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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
"A mochilero changes beds almost every night, but every place he rolls his sleeping bag open is home."
I live in an area in Central America where a lot of Israeli backpackers (AKA "mochileros") come, so I was interested to read the story of one (Yossi Ghinsberg) whose journey turned into a nightmare.
The beginning of the story enlightened me a bit about the Israelis' strong motivation to backpack after their mandatory military service and the incredible support system that awaits them throughout the world (particularly South America...and definitely in my community).
While bound for Machu Picchu in Peru, Yossi got sidetracked by a hunger for adventure and gold. The result was a 20 day fight for his life in the Bolivian jungle.
There were four main characters in the story — Yossi, an American backpacker named Kevin, a Swiss backpacker named Marcus, and a suspicious older Austrian named Karl. Not one of them was likable. The former three were all 20-somethings with an abundance of unrealistic optimism and a serious lack of wisdom...the latter was, at the very least, a sociopath and very likely a psychopath. It kinda detracts from a book when you're constantly wanting to (figuratively) smack the characters upside the head!
In the first half of the story, not a whole lot happens so it drags a bit. But, once you hit the halfway point, it pulls you in. Living inside of a house in a tropical area has been mildly harrowing for my partner and I, so I had a fairly good idea of Yossi's painful experiences.
This is a quick and interesting read that will fill you with gratitude for your dry bed and kitchen full of food.
I live in an area in Central America where a lot of Israeli backpackers (AKA "mochileros") come, so I was interested to read the story of one (Yossi Ghinsberg) whose journey turned into a nightmare.
The beginning of the story enlightened me a bit about the Israelis' strong motivation to backpack after their mandatory military service and the incredible support system that awaits them throughout the world (particularly South America...and definitely in my community).
While bound for Machu Picchu in Peru, Yossi got sidetracked by a hunger for adventure and gold. The result was a 20 day fight for his life in the Bolivian jungle.
There were four main characters in the story — Yossi, an American backpacker named Kevin, a Swiss backpacker named Marcus, and a suspicious older Austrian named Karl. Not one of them was likable. The former three were all 20-somethings with an abundance of unrealistic optimism and a serious lack of wisdom...the latter was, at the very least, a sociopath and very likely a psychopath. It kinda detracts from a book when you're constantly wanting to (figuratively) smack the characters upside the head!
In the first half of the story, not a whole lot happens so it drags a bit. But, once you hit the halfway point, it pulls you in. Living inside of a house in a tropical area has been mildly harrowing for my partner and I, so I had a fairly good idea of Yossi's painful experiences.
This is a quick and interesting read that will fill you with gratitude for your dry bed and kitchen full of food.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use
Important life lesson: NEVER go into the jungle with a dodgy guide.
Talk about a survival story! Jungle is the almost unbelievable recounting of Israeli Yossi Ghinsberg's 3 week solitary struggle in the jungles of Bolivia in 1981. Originally setting out with 2 friends and a guide, after a rafting accident Yossi ended up alone, and spent 21 days dragging himself along the creature-infested river in the pouring rain trying to find civilization. The suffering he tells about in his book had me cringing. Seriously, it's an absolute miracle he made it out alive. Lots of the details blew me away, but the worst might have been the termites (I'll leave it at that, because I don't want to spoil anything!).
If you like survival stories - man vs nature, shipwreck, plane crash, etc - don't miss this one. 4 stars.
If you like survival stories - man vs nature, shipwreck, plane crash, etc - don't miss this one. 4 stars.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Racism, Sexism, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
The main story (a jungle trek gone bad) is slow to get started, and the character interactions are not very believable, despite this being nonfiction. Much of the book is taken up with petty bickering between the characters. The story reads more like the diary of a junior high school girl than the survival story of a grown man. It only gets 2 stars because the adventure manages to shine through in parts. Overall not worth the time.
What an incredibly remarkable survival story. Lost in the Jungle tells the story of four adventurous young men who go off to explore the Amazon Jungle in Bolivia. Part way through they seperate and the book tells the gripping struggles of Yossi as he fights the elements and delusional thoughts while alone for three long weeks.
