Mother of God: One man’s journey to the uncharted depths of the Amazon rainforest

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A gripping adventure story filled with plenty of adrenaline-filled encounters with massive snakes, intimidating jaguars and other creatures. . . . A vividly written narrative of an amazingly diverse world still to be explored, whose destruction, as Rosolie wisely notes, would be a devastating loss for humanity."-- Kirkus Bittel, Jason (January 15, 2015). "Misssssssed Opportunities". National Resources Defense Council . Retrieved April 27, 2019. The reader will come to see close up the beauty of the animals that inhabit this magical world. We will learn of Paul's friendship with a Giant Anteater, he and JJ's attempt to capture the largest Anaconda either one of them had ever seen. We view the home of the Anaconda in the floating forest. A vividly written narrative of an amazingly diverse world still to be explored, whose destruction, as Rosolie wisely notes, would be a devastating loss for humanity." - Kirkus

Hawkes, Rebecca (December 9, 2014). "Eaten Alive anaconda stunt: Paul Rosolie responds to critics". The Telegraph . Retrieved April 27, 2019.He writes with a somewhat engaging style; for the most part, and I found the formatting of this one to be decent as well. Paul Rosolie: These efforts are still in their infancy. We are trying to raise awareness about the river and its positional significance between the other major protected areas in the Madre de Dios. We are doing this through film, writing (this book!), and ecotourism. It is a complex task to protect this river. Most of the land is divided up into concessions and so anything you want to do has to include dozens of stakeholders. Thankfully many of the landowners on Las Piedras are wholly in support of protecting the river and stemming the unregulated influx of settlers and extractors that are currently flooding in. Paul Rosolie: I was always drawn to wilderness and wildlife; watching documentaries and reading books about rainforests were some of my favorite things to do. The Jungle World exhibit at the Bronx Zoo was a major influence on me. Interspersed throughout the exhibit were images and stories of biologists and explorers working in far flung countries with the most incredible animals. I figured if actual jungles were even half as amazing as that, then there could be nothing on earth more interesting. And so the idea of actually going to a rainforest became my dream—to see giant trees teeming with life of every variety, and unexplored regions. To me, rainforests became the most wondrous thing in all living reality. The last example I want to write about is his encounter with 'rare, fast-moving' morpho butterflies. So rare apparently that his Indian friend takes a leaf to wrap up a dead one the author found in a parcel. I was out hunting one day with the medicine man's son. We had two dogs with us and spears and found ourselves in a beautiful little glade with a small pool in the middle and sunlight shafting down from high up above the canopy. There were morphos everywhere! Although the author says they were very fast fliers, these ones were taking it easy. Their huge, hand-size wings, glimmering and shining all the blues a sky can be, as they glided around the glade sometimes settling on us. One brushed my cheek with a wing and left a drift of angel dust. It was like an enchantment.

Paul Rosolie: I don’t think it is hopeless, but it also is not pretty. One of the main problems in my opinion is that this fight has a very weak mainstream identity. Where do we hear about the value of ecosystems, or about what wildlife contributes to our lives? We don’t, really. Each person assumes that wildlife and nature are ‘somewhere else’, but not around where they live. The problem is we are all living in it. First off is being a responsible consumer. There are certain things that are devastating rainforests all over the world: palm oil, soy, beef, mahogany, wildlife products. Many times people don’t realize that the things they are buying are directly funding the destruction of wildlife and rainforests on the other side of the globe. So getting educated and helping friends and family to do the same is massive. It doesn’t sound very romantic, but it is damn effective. A rousing eco-adventure. . . . This is old-school nature writing, unabashedly romantic and free of alienation. . . . Rosolie's powers of description are so vivid and engrossing that readers will be swept along in his passion."-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)Rosolie, Paul (March 3, 2016). "World Wildlife Day 2016: Why Wildlife Needs You". HuffPost . Retrieved April 27, 2019. Rosolie’s writing style makes one feel like they are experiencing everything he describes. His words seemed to talk directly to me, and yet I know that he has experienced things I could not even imagine. His words create entirely different worlds in the reader’s mind. He describes things we can only hope to dream of. His book makes us feel like the world still hides mysterious and beautiful things that we know nothing of. It makes us sensitive, transforms us into humble human beings who are aware that there is something going on that is much larger than us. With more than 140 cities implementing water rationing, analysts warning of collapsing soy and coffee exports, and reservoirs and rivers running precipitously low, talk about the World Cup in some parts of Brazil has been sidelined by concerns about an epic drought affecting the country’s agricultural heartland. Paul Rosolie: The most important thing is this: Get out there. The world needs you right now. There are limitless ways to become part of this fight, and everyone is going to have a different approach and path. Here are a few suggestions: I found myself endlessly rolling my eyes, especially when he was conversing with Steve Irwin on one of his misadventures (the spirit of Steve Irwin, since he passed years ago). The WWSD segment was especially cringe-worthy (“what would Steve do” being the WWSD title).