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Bezig met laden... Searching for El Dorado: A Journey into the South American Rainforest on the Tail of the World's Largest Gold Rush (2003)door Marc Herman
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 Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. 1   Opinionated | Jan 28, 2012 |  geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
The search for the lost City of Gold in the Amazon basin has inspired adventurers since the days of the Spanish conquistadors and Sir Walter Raleigh. Intrigued by the cultural, economic, and environmental fallout of a five-hundred-year gold rush, journalist Marc Herman traveled to the rainforests of Guyana, where he joined up with a rowdy crew of local gold-miners as they pursued their dreams of riches. In an adventure-filled narrative rich with humor and empathy, Herman brings to life the group of miners. They are independent prospectors who wear all their earnings on their fingers and around their necks -- their bank accounts are oversized rings and huge gold necklaces. But yards away from the mines where these men seek their fortunes with techniques reminiscent of California’s forty-niners -- dynamite, tin pans, and wooden sluices -- there are mines run by international corporations that fail to alleviate the area’s poverty despite their tremendous technological and political power. Searching for El Dorado is an astonishing achievement, a lively, humor-filled adventure full of colorful people and incidents wrapped around an eye-opening look at the contemporary colonialism that is enough to make you question the value of gold. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)918.8104History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography of and travel in South America French Guiana; Guyana; Suriname GuyanaLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: (4.33)
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1. The writer visits an exotic location, finds the scenery appealing, the locals quaint and whimsical but good hearted, has some sort of personal ephiphany, and writes a condescending, patronising book about all the amusing things that happen to him. Possibly he later sells the film rights. Call this the "My autumn in Europe" type book
2. The writer maximises to an absurd extent the level of discomfort he has to endure (its always a he) in order to have a "real travel experience" and is found quaint and whimsical but good hearted by disbelieving locals. Call this the "Down The Nile on Crutches" type book
3. The writer goes somewhere he knows little about and actually learns something, which he manages to pass on to the reader
Thankfully this is the third type. Herman doesn't find Guyana quaint, he finds it on the brink of collapse with little prospect of future improvement, increasingly hopeless. Its unlikely that this book has done anything to boost the fledgling Guyana tourist industry - indeed he'll be lucky if they let him into the country again
Herman reveals the extent of the Amazon gold rush, but also its utter futility, with neither big multinationals nor small miners able to turn even a small profit. But he also reveals the desperate lack of choices that will continue to drive so many down the mines to the deteriment of both their, and the nation's health
Herman vividly brings to life the people he meets in his (genuinely) arduous travels and while his writing is often laugh out loud funny, it never belittles its subjects.
Before reading this I knew little about Guyana or about the gold rush. I now feel like I do. I heartily recommend this book (