Cloud Garden [Hardcover]

Tom Hart Dyke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2003

An almost impregnable strip of jungle between North and South America, the Darien Gap has been ravaged by civil wars, drug trafficking and guerrilla groups. Enthusiastic botanist Tom Hart Dyke, and merchant banker and explorer Paul Winder set off in search of orchids and adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The true story of the authors? ambush and kidnapping by FARC guerrillas in the Darién Gap, a strip of swamp, jungle and cloud forest between Mexico and Columbia, and their nine-month hostage ordeal. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Tom Hart Dyke is a botanist whose wild enthusiasm for plants is set to explode onto a television screen near you at any moment. Paul Winder, when he isn't in the jungle or up a mountain, works in the City of London as a banker.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Press; First Edition edition (March 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0593050797
• ISBN-13: 978-0593050798
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,321,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating! You must read!, July 7, 2003

By 

D. Vantasil (Fort Worth, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cloud Garden (Hardcover)

The Cloud Garden is a must read for anyone who likes orchids, adventure, or travel! The authors Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder made you actually feel like you were in the jungle with them going through despair as well as outright comedy with the FARC guerrilas. Essentially the book is about botanist/traveller Tom Hart Dyke and adventure traveller Paul Winder (both strangers to each other) and how they meet up and decide to cross the Darien Gap on the border of Panama and Columbia. Six days into their journey they are kidnapped by FARC guerrilas and held hostage for nine months. The authors provide a very descriptive detail of their environment, kidnappers, and impossible situations that had to be overcomed. Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ!!, March 9, 2008

By 

Joe T Jr "Joe" (MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloud Garden (Hardcover)

I read this book this past week. I could NOT put it down. It's the true story of two men hiking the Darien Gap and getting kidnapped by "FARC-ish" geurrillas... The sadness in this book is greatly overturned by the comedy that results from things like lacy underwear, AK-47's, injuries, orchids, worms, and even the occasional fart joke.

I definitely would recommend this book to just about everyone.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Travel Adventure, October 27, 2006

By 

Amos311 "Amos311" (Vancouver, BC, CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloud Garden (Hardcover)

This book fell into my possession while I was backpacking around South America, no less. It is, at the very least, a cautionary tale about the foolishness of attempting to cross the Darien Gap. As a middle class white male westerner I could relate to the boredom with conventional travel and recklessness which motivated the writers to try and cross the Gap. The book itself is an insight into a part of the world outside conventional view. It is a window into the life and experiences of Guerillas who own this strip of no-mans land.

I enjoyed the authors style and story, I loved Columbia on my visit and this book reminded me why - the natural beauty, the lawlessness, the adventure. Of course, the authors experience is overlayed with the sense of possible death which they live under. But it is treated with typical English gallows humour.

A great read.