Three Men in a Raft: an Improbable Journey down the Amazon [Paperback]

Ben Kozel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

When Ben Kozel casually accepted a friend's invitation to raft down the Amazon he was setting out on the adventure of a lifetime. It was a journey that would take him from the ultimate source of the Amazon high in the Andes to its mouth on the Atlantic coast of South America - a distance of over 7000 kilometres along the length of the world's wildest river.The journey from source to sea had only ever been completed by two expeditions, both of them assisted by first-class training, state-of-the-art equipment and major budgets. Ben, the Australina on the team, Colin Angus from Canada and Scott Borthwick from South Africa - all in their mid-twenties - were attempting the epic journey with fifteen thousand Australian dollars between them, some second-hand camping gear, a grand total of five afternoons' training in whitewater rafting and a large dose of blind optimism.Five months later they arrived at the Atlantic Ocean, having survived some of the planet's most dangerous whitewater, wild storms, disgusting tropical diseases, several hundred species of venomous insects and reptiles, not to mention being pursued and shot at by guerrillas from Peru's murderous Shining Path rebel movement and mistaken by paramilitary police for drug smugglers.Three Men in a Raft is the account of their extraordinary journey. It's both a travel book and an adventure story, laced with humour, danger and vivid description - unlikely, endearing and enthralling.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Australia (September 1, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0732911346
• ISBN-13: 978-0330364607
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,038,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging & Brutally Honest, June 10, 2003

By 

C. Vaudreuil (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Three Men in a Raft: an Improbable Journey down the Amazon (Paperback)

Having recently traveled to Peru, Kozel's descriptions of the landscape and people are dead-on accurate. For anyone who's walked the market in Belen, this book is a must read.
His willingness to describe the trials and tribulations of himself & fellow rafters creates an engaging story of three guys who kind of knew what they were doing, but ended up accomplishing far more than they really thought they could.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Travel Read, March 4, 2004

By 

Sean (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Men in a Raft: an Improbable Journey down the Amazon (Paperback)

Kozel does a fantastic job of describing the nature of travelling in underdeveloped countries. This book makes a perfect travelling companion. Light reading at its best, it can be put down while you have your own adventures and manages to quickly real you back in the moment you resume reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Three men in a raft review, June 29, 2009

By 

Joseph Dunstan (Australia, Adelaide) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Three Men in a Raft: an Improbable Journey down the Amazon (Paperback)

Fantastic book, that retraces the amazing journey from start to finish down the amazon filled with humor and excitement. Truely makes you want to do something crazy.