On River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Miller

 River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Miller was a thrilling book detailing the Roosevelt-Rondon expedition of 1913-1914 after Teddy Roosevelt lost the opportunity to serve a second full term as President of the United States in 1912. At that time, he was a co-founder of the new Progressive Party, and ultimately lost to Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt had a history of taking on adventure in times of hardship, but this expedition was the most trying of his life. Many people know Roosevelt as a hunter, but "by the time he was in the White House....[he was also] one of [the] the most knowledgeable and experienced naturalists" in the country (p25). 

This book was incredibly descriptive of the challenges and natural miracles of the Amazon rainforest and its expedition: "Far from its outward appearance, the rain forest was not a garden of easy abundance, but precisely the opposite," some trees have developed smooth bark or bark that sheds to prevent vines from exploiting the tree's efforts to reach the sun (p138, 142). For context, penicillin wouldn't be developed for 14 years and the most dangerous tribes they encountered had crossed the Bering Strait 12,000 years prior and virtually had not seen non-native people since. 

The primary challenges faced by the expedition were posed by the rainforest and its inhabitants, human otherwise. The forest underneath the canopy was pitch black, and every living thing in the forest evolved to disappear at a moment's notice. "In the fathomless canyons of tree trunks and the shrouds of black vines that surrounded the men at night, the hum and chatter of thousands of nocturnal creatures would snap into instant silence in response to a strange noise, leaving the men to wait in breathless apprehension of what might come next," (p148). The native people who lived along the River of Doubt were known to be highly aggressive and ceremonially cannabilistic; what saved the expedition crew was the Nhambiquara requirement that all family chiefs agree on war, and that was up for debate (p301). 

The relationship between Roosevelt and his son, Kermit, was a driving force for Roosevelt's will to live, despite repeated infection and a chronic fever for several months. Roosevelt brought a lethal vial of morphine on every trip, in case he needed to end his life quicker than natural causes would allow. But Roosevelt felt that, to save his son's life, he had to try to live another day. Roosevelt chronically slipped in and out of consciousness after an injury in the river and a resulting bacterial infection. There was a moment where he asked his son if their fellow expedition mates had eaten enough to keep going, as he lay there nearly dying in the Amazon (p273). Eventually, the Brazilian doctor on the expedition operated on Roosevelt's leg in the rainforest along the river bank (p303). It could be said that this trip did kill Roosevelt; a few years after, he still had feverish fits and weakness in his legs due to the infection he suffered in the Amazon. When he did pass away, his son was driven to suicide, as Roosevelt expected. 

Overall, this book was fantastic. It was an inspiring account in the Age of Exploration and helped contextualize my understanding of scientific expeditions, especially after reading about John Wesley Powell earlier this month.

Miscellaneous:

An earlier explorer, Orellana, named the Amazon rainforest for the native women he encountered who were said "to have removed their right breast so that they could more effectively shoot a bow and arrow," and comes from the Greek words to mean "no breast" (p202). 

Thanks to my friend, Daniel V, for recommending this book!