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The Wasting of Borneo: Dispatches from a Vanishing World
Acclaimed naturalist Alex Shoumatoff issues a worldwide call to protect the drastically endangered rainforests of Borneo
In his eleventh book, but his first in almost two decades, seasoned travel writer Alex Shoumatoff takes readers on a journey from the woods of rural New York to the rain forests of the Amazon and Borneo, documenting both the abundance of life and the threats to these vanishing Edens in a wide-ranging narrative.
Alex and his best friend, Davie, spent their formative years in the forest of Bedford, New York. As adults they grew apart, but bonded by the "imaginary jungle" of their childhood, Alex and Davie reunited fifty years later for a trip to a real jungle, in the heart of Borneo. During the intervening years, Alex had become an author and literary journalist, traveling the world to bring to light places, animals, and indigenous cultures in peril. The two reconnect and spend three weeks together on Borneo, one of the most imperiled ecosystems on earth. Insatiable demand for the palm oil ubiquitous in consumer goods is wiping out the world's most ancient and species-rich rain forest, home to the orangutan and countless other life-forms, including the Penan people, with whom Alex and Davie camp. The Penan have been living in Borneo's rain forest for millennia, but 90 percent of the lowland rain forest has already been logged and burned to make way for vast oil-palm plantations. Among the most endangered tribal people on earth, the Penan are fighting for their right to exist.
Shoumatoff condenses a lifetime of learning about what binds humans to animals, nature, and each other, culminating in a celebration of the Penan and a call for Westerners to address the palm-oil crisis and protect the biodiversity that sustains us all.
In his eleventh book, but his first in almost two decades, seasoned travel writer Alex Shoumatoff takes readers on a journey from the woods of rural New York to the rain forests of the Amazon and Borneo, documenting both the abundance of life and the threats to these vanishing Edens in a wide-ranging narrative.
Alex and his best friend, Davie, spent their formative years in the forest of Bedford, New York. As adults they grew apart, but bonded by the "imaginary jungle" of their childhood, Alex and Davie reunited fifty years later for a trip to a real jungle, in the heart of Borneo. During the intervening years, Alex had become an author and literary journalist, traveling the world to bring to light places, animals, and indigenous cultures in peril. The two reconnect and spend three weeks together on Borneo, one of the most imperiled ecosystems on earth. Insatiable demand for the palm oil ubiquitous in consumer goods is wiping out the world's most ancient and species-rich rain forest, home to the orangutan and countless other life-forms, including the Penan people, with whom Alex and Davie camp. The Penan have been living in Borneo's rain forest for millennia, but 90 percent of the lowland rain forest has already been logged and burned to make way for vast oil-palm plantations. Among the most endangered tribal people on earth, the Penan are fighting for their right to exist.
Shoumatoff condenses a lifetime of learning about what binds humans to animals, nature, and each other, culminating in a celebration of the Penan and a call for Westerners to address the palm-oil crisis and protect the biodiversity that sustains us all.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 7, 2016
A rambling account of Borneo, rather like your dear old uncle in the nursing home you visited as a child. He had good tales, but rambled around and went from idea to idea in a stream of consciousness kind of way. It is interesting, but also tiresome after a while.
Alex Shoumatoff mainly writes about palm oil tree farming in Borneo, and how it adversely affects the rain forest and the lives of indigenous people like the Penan. His writing goes from the origin of music to religion to forest stories, and wanders all around as he descends on these people and writes about anything that attracts his interest. In the meanwhile, he uses flashbacks and accounts of his travels in other areas to fill out his story.
The book needs better editing and revision to bring it all into focus, but I can also see the appeal to people who like travel books that wander, too. Like many writers in foreign places, people who agree with the writer are wise and clever. Those who disagree are greedy and unscrupulous. Anyone who slights him has an ulterior motive, which of course, cannot be that the writer may simply be unlikable to people who disagree with him.
The writer talks about taking some interesting sounding photographs of some of the people and places he visited, but they were not in the galley proof edition, nor were any maps which would be useful. Also there was no glossary, although the writer uses some very obscure words and a number of native words and concepts.
A good book to have the bathroom for short readings. Also for armchair tourists who like enviro-literature.
Alex Shoumatoff mainly writes about palm oil tree farming in Borneo, and how it adversely affects the rain forest and the lives of indigenous people like the Penan. His writing goes from the origin of music to religion to forest stories, and wanders all around as he descends on these people and writes about anything that attracts his interest. In the meanwhile, he uses flashbacks and accounts of his travels in other areas to fill out his story.
