Customer Reviews

Growing Up Yanomam'o: Missionary Adventures in the Amazon Rainforest

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great Book. Couldn't put it down. I only have time to read during my lunch break. After work I would tell my family of the adventures that I was reading. Before long, I was being asked about the Yanomamo and what was happening from my family. It was a tale a fun and adventure and truth. A must read.

This is one of the most well written books that I have ever read. You would think that it was written by Mark Twain with the suspense, challenges and progression of a gifted writer, which I believe Michael Dawson to be, as well as a seasoned veteran of the Yanomamo!

You will not be able to put this book down as, just like in Huckleberry Finn, you're right there with Michael in his many adventures. His heart for the Yanomamo can never be question and his dedication to push through some of the most difficult things in life, let alone on a mission field. If you do not read this book, you will be missing out on one of the most literary brilliances in a lifetime. God bless to the Dawsons, their families and to the Yanomamo.

This is a fantastic book. I visited Dawsons and saw firsthand their ministry to the Yanomamo. This family is the real deal. I enjoyed every page of the book and feel that it captures the joy and sorrow of a life committed to jungle missions.
Thank you Michael.

This was unlike any other book I have ever read. It is an adventure that seems like fiction, but it is true! I am three quarters of the way through this book and will be sad when I come to the end as I would like the adventures to go on and on! The stories are eye-opening, inspiring, and many are just laugh-out-loud funny! Mr. Dawson is a wonderful story teller. After I finish, I am going to pass this onto my teenage daughter. I will certainly be ordering any other books written by Michael Dawson after reading this one.

This first person story by a friend growing up in the Amazon jungle with native indians is interesting, educational, and inspiring. I recommend it as great reading and source of encouragement. Lots of humorous life events also. Mike Dawson's work "Growing Up Yanomamo" won an award as Book of the year in 2010 for biography and has a new follow-on work (actually part II of the story)named "I can See The Shore" (also available on Amazon.com) that is not only an inspiring and heart-warming volume, but helps readers complete the important understanding of the activities presented in "Growing Up Yanomamo". I was privileged to spend an evening with Mike and Keila Dawson recently and can share that their story, as presented in these two volumes, is just the "tip of the iceberg", so to speak. I was inspired, encouraged, my heart ached, and I cried (yes, grown men do cry) at Mike's presentation and openness of their joys and traumas of life, and how God works through them. I highly recommend these books, especially to those who first read "Growing Up Yanomamo". You will truly have your emotions touched with laughter, sadness, joy, sorrow, and most of all inspiration to further illuminate your own life. Mike's mom (Millie Dawson) also has a related work "All the Day Long", that I bought from Amazon.com.

The engaging style of Mike Dawson's writing makes it impossible to put his book down. You get the impression that you are listening to favorite stories from a very good friend. You feel as if you are traveling the winding river highways of the Amazonas region along with him in exciting adventures reaching out to the Yanomamo people. It is a thrilling experience that will leave you hungry for more and convicted to help in the continuing saga of this tribal people!

This was a very interesting and educational book about growing up with the Yanomamo tribe in the Amazon Rainforest. It was well written and kept you captivated by the stories this author told of his years among these people. A hard book to put down.

My father was an Optometrist and devout Christian. He loved missionaries and always had them over to our house during missionary week at church. One particular couple, were Venezuelan missionaries to the Yanamano. Being Facebook friends now, I noticed they mentioned Michael Dawson's second book I CAN SEE THE SHORE and how it had won an award. I thought I'd check it out and noticed it was a second to this one. Not being an avid reader, I wasn't sure I was up to reading both, but thought I'd buy them anyway - believing they might sit on my shelf for a while before I'd actually pick them up. I WAS WRONG.

This book was fun. I laughed out loud so many times while reading Mike's account and adventures, while he grew up in the splendored beauty of Venezuela. He never felt like he was given any kind of unfair childhood, incomplete because he couldn't go to shopping malls, regular trips to McDonalds or watch television. In fact, he loved living on the rivers full of piranha and in fact, loved fishing and eating them. Who knew? Even though I wrote to the missionaries most of my adult life, they never mentioned they'd eat piranhas. There were many more stories - including the time his two brothers tried to kill an anaconda with rocks and a paddle. My heart was pounding as I thought of the movie, I'm sure they never saw or they'd have had more sense. But then I thought, they had killed many before that - TO EAT! They were just teenagers that had so much bravery and wanted to kill an anaconda. It was funny and scary as anything teenagers do can be. I won't tell you what happened.

Michael Dawson wrote a book that flowed so well, before I knew it, I'd read it within 24 hours and I was grabbing his second one - I CAN SEE THE SHORE. I loved this book too, though it didn't make me laugh. But that review will be separate.

By the way, the missionaries I knew through my childhood, and all of my adult life, and now know on Facebook, are mentioned in Michael's book. I thank him for that. It was a joy to get to know a lovely man, his family, his adventures and a tribe the world may never have glimpsed, had it not been for the work of the brave missionaries that had not done what the Lord asked of them. "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every nation...."

I love reading, and have been trying to move away from fiction, and toward books about/written by missionaries and books that improve my walk with God. Growing Up Yanomamo is one such book. It is written in a fun, lighthearted manner, while still portraying the dangers and struggles Michael faced while growing up in a tribal community. I really felt as though I connected with the people he has written about, and have been made to realize the great role missionaries like Michael Dawson and his family serve in bringing the Bible to places like the Amazon rainforest. There were times I was laughing out loud while reading this book, and times tears were streaming down my face. It is a good book for anyone who wants to "get to know" missionaries, or learn about some of the challenges they might face while faithfully serving the Lord.

This book is a total surprise. A missionary kid with 9 brothers and sisters describes his childhood live as a native among a very primitive and murderous tribe. His experiences are beyond imagination and told with hilarious honesty. I laughed so much and learned about the struggles of that life and how God keeps and protects his children. The children spread the gospel to the Yanamono tribe and won many hearts to Christ. I happen to know 2 memebers of the family and they really are as he describes. A great read that you can't put down.