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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Survival and Selfishness, February 18, 2007
This review is from: Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival (Hardcover)
Jungle has Yossi, an Israeli, hooking up with two companions and a guide to experience the jungles of South America. The tale of their survival, particularly Yossi's survival when he becomes lost, is captivating and difficult to put down. The backdrop of human nature adds an emotional element to the story.
It was survival of the fittest, and in this situation, the weakest link became despised. The disappointing factor is that at the time when Kevin and Yossi began to despise Marcus, the journey's difficulty seemed minor.
After the emotional abuse, I found it difficult to care for the author's plight. One can only imagine the suffering and confusion that Marcus felt at the betrayal of his friends during a painful and difficult journey. It must have been painful for Yossi to tell his story honestly.
The book would have benefited from photos, even if they were not photos of the actual journey but of the return trip or group shots before the journey.
ADDED:
I originally gave this book only 3 stars but I've changed it to 5 stars. After all, it was very engrossing, well-written and, above all, honest. At the time I wrote the original review, Yossi's treatment of their companion caused me to deduct 2 stars. However, non-fiction books should not be reviewed based upon whether the reader likes the turn the story takes, right? Life isn't a Hollywood script.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You would think this was fiction, March 30, 2006
This review is from: Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival (Hardcover)
There is rarely a true survival story with great twists and unbelievable coincidences, so I was quite surprised by this book. The story is of four unrelated men, that meet each other in South America and decide to go trekking through the jungle together. They get separated and some barely make it out, and some don't. The author's amazing survival is matched by the coincidences in his journey as well as twists in the plot all the way to the end (which I won't give away here). Because of this, you realize, by the end, that every detail the author gave you was important. He also tells the story very honestly, often willing to show himself in a bad light. This helps make what is already a great book even greater.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Survival Story, July 25, 2008
This review is from: Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival (Hardcover)
One of my favorite genres of books is true-life survival tales. After deliberately searching for a new read, I found "Jungle". Jungle is the story of a young Isreali backpacker who falls in with a Swiss guy, a German guide and an American who decide to go on an adventure through the Bolivia. At one point, the group becomes separated and the story follows the Isreali as he struggles to survive in the rainy season in the Bolivian jungle.
The book is very interesting - you get glimpses of life as a backpacker/tourist floating through South America, a look at rural life in Bolivia, and raw survival from the narrator. I couldn't put the book down. It is a little gruesome/graphic at points, so all readers may not be tempted, but an overall great read.
Other great survival tales I have enjoyed include:
1. The Long Walk (by Slavomir Rawicz) - bordering on fiction - Polish prisoner breaks out of Siberian prison camp with a team after World War II
2. We Die Alone (by David Howarth) - American soldier flees across occupied Norway in World War II
3. Adrift (by Steven Callahan) - Sailor survives in life raft for over 2 months.
4. Skeletons on the Zahara (by Dean King) - shipwrecked crew taking as slaves by Sahara tribes
5. Touching the Void (by Joe Simpson) - man crawls down a mountain alone after serious accident
6. Alive (by Piers Paul Read) - soccer team survives plane crash in Andes
7. Endurance (by Alfred Lansing) - south-polar expedition runs into trouble
8. Into Thin Air (by Jon Krakauer) - Mt. Everest trek goes badly awry
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