The book needs better editing and revision to bring it all into focus, but I can also see the appeal to people who like travel books that wander, too. Like many writers in foreign places, people who agree with the writer are wise and clever. Those who disagree are greedy and unscrupulous. Anyone who slights him has an ulterior motive, which of course, cannot be that the writer may simply be unlikable to people who disagree with him.
The writer talks about taking some interesting sounding photographs of some of the people and places he visited, but they were not in the galley proof edition, nor were any maps which would be useful. Also there was no glossary, although the writer uses some very obscure words and a number of native words and concepts.
A good book to have the bathroom for short readings. Also for armchair tourists who like enviro-literature.
January 10, 2023
DNF at around 50%. The author has spent most of his life wandering the world, and he spent most of this book wandering around a point and never finding it. Despite being a book that purports to be about the ravaging of the rainforests in Borneo (an extremely important subject), it takes almost halfway through the (less than 200 page) book for him to get there. Like a typical baby boomer, he spends a lot of time groaning about how the generations that came after his are not connected to nature, spend too much time with technology, and are the main reason no one cares about the planet. The first and third comments are just not true. My generation (X) and the Millennials care quite a bit about the future of our planet, and some of the most innovative solutions to resource or environmental problems have come out of our generations. We are two generations of activists, more dedicated to solving a problem that we didn't create than any before us.
As to the idea that we are destroying our brains with technology, every generation has made that claim about the generation immediately following probably since the beginning of time. It's a tired argument, and it's untrue.
I skimmed through most of this book, honestly, because it was boring, meandering, and dull. Not for me.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As to the idea that we are destroying our brains with technology, every generation has made that claim about the generation immediately following probably since the beginning of time. It's a tired argument, and it's untrue.
I skimmed through most of this book, honestly, because it was boring, meandering, and dull. Not for me.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 20, 2017
This book really disappointed me. Maybe 10% was about the wasting of Borneo. 70% was about traditional people in Borneo and the Amazon and 20% about animal cognition & emotion and interviews with animal scientists. While the book makes a, in my opinion right, moral appeal to reduce palm oil consumption, no arguments are given at all. The author could have spent more time investigating the destructive effects of palm oil on the environment and on the local people.
The authors description of living among traditional people is interesting, but is completely unstructured. Sometimes it is about mysticism and animism, and then it is about their "practical" ways of life. Actually, the threats for these traditional people are only shortly discussed if you compare it to the other themes in the book.
For example, Shoumatoff discusses animal consciousness and emotions quite extensively. This is interesting, but it lacks nuance (he gives no references for his claims and often makes metaphysical statements about spirituality, e.g.). For books about the emotions and mental lives of animals, you are much better of reading anything by Frans de Waal for example.
Lastly, Shoumatoff's weird statements about zoos annoyed me. As a student in animal behavior, I know zoos are not perfect. However, one has to give valid arguments against zoos, and Shoumatoff only writes down his gut feelings, not backed up by any evidence. This is his quote:
'I have to say that I have mixed feelings about any place where wild animals, or even captive-born individuals of once-wild species, are confined. Experiencing them is not the same as experiencing wild animals in their natural state. They are denied their natural behavior, which is to hunt for food and socialize, to establish territory and conduct their courtship displays and mate and feed their young, and move freely to wherever the food possibilities are best. They are spared the stress and uncertainty of having to get food and to watch their back lest they become food. But there isn’t much to do in confinement, just eat, have sex if there is an opportunity, and observe (perhaps picking up even more than the field biologists) and identify and interact with their captors, so what you are getting is to some degree an interspecies form of Stockholm syndrome.'
First, almost all zoos (at least in Europe) are continuously stimulating natural behavior. It is not a pro, but a must for current zoos. So most zoo-housed animals are certainly not denied their natural behavior. Second, obviously not all animals hunt for food, as some are herbi/frugivores. Third, he contradicts himself by saying zoo-housed animals cannot mate and later stating that they can 'just have sex'. Fourth, what zoo does not let their animals feed their own young? I know of no zoos that do this exclusively. Yes, sometimes a mother does not accept her young (common among some primates), and then it may be hand-raised. However, stating that zoos do not let animals feed their young is just ridiculous. Fifth, the author ignores the fact that young zoo animals often engage in play with either group members or their parents. I have experience with observing gorillas, and they have a lot to do each day and spend a lot of time having fun, especially the young ones.
In short, the book was disappointing, and Shoumatoff's opinion about zoos is not substantiated by any evidence.
The authors description of living among traditional people is interesting, but is completely unstructured. Sometimes it is about mysticism and animism, and then it is about their "practical" ways of life. Actually, the threats for these traditional people are only shortly discussed if you compare it to the other themes in the book.
