnobotany and described by his protégé Wade Davis as “the last of the great plant explorers in the Victorian tradition,” Schultes revealed the botanical identity of teonanacatl, the sacred hallucinogenic mushroom known to the Aztecs as the “flesh of the gods,” through his doctoral research. Soon after, in 1941, he left Harvard for the Amazon, intending to be gone for only a semester. Instead, he disappeared into the rainforest and spent the next twelve years in pursuit of its mysteries. He lived among dozens of local tribes, mapped unknown rivers, sought out sources of rubber for the U.S. government during World War II, collected over 30,000 botanical specimens, discovered over 300 species, and described for the first time the use of over 2,000 medicinal plants. As gifted a photographer as he was a scientist, Schultes’s exquisite images capture both the lush landscapes of his journey, as well as his deep empathy with the peoples who held him in high esteem; forging strong camaraderie with the local tribes, Schultes almost never carries a firearm, and said, “I do not believe in hostile Indians.” The Lost Amazon is not only the story of one man’s astonishing journey, but also an unrivaled anthropological record. Schultes’s field notes are accompanied by a biographical essay by Wade Davis that provides personal and historical reflection on his mentor in science and exploration, and a foreword by Andrew Weil, another of Schultes’s students. Together with Schultes’s own photographs, they provide, for the first time, a visual and written chronicle of astonishing discovery—and of a way of life that can never be recaptured. About the Author Wade Davis studied for several years with Richard Evans Schultes while getting his PhD in ethnobotany and is a critically acclaimed, internationally best-selling author and anthropologist. His many books include The Serpent and the Rainbow, One River, The Wayfinders, and Into the Silence, winner of the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize, the top award for literary nonfiction in the English language. Between 1999 and 2013 he served as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic and is currently Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia.