Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Rain Forest
by Lynne Cherry, Mark J. Plotkin
published
August 1st 1994
(first published 1993)
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
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binding
Paperback, 328 pages
isbn
014012991X
(isbn13: 9780140129915)
description
A century ago, malaria was killing Washingtonians, Londoners, Parisians. Today HIV, along with various cancers, has taken its place among worldwide ep...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 238)
Read in December, 2003
A fascinating look into South American native traditions of sorcery, hallucinogenics, and mystery. Plotkin creates an ethos for doing research while promoting local cultures and allowing them to reap the benefits of western consumption.
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6 comments
recommended to Jennifer by:
N. Burns
recommends it for: Everyone. It's vital and engaging.
recommends it for: Everyone. It's vital and engaging.
This is the kind of book I wind up buying multiple copies of and passing out to friends and family because they strike me as so important to share.
While the story itself and various knowledge bits about rain forests are engaging in and of themselves, what I really love about this read is the compassion with which the author, ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin, writes about the indigenous peoples he stays with while researching the social, spiritual, and medicinal uses of plants in South America. (Th...more
While the story itself and various knowledge bits about rain forests are engaging in and of themselves, what I really love about this read is the compassion with which the author, ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin, writes about the indigenous peoples he stays with while researching the social, spiritual, and medicinal uses of plants in South America. (Th...more
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Read in June, 2005
If you're a student of ethnobotany, you've come across the works and influence of Richard Evans Schultes who not only got the discipline on the charts but also spawned all of its major researchers. Plotkin, like many of the other ethnobotanists out there, never imagined going into this area but after attending a lecture by Schultes was forever hooked. And who wouldn't be? There are few tracks of study that harken back to the great era of discovery when large swaths of maps were inscribed "T...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Stephanie by:
Franrecommends it for: anybody who breathes air
I did not know that there are dozens and dozens of different kinds of pineapples, did you? I like to eat pineapples. I like to eat a lot of things from the tropics. This is an inspiring book about the human connection to nature. This book illustrates how culture and nature can live together in harmony. How there are undiscovered cures for whatever ails human beings, and how the best way to find the treasures of nature is to listen to people who have already found them.
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Read in January, 1999
This is a fabulous book that is an amalgam of science, biology, travel writing, and indigenous people studies. I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Plotkin a couple of years ago after a public lecture, he very much seems like a modern day Indiana Jones of Biology. Truly someone making a difference in the world today.
Reading this will make clear that saving the rain forest is about more than trees and animals. It's about preserving a way of life and countless generations of knowledge t...more
Reading this will make clear that saving the rain forest is about more than trees and animals. It's about preserving a way of life and countless generations of knowledge t...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
those interested in where drugs come from
Good book about a man who travels inside the rain forest in search of how the natives discovered the drugs they use and how long they have been using them. It is a struggle for him to reach the remote areas and become accepted by the tribes, but he has a great journey each time. I learned a lot and have seen the changes of the modern world on these cultures through this 10 year time of the book research. Amazing...
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Awesome! Learning about Indigenous resource use and folklore in South America.
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This is a great case study that connects issues of traditional knowledge and intellectual property to the scholars who learn from indigenous people. I can only imagine that this would have great classroom value for a course on intellectual property law or ethics.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2001
recommended to Brian by:
Michael Merrifield
This is a great non-fiction work. I first read this in an anthropology class. I have since read it a few times. It concerns an ethnobotanist in the amazon. While that is his (the author) main pursuit it is also a great study of amazon tribal culture. Highly recommended for anyone interested in tribal culture, rain forest preservation, botany, ethnobotany, etc.
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Read in November, 2007
While I'll admit to never haven't heard of an "ethnobotonist" prior to reading this, an interest in herbalism and herbal medicines pointed me to this book. It's a fascinating trip down the Amazon into a world of traditional medicine and healing, shamanism, mysticism other "discredited" fields.
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I read this book a few years ago and it has stayed with me since then! It is a great read which makes you think about our global world and the amazing knowledge and understanding of aboriginal shamans lost with each passing year. It will change the way you think about 'modern medicine.'
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Read in September, 2002
This book really shows the beauty and unique qualities of the indigenous peoples living in the rainforests; as well as demonstrating how we are destroying their culture along with their habitat. Beautifully written, the forest comes alive for you when you are reading, as do the people.
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A Harvard Ethnobotanist lives among Shamans in the Amazon and does drugs with them while finding natural remedies that first world governments exploit. Therefore, he has kept most of his findings locked up in a lab somewhere at Harvard.
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Absolutely incredible. If only I had a chance to travel and do what this guy has done. Amazing stuff.
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