For example, Shoumatoff discusses animal consciousness and emotions quite extensively. This is interesting, but it lacks nuance (he gives no references for his claims and often makes metaphysical statements about spirituality, e.g.). For books about the emotions and mental lives of animals, you are much better of reading anything by Frans de Waal for example.
Lastly, Shoumatoff's weird statements about zoos annoyed me. As a student in animal behavior, I know zoos are not perfect. However, one has to give valid arguments against zoos, and Shoumatoff only writes down his gut feelings, not backed up by any evidence. This is his quote:
'I have to say that I have mixed feelings about any place where wild animals, or even captive-born individuals of once-wild species, are confined. Experiencing them is not the same as experiencing wild animals in their natural state. They are denied their natural behavior, which is to hunt for food and socialize, to establish territory and conduct their courtship displays and mate and feed their young, and move freely to wherever the food possibilities are best. They are spared the stress and uncertainty of having to get food and to watch their back lest they become food. But there isn’t much to do in confinement, just eat, have sex if there is an opportunity, and observe (perhaps picking up even more than the field biologists) and identify and interact with their captors, so what you are getting is to some degree an interspecies form of Stockholm syndrome.'
First, almost all zoos (at least in Europe) are continuously stimulating natural behavior. It is not a pro, but a must for current zoos. So most zoo-housed animals are certainly not denied their natural behavior. Second, obviously not all animals hunt for food, as some are herbi/frugivores. Third, he contradicts himself by saying zoo-housed animals cannot mate and later stating that they can 'just have sex'. Fourth, what zoo does not let their animals feed their own young? I know of no zoos that do this exclusively. Yes, sometimes a mother does not accept her young (common among some primates), and then it may be hand-raised. However, stating that zoos do not let animals feed their young is just ridiculous. Fifth, the author ignores the fact that young zoo animals often engage in play with either group members or their parents. I have experience with observing gorillas, and they have a lot to do each day and spend a lot of time having fun, especially the young ones.
In short, the book was disappointing, and Shoumatoff's opinion about zoos is not substantiated by any evidence.
December 7, 2016
Couldn't get through it. Too much like a textbook and too much about the author's life before he went to Borneo. Could have been interesting if he were a better writer.
November 5, 2019
I picked this book up after recently re-reading Eric Hansen's classic 1980s travel journey, Stranger in the Forest. I am also planing to re-read another great favorite of mine, Into the Heart of Borneo by Redmond O'Hanlon. Hansen's book tells the story of his legendary journey across Borneo --mainly on foot. As I was reading, I was wondering how much of that Borneo--a place I have always wanted to see--was left?
So I picked up The Wasting of Borneo. Actually, I am a huge fan of the writer so had bought the book immediately when it came out so I only had to go downstairs and grab it off the shelf.
I read it from cover to cover in two sittings. I simply could not put it down.
I was wanting to read about the current situation in Borneo--both the rainforests and about the animals-- but the first half of the book is not about Borneo. The book is not "preachy." It does not tell you what to think or believe--Instead, it persuades by taking you back into the author's childhood to recount his early love of nature and animals. I found this to be deeply moving. In reconnecting to a childhood friend--a friend who also shared his love and sense of awe in nature-- he is able to very effectively evoke a child's sense of wonder... something so many of us lose in adulthood. So instead of Borneo's rainforests and the orangutan, we start with the woods behind his house in New York and then on to his travels in the Amazon and in Africa, as well as his interviews with people who are involved in animal welfare--horses, elephants and bonobos.
The young Shoumatoff--like many kids-- had a spiritual experience in nature when he was quite young. I had one myself at 12 in the Grand Tetons where I felt a sense of wonder and deep excitement by the mountains. I will never forget how I felt. Somewhere in our hearts, we all know that we are more alive out in nature and that we are deeply rooted in mountains and rivers--and that we are connected to animals. Anyone who has a dog just knows--they are our family.
When I was 12 I had my first job (babysitter extraordinaire) --and what did I do with my new found riches? I joined Save the Elephants. . This was back in the mid-80s. Like snow in Los Angeles or the towering redwoods I had seen in Northern California, elephants were things I could hardly believe were real. I was an overly sensitive child, and just the idea of someone harming these majestic creatures would have me in tears. Who could destroy something so beautiful?
I have never an optimist; having always tended toward pessimism. But of all the tough problems facing the world of my childhood—at the very least, saving the elephants should have been easy, I thought.
Sometimes I feel so discouraged when I think, we didn't even save the elephants....
Shoumatoff's book becames impossible to put down when he finally arrives in Borneo. The first thing he does is visit the great Birute Galdikas. I highly recommend a short documentary that Shoumatoff recommends, Born to be Wild about Galdikas' work with orangutan orphans and Daphne Sheldrake with elephants in Africa.
