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Wild Coast: Travels on South America's Untamed Edge

Wild Coast: Travels on South America's Untamed Edge

by JohnGimlette (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2011

    $5.85
Synopsis

Between the Orinoco and the Amazon lies a fabulous forested land, barely explored. Much of Guiana seldom sees sunlight, and new species are often tumbling out of the dark. Shunned by the conquistadors, it was left to others to carve into colonies. Guyana, Suriname and Guyane Francaise are what remain of their contest, and the 400 years of struggle that followed. Now, award-winning author John Gimlette sets off along this coast, gathering up its astonishing story. His journey takes him deep into the jungle, from the hideouts of runaway slaves to penal colonies, outlandish forts, remote Amerindian villages, a 'Little Paris' and a space port. He meets rebels, outlaws and sorcerers; follows the trail of a vicious Georgian revolt, and ponders a love-affair that changed the face of slavery. Here too is Jonestown, where, in 1978, over 900 Americans committed suicide. The last traces are almost gone now, as the forest closes in. Beautiful, bizarre and occasionally brutal, this is one of the great forgotten corners of the Earth: the Wild Coast.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 368
 Publisher: Profile Books
Published: 27 Jan 2011
ISBN 10: 1846682525
ISBN 13: 9781846682520
Book Overview: In this compelling and elegant travel memoir, John Gimlette returns to Guyana, the Wild Coast in South America, to discover his ancestral colonial history - one of brutal, cruel and often uncomfortable truths

Media Reviews
Praise for Panther Soup: 'An important book, reminding us of the links between old and new world, ideals and ideologies, war and peace in our phoenix-like continent. It is at once raw and erudite, deeply moving and strangely leisurely. It is also rich in black humour and insight. * Guardian *
A moving, often humorous, and thoroughly enjoyable account that works as both a wartime recollection and travelogue ... Gimlette strikes just the right notes in juxtaposing the past and the present. He has provided a fine chronicle with broad appeal to general readers. * Booklist *
A completely fascinating book. It opens up a forgotten corner of the world with tremendous flair and shrewd observation. -- William Boyd
Wild Coast is funny, intelligent, revelatory * Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland *
Great for those interested in Guyanese history, or those looking to explore a South America far from the well-trodden Gringo trail. -- Ianthe Butt * Real Travel *
Gimlette has an eye for a juicy story, a willingness to embark on harebrained journeys and a gleeful way with similes, all of which makes this an entertaining introduction to a forgotten corner of the globe. -- Siobhan Murphy * Metro *
A fascinating journey... Gimlette's extensive research has given him access to an intoxicating level of detail. -- Tom Hawker * Wanderlust *
Gimlette is an old-school traveller, very British, very cheery. A barrister by trade, the author has an uncanny ability to nail down his characters with a few well-chosen words... Gimlette brings history to life. He artfully merges assiduous research with a storyteller's gift. -- Oliver Balch * Guardian *
John Gimlette is sure to secure a name for himself as both a talented writer and a rare traveller who, as documented in the dark chronicles of his book, has visited South America's wild coast and returned apparently unscathed. Fortunately, his writing sculpts an interesting narrative too, and he conveys the region's horror stories with a healthy dose of humour, knowledge, sincerity and poetry... As with all good travel books, the pace of Gimlette's investigations and the idiosyncratic nature of his discoveries, no matter how small, are infectious enough to ensure his account holds its own against these literary greats. * Traveller *
Remarkable... Gimlette is, refreshingly, an unfailing enthusiast... Wild Coast is driven by extraordinary dedication, an insatiable curiosity in everything and an enormous empathy for other people. Gimlette's descriptions of landscapes are often hauntingly beautiful, his sense of humour is engagingly dead-pan... His book is characterised by a thoroughness of research that puts most travel writers to shame... a lucid and lively account of a multi-cultural history... A reminder... of the way in which travel literature can still fulfil its role of bringing to life some of the world's unjustly neglected corners. -- Michael Jacobs * Spectator *
A fine expression of the spirit of the place... the best kind of travel writing: tough-minded and humorous, but above all thoughtful. -- Ian Thomson * TLS *
A fascinating tale of rebels and remote jungle, snakes and slavery. Perfect armchair adventure. -- Tom Robbins * FT *
Gimlette manages the neat trick of making the globe feel supremely vast and mysterious once again... a superb traveler's tale in which yesterday has far more heft than the fleeting happenings of today. -- Wayne Curtis * Wall Street Journal *
A spirited historical, political and personal travelogue guaranteed to arouse the adventurous reader's wanderlust' -- Liesl Schillinger * New York Times *
A madcap journey... Another wonderful travel book by a master of the art -- Giles Foden * CN Traveller *
Author Bio
John Gimlette has travelled to over sixty countries and has published several books to critical acclaim, including At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig and is a winner of the Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize. He contributes regularly to radio and print media including the Guardian, Telegraph, The Times, Independent, Wanderlust and Geographical.