I read the book "Lost in the Jungle", though when I search for that in goodreads this is what comes up. Same author, so I am assuming it's the same book (hopefully better edited than the .99 Amazon deal I got)
I almost didn't make it past the first third of this book. I put it down for several days, with no intention of picking it back up. Three of the four men that this book is about are very unlikable; they are arrogant, brash and had zero respect for the jungle or its inhabitants. They mistreat every animal they come across, kill things that they didn't need to and it was the scenes of animal cruelty that caused me to skip over pages entirely, and then put the book down.
Then for some reason I started reading the reviews on Amazon. Some reviewers agreed and said pretty much exactly what I was thinking, but one of them mentioned some deliberate lying that happened by the book's author, that got one of the men killed. This piqued my interest and so I picked the book back up.
As the book goes on, the problems I had with lack of respect for the jungle and animals fell by the wayside. Possibly because of the fact that ooooh boy did the jungle get its revenge! The men faced crazy hardships that should have killed them, and that they had no one to blame for but themselves. The author continued to be unlikeable and make very questionable decisions, but manages to do a decent job of bringing the reader into the madness and unthinkable discomfort one endures being lost alone in the jungle, starving and suffering from numerous maladies. I found myself at a point where I just had to find out how he comes to be saved, and it is pretty unbelievable. This guy is one hell of a lucky guy, and it is mostly due to the persistence of his friend who starts out the biggest jerk of the bunch.
Apparently the author is now a motivational speaker, and an activist for rainforest conservation, so I am glad to hear that he no longer advocates slashing and destroying the life of the jungle as he seemed to at the beginning of his story.
If you can put your head down and power through the poorly written and developed, and at times disturbing, first half of the book, the second half is a pretty crazy ride.
I almost didn't make it past the first third of this book. I put it down for several days, with no intention of picking it back up. Three of the four men that this book is about are very unlikable; they are arrogant, brash and had zero respect for the jungle or its inhabitants. They mistreat every animal they come across, kill things that they didn't need to and it was the scenes of animal cruelty that caused me to skip over pages entirely, and then put the book down.
Then for some reason I started reading the reviews on Amazon. Some reviewers agreed and said pretty much exactly what I was thinking, but one of them mentioned some deliberate lying that happened by the book's author, that got one of the men killed. This piqued my interest and so I picked the book back up.
As the book goes on, the problems I had with lack of respect for the jungle and animals fell by the wayside. Possibly because of the fact that ooooh boy did the jungle get its revenge! The men faced crazy hardships that should have killed them, and that they had no one to blame for but themselves. The author continued to be unlikeable and make very questionable decisions, but manages to do a decent job of bringing the reader into the madness and unthinkable discomfort one endures being lost alone in the jungle, starving and suffering from numerous maladies. I found myself at a point where I just had to find out how he comes to be saved, and it is pretty unbelievable. This guy is one hell of a lucky guy, and it is mostly due to the persistence of his friend who starts out the biggest jerk of the bunch.
Apparently the author is now a motivational speaker, and an activist for rainforest conservation, so I am glad to hear that he no longer advocates slashing and destroying the life of the jungle as he seemed to at the beginning of his story.
If you can put your head down and power through the poorly written and developed, and at times disturbing, first half of the book, the second half is a pretty crazy ride.
I enjoyed this book very much. It felt like you were lost in the Bolivian jungle with Yossi Ghinsberg.
It's a real eye-opener as well. While reading this, I was going through a personal inner journey, and afterward, I walked away feeling within myself: "WOW!! If someone can survive ALL that I can definitely "survive" my own personal journey.
It's a real eye-opener as well. While reading this, I was going through a personal inner journey, and afterward, I walked away feeling within myself: "WOW!! If someone can survive ALL that I can definitely "survive" my own personal journey.
I have to preface by stating that I LOVE survival stories. They are life-affirming for me to read of someone's struggles in the worst scenarios mother nature throws at them. This book was great at keeping me engaged and even on the edge of my seat in some cases. I was already introduced to the jungle in 'Lost City of Z' and I know some survival techniques myself, but you can never account for everything and that's what I love reading about the most. The rainforest is rife with lifeforms, parasites, and weather conditions that make survival near impossible for 18 days, yet Yossi made it out alive. Yossi's true story is inspirational and really interesting. However, the writing was pretty straight forward and wasn't anything particularly spectacular in a literary sense. Nonetheless, I am glad he chose to share his story. Yossi, leans far more on spirituality than I would have in the ruthless jungle, but faith in your own survival I can understand when you are striped of everything. This was a real life cautionary tale about delusions of grandeur.