So, yeah, to get to my original question, the Borneo that Hansen described has been significantly destroyed. Hard to believe this happened in front of all of our eyes. In the 80s, we knew about the timbering/logging. That was a big issue--but then came palm oil....
How is it that something no one used is suddenly in everything???? Talk about a complete fake market. From shampoo and toothpaste to every snack known to man-- It is nearly impossible to avoid. Schoumatoff says he is down to a drop a week in toothpaste and shampoo... I don't think I use any. But it is very hard to avoid the stuff since it is in everything... and the problem with that is, first they clear the rainforest. This involves burning and was the cause of the horrendous haze that could be seen from space several years back. So, huge amounts of carbon go into the atmosphere from these fires, but of course, they have removed the trees which had helped greatly mitigate carbon in the atmosphere so it is a lose-lose situation.... But the destruction continues. After the forests (ancient rainforests home to earth's richest biodiversity) are cleared monocrop oil palms are planted --this habitat destruction has pushed the animals to the brink--including our cousins, the orangutans.
How can we continue with this destruction?
Neoliberal media will say, our consumer choices don't matter, we have to hit the systems that are causing the destruction. It's true--without over-turning our current vulture-capitalism we won't make huge dents--but at the same time, every time we vote with our dollars by consuming this palm oil poison, we are part of the problem and even if just a small part of the problem, at the every least we are enablers.
It is very sad to see how much has been destroyed in my lifetime.... our beautiful vanishing world.
So I picked up The Wasting of Borneo. Actually, I am a huge fan of the writer so had bought the book immediately when it came out so I only had to go downstairs and grab it off the shelf.
I read it from cover to cover in two sittings. I simply could not put it down.
I was wanting to read about the current situation in Borneo--both the rainforests and about the animals-- but the first half of the book is not about Borneo. The book is not "preachy." It does not tell you what to think or believe--Instead, it persuades by taking you back into the author's childhood to recount his early love of nature and animals. I found this to be deeply moving. In reconnecting to a childhood friend--a friend who also shared his love and sense of awe in nature-- he is able to very effectively evoke a child's sense of wonder... something so many of us lose in adulthood. So instead of Borneo's rainforests and the orangutan, we start with the woods behind his house in New York and then on to his travels in the Amazon and in Africa, as well as his interviews with people who are involved in animal welfare--horses, elephants and bonobos.
The young Shoumatoff--like many kids-- had a spiritual experience in nature when he was quite young. I had one myself at 12 in the Grand Tetons where I felt a sense of wonder and deep excitement by the mountains. I will never forget how I felt. Somewhere in our hearts, we all know that we are more alive out in nature and that we are deeply rooted in mountains and rivers--and that we are connected to animals. Anyone who has a dog just knows--they are our family.
When I was 12 I had my first job (babysitter extraordinaire) --and what did I do with my new found riches? I joined Save the Elephants. . This was back in the mid-80s. Like snow in Los Angeles or the towering redwoods I had seen in Northern California, elephants were things I could hardly believe were real. I was an overly sensitive child, and just the idea of someone harming these majestic creatures would have me in tears. Who could destroy something so beautiful?
I have never an optimist; having always tended toward pessimism. But of all the tough problems facing the world of my childhood—at the very least, saving the elephants should have been easy, I thought.
Sometimes I feel so discouraged when I think, we didn't even save the elephants....
Shoumatoff's book becames impossible to put down when he finally arrives in Borneo. The first thing he does is visit the great Birute Galdikas. I highly recommend a short documentary that Shoumatoff recommends, Born to be Wild about Galdikas' work with orangutan orphans and Daphne Sheldrake with elephants in Africa.
So, yeah, to get to my original question, the Borneo that Hansen described has been significantly destroyed. Hard to believe this happened in front of all of our eyes. In the 80s, we knew about the timbering/logging. That was a big issue--but then came palm oil....
How is it that something no one used is suddenly in everything???? Talk about a complete fake market. From shampoo and toothpaste to every snack known to man-- It is nearly impossible to avoid. Schoumatoff says he is down to a drop a week in toothpaste and shampoo... I don't think I use any. But it is very hard to avoid the stuff since it is in everything... and the problem with that is, first they clear the rainforest. This involves burning and was the cause of the horrendous haze that could be seen from space several years back. So, huge amounts of carbon go into the atmosphere from these fires, but of course, they have removed the trees which had helped greatly mitigate carbon in the atmosphere so it is a lose-lose situation.... But the destruction continues. After the forests (ancient rainforests home to earth's richest biodiversity) are cleared monocrop oil palms are planted --this habitat destruction has pushed the animals to the brink--including our cousins, the orangutans.
How can we continue with this destruction?
Neoliberal media will say, our consumer choices don't matter, we have to hit the systems that are causing the destruction. It's true--without over-turning our current vulture-capitalism we won't make huge dents--but at the same time, every time we vote with our dollars by consuming this palm oil poison, we are part of the problem and even if just a small part of the problem, at the every least we are enablers.
It is very sad to see how much has been destroyed in my lifetime.... our beautiful vanishing world.
June 13, 2017
This is a striking work, chronicling one man's journey toward connecting to the natural world and his attempts to not just understand vanishing cultures and worlds, but help to document and save them. From the stories of his first connecting to animals and the forests around his childhood home, on to experiences in Borneo, Shoumatoff paints the natural world and its inhabitants with careful and elegant strokes, offering attention to details that few people might have noticed. As a whole, the book is a call to arms for cultural and biological diversity, and a lovesong to Borneo that echoes provocatively, if sadly, from its pages.
If the book has a downfall, it's that the title and the jacket suggest that the whole of the work is focused on Borneo, whereas only the last two thirds of the book is really centered there. As a reader, I found myself anxious to get to that portion of the book, having not expected the slow and more personal build-up; by the time I was really enjoying the beginning, in fact, the book was moving on to Borneo. As a result, I almost wish this had been a few separate works, or that I'd better known what I was walking into. Perhaps even that the second portion of the book had been quite a bit longer, and more lingering. Now that I've finished, this last impulse may be the strongest--moments were given such depth, and I think I might have liked more depth to the larger picture, or a more sustained idea of his journey in Borneo, instead of the narrative given here which so often felt fragmented, and outside of time or linear progression.
Still, for readers interested in vanishing cultures or in careful memoirs and narratives that focus on appreciation for the natural world, I'd certainly recommend Shoumatoff's work. It had moments where it was slow, but on the whole, it was a gorgeous glimpse into places I've never visited and given too little thought to. I look forward to reading more of Shoumatoff's work, and to looking up some of those works he mentioned in the writing of this one.
If the book has a downfall, it's that the title and the jacket suggest that the whole of the work is focused on Borneo, whereas only the last two thirds of the book is really centered there. As a reader, I found myself anxious to get to that portion of the book, having not expected the slow and more personal build-up; by the time I was really enjoying the beginning, in fact, the book was moving on to Borneo. As a result, I almost wish this had been a few separate works, or that I'd better known what I was walking into. Perhaps even that the second portion of the book had been quite a bit longer, and more lingering. Now that I've finished, this last impulse may be the strongest--moments were given such depth, and I think I might have liked more depth to the larger picture, or a more sustained idea of his journey in Borneo, instead of the narrative given here which so often felt fragmented, and outside of time or linear progression.
Still, for readers interested in vanishing cultures or in careful memoirs and narratives that focus on appreciation for the natural world, I'd certainly recommend Shoumatoff's work. It had moments where it was slow, but on the whole, it was a gorgeous glimpse into places I've never visited and given too little thought to. I look forward to reading more of Shoumatoff's work, and to looking up some of those works he mentioned in the writing of this one.
May 14, 2017
I was initially prepared to be a bit bored with this book expecting lots of facts and figures but instead was completely drawn into this amazing read. The better part of my childhood was spent in the woods absorbing the beauty of nature; sitting at the edge of a small creek for hours, running through brush (that is until the day I came face to face with an enormous web with a garden spider at the center just inches from my face which curtailed the running part for a while.) Like the author, I truly believe those years formed a lasting bond which remains unbroken.
The author mentions his trip to Des Moines, IA to visit the Great Ape Trust. I was privileged to have visited them years ago while I was employed with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. It was an amazing day there! I had also previously read stories about Temple Grandin out of Colorado so I felt "at home" with this book.
The horrors of the deforestation of this beautiful land and the "westernization" of those incredible people broke my heart. As was mentioned in the book though, this was nothing that we in North America weren't guilty of as well since money always speaks loudly (as I sit in the comfort of my air conditioned home typing on my laptop drinking a soda - not Pepsi, thank goodness).
His passage remarking on how religion played a part in our destruction felt like a slap in the face and yet I have to agree that with Christianity we lost belief in nature goddesses and animal spirits. This book provides a great deal of thought; I will have to reread this at a later date again. I urge you to read and share this book.
Thank you to Goodreads for providing me with this copy for my review and to Beacon Press.
The author mentions his trip to Des Moines, IA to visit the Great Ape Trust. I was privileged to have visited them years ago while I was employed with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. It was an amazing day there! I had also previously read stories about Temple Grandin out of Colorado so I felt "at home" with this book.
The horrors of the deforestation of this beautiful land and the "westernization" of those incredible people broke my heart. As was mentioned in the book though, this was nothing that we in North America weren't guilty of as well since money always speaks loudly (as I sit in the comfort of my air conditioned home typing on my laptop drinking a soda - not Pepsi, thank goodness).
His passage remarking on how religion played a part in our destruction felt like a slap in the face and yet I have to agree that with Christianity we lost belief in nature goddesses and animal spirits. This book provides a great deal of thought; I will have to reread this at a later date again. I urge you to read and share this book.
Thank you to Goodreads for providing me with this copy for my review and to Beacon Press.
December 29, 2024
This book is really two books, but only the second book makes it to the description.
The first half is the author’s memoir and his belief in the healing power of nature. The second half is his trip to Borneo.
The blurb only mentions the second half (as does the title) - which frankly does this book a great disservice. If I’m a reader looking for a history of Borneo, I have no interest in reading about some kid growing up in New York (unless I’m forewarned). I suspect this contributed to the low ratings. You can skip this half.
The second half is the author’s journey into Borneo, and talks briefly about the people he meets and the various initiatives to protect the rainforest. I’ve never learned about Rimba Raya before but it’s good to know there’s this initiative. I liked the debunking of the “ecologically noble savage” which presumes that indigenous people were conservationists. I also liked the reference that the “local Dayaks had a very different view of nature, that it was full of evil spirits, death, and deception”. It feels like a nuanced portrayal. There is the tension of the “modern world” intruding on the forest and the people living in it. But the people living in the forest also like parts of the modern world.
At the end of the day, this is a call for conservation. But I do find it an interesting book about Borneo.
The first half is the author’s memoir and his belief in the healing power of nature. The second half is his trip to Borneo.
The blurb only mentions the second half (as does the title) - which frankly does this book a great disservice. If I’m a reader looking for a history of Borneo, I have no interest in reading about some kid growing up in New York (unless I’m forewarned). I suspect this contributed to the low ratings. You can skip this half.
The second half is the author’s journey into Borneo, and talks briefly about the people he meets and the various initiatives to protect the rainforest. I’ve never learned about Rimba Raya before but it’s good to know there’s this initiative. I liked the debunking of the “ecologically noble savage” which presumes that indigenous people were conservationists. I also liked the reference that the “local Dayaks had a very different view of nature, that it was full of evil spirits, death, and deception”. It feels like a nuanced portrayal. There is the tension of the “modern world” intruding on the forest and the people living in it. But the people living in the forest also like parts of the modern world.
At the end of the day, this is a call for conservation. But I do find it an interesting book about Borneo.
March 11, 2018
Palm oil is the devil. This is one of the clear take away messages from Shoumatoff’s latest book The Wasting of Borneo. This accessible read offers a clear picture of the devastation that has been occurring in the rain forest of Borneo and its far reaching implications. Sharing wisdom from field experts, the book uses both scientific data and real life anecdotes to educate readers about an important, but lesser known calamity that is impacting indigenous people, animals and the environment.
I approached this book with no previous knowledge of the topic. More than just educating me, Shoumatoff’s writing drew me in and explained to me why the wasting of Borneo’s rain forest is a catastrophe, and also how it concerns me as a consumer on a personal level. It’s scary to learn that just because certain processes are being labeled sustainable, that doesn’t mean they really adhere to strictly sustainable standards. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to the topic for any readers who care about the environment and man’s negative impact on it.
I received a copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author/publisher for participating in the giveaway.
I approached this book with no previous knowledge of the topic. More than just educating me, Shoumatoff’s writing drew me in and explained to me why the wasting of Borneo’s rain forest is a catastrophe, and also how it concerns me as a consumer on a personal level. It’s scary to learn that just because certain processes are being labeled sustainable, that doesn’t mean they really adhere to strictly sustainable standards. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to the topic for any readers who care about the environment and man’s negative impact on it.
I received a copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author/publisher for participating in the giveaway.
November 15, 2018
It pains me to rate this so low because I love orangutans and have traveled to Borneo myself, but I cannot recommend this book to anyone. I read other negative reviews on here and assumed that I wouldn't mind the autobiographical tangents because I like memoir, but there is nothing engaging at all about the author's recollections of his wealthy suburban upbringing. There are also more than a few insensitive passages that detract from the overall book, including a fond childhood memory of COLLECTING STAMPS OF HITLER'S FACE and incredibly condescending "compliments" about his disabled friend for not being a burden on anyone.
I wish this had been published as several long magazine articles: one about palm oil and deforestation, one about how similar orangutans and other primates are to humans, and one about Penan culture and the other native people who are living today in Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan (Malaysian and Indonesian states in Borneo). But those topics only represent maybe half of the book or less, and I suggest not slogging through the rest of the book in search of those sections.
I wish this had been published as several long magazine articles: one about palm oil and deforestation, one about how similar orangutans and other primates are to humans, and one about Penan culture and the other native people who are living today in Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan (Malaysian and Indonesian states in Borneo). But those topics only represent maybe half of the book or less, and I suggest not slogging through the rest of the book in search of those sections.
August 29, 2022
I appreciate Jennifer Collins' thoughtful analysis of the book's structure. And I can see why some of the younger reviewers bailed, finding it too rambling. I have to be honest: I'm just plain jealous of the author's childhood, healthy and happy in a richly diverse, protected outdoor environment. And I would love to have toured the world's rainforests, spending time with indigenous people. It's painful to read of species extinction, the greed of the "civilized" world destroying the ways of life and people, animals, and plants. You just know in your heart that the fight against the destruction of Eden is doomed. Books like this are noble efforts, small flames lit in the darkness. Shoumatoff is a moral man, standing up for endangered creatures everywhere, and for that he deserves respect and whatever support we can give to his causes, like the Bruno Manser Fund to help the Penan in their struggle to preserve their habitat from the logging companies. I have no use for most journalists, but Shoumatoff is in a special class, trying to spread the word about a situation on our globe about which most people are unaware.
July 29, 2017
Fascinating book -- the author has spent his life experiencing and reporting on the threatened natural areas left in the world and the aboriginals who live in the area whose lives are being ruined. I was appalled at the Palm Oil Plantations and was horrified when I went to an online list showing all the products its used in.
Thousands of animal species, insects, butterflies and birds have Borneo as their last refuge and they are being logged, burned and turned into palm oil plantations. The Chinese are paying the natives barely $10 for a hardwood tree worth nearly $1000.00. And this area is one of the last remaining places for orangutans, our closest primate relative.
We have lost a great number of species in my lifetime but it appears the worst devastation will happen while I am still a part of this planet -- it is heartbreaking, it is unbelievably short-sighted and utterly stupid.
Thousands of animal species, insects, butterflies and birds have Borneo as their last refuge and they are being logged, burned and turned into palm oil plantations. The Chinese are paying the natives barely $10 for a hardwood tree worth nearly $1000.00. And this area is one of the last remaining places for orangutans, our closest primate relative.
We have lost a great number of species in my lifetime but it appears the worst devastation will happen while I am still a part of this planet -- it is heartbreaking, it is unbelievably short-sighted and utterly stupid.
January 15, 2022
There is material here for a good magazine article about the destruction of the Borneo rain forest. Instead we get a shapeless notebook dump that doesn’t even get to Shoumatoff’s little tourist jaunt with childhood buddy Davie until about halfway through its 170 pages of waffle. The book is padded with Shoumatoff’s boring reminiscences of childhood nature jaunts in suburban NY with Davie, visits to animal conservationists in the US, ridiculously overlong direct quotes, and transcriptions of his banal conversations with Davie (who he depicts as this saintly figure who is just so goddarn cheerful about his missing arm). If Shoumatoff really cared about the rain forest on more than a superficial level, he would have done more than this sloppy effort.
May 13, 2017
For anyone who enjoys anything to do with nature and learning about different cultures, you'll love this book. It is a book everyone should read because it has a lot to offer about planet earth and our filthy ways that we often don't think twice about. I really enjoyed reading it and I did receive a copy through the goodreads giveaway program.
July 7, 2017
This book calls attention to the continual ravage of the globe for economic gains. How we continue to be so short sighted in the current condition of ancient and species and and countless other life-forms is beyond conception. Thanks to Alex Shoumatoff and other writers who continue to spread the awareness of global rape.
March 3, 2018
A bit disjointed at times but still an important book on the horrors of palm oil and the loss of rain forests and the resulting wildlife destruction. Shoumatoff's early work in the New Yorker was vastly clearer . . .
July 31, 2017
Good info about one of my favorite places, but a little too much of a noble savage tone for my taste.
February 27, 2019
Someone else said it best, and I can only paraphrase: The ramblings of an old man.
November 30, 2017
I received a copy of this book from librarything.com's earlyreviewers group in exchange for an honest review.
I was put off initially because it did not dive into the promised topic right away. The author is a long experienced nature journalist. I picked this book because of its content, I hadn't even heard of the author. So it turned me off when the beginning was more about him than the promised topic.
It starts with an introduction to the author's childhood experiences in the forests surrounding his childhood home and introduces his childhood friend who explored with him. He describes the beginning of his career as a journalist and explorer. He next moves on to a handful of short trips he made to different conservation efforts/wild animal sanctuaries across the US. I found it interesting that a few of these stops were at places with slightly controversial backgrounds - where you can pay to touch an elephant for example. As a true journalist he marks his words vs. whomever he interviews in a straightforward manner. He defends most of the places he visits. The more of the book I read the more I came to like it. If you are looking for a book that helps you establish a sense of place with the natural world the first portion of the book is excellent - but not related directly to Borneo yet. At around page 75 we are finally in Borneo.
In Borneo we learn a little bit about efforts to preserve the Orangutans and the impact the palm oil industry has on those efforts. The rest of the book shifts gears and describes his stay with the semi nomadic Penan people of Borneo. The author, a photographer, and close friend stay with them for about two weeks and learn about their culture and experiences with the loggers and palm oil plantation owners. It is through them that he most gets his message across that these industries are destroying the environment of Borneo as well as taking away these people’s rights to continue to live off the forest as they have done for thousands of years as small nomadic groups. He shares how a group leader and an activist who defend the forest have been found dead or have disappeared. He effectively brings to light the hardships and brutality of what is going on in Borneo. He also shares statistics about the species richness in the area and the changes in that richness. I see one person felt the second half read like a textbook which I strongly disagree with. The second half read as much like a journal as the beginning half. It was just more focused on one topic.
My message to those who picked up this book eager to learn about Borneo is:
A. It is worth pushing through Alex's childhood and reflection because it does actually help you make connections.
B. If you want to dive directly into Borneo go to around page 75.
Overall, I learned a handful of things through this book. The destruction going on in Borneo is unacceptable; consumers should limit their use of palm oil. While some companies are trying to find sustainable methods of harvesting palm oil their definition of sustainable is up to questioning. I felt that I finished the book to finish it though as I was not hooked on the author’s narrative. I would still recommend the book and have already shared it with a friend.
*****Edit*****
I thought it might be helpful to add my friend's input. Basically all the things I saw wrong with it she didn't notice. She just sort of loved it actually.
I was put off initially because it did not dive into the promised topic right away. The author is a long experienced nature journalist. I picked this book because of its content, I hadn't even heard of the author. So it turned me off when the beginning was more about him than the promised topic.
It starts with an introduction to the author's childhood experiences in the forests surrounding his childhood home and introduces his childhood friend who explored with him. He describes the beginning of his career as a journalist and explorer. He next moves on to a handful of short trips he made to different conservation efforts/wild animal sanctuaries across the US. I found it interesting that a few of these stops were at places with slightly controversial backgrounds - where you can pay to touch an elephant for example. As a true journalist he marks his words vs. whomever he interviews in a straightforward manner. He defends most of the places he visits. The more of the book I read the more I came to like it. If you are looking for a book that helps you establish a sense of place with the natural world the first portion of the book is excellent - but not related directly to Borneo yet. At around page 75 we are finally in Borneo.
In Borneo we learn a little bit about efforts to preserve the Orangutans and the impact the palm oil industry has on those efforts. The rest of the book shifts gears and describes his stay with the semi nomadic Penan people of Borneo. The author, a photographer, and close friend stay with them for about two weeks and learn about their culture and experiences with the loggers and palm oil plantation owners. It is through them that he most gets his message across that these industries are destroying the environment of Borneo as well as taking away these people’s rights to continue to live off the forest as they have done for thousands of years as small nomadic groups. He shares how a group leader and an activist who defend the forest have been found dead or have disappeared. He effectively brings to light the hardships and brutality of what is going on in Borneo. He also shares statistics about the species richness in the area and the changes in that richness. I see one person felt the second half read like a textbook which I strongly disagree with. The second half read as much like a journal as the beginning half. It was just more focused on one topic.
My message to those who picked up this book eager to learn about Borneo is:
A. It is worth pushing through Alex's childhood and reflection because it does actually help you make connections.
B. If you want to dive directly into Borneo go to around page 75.
Overall, I learned a handful of things through this book. The destruction going on in Borneo is unacceptable; consumers should limit their use of palm oil. While some companies are trying to find sustainable methods of harvesting palm oil their definition of sustainable is up to questioning. I felt that I finished the book to finish it though as I was not hooked on the author’s narrative. I would still recommend the book and have already shared it with a friend.
*****Edit*****
I thought it might be helpful to add my friend's input. Basically all the things I saw wrong with it she didn't notice. She just sort of loved it actually.
December 4, 2016
If nothing else is taken away from reading The Wasting of Borneo: Dispatches from a Vanishing World, this is the important thing to remember; Stop buying anything with palm oil in it, or buy as little as possible.
The devastation caused by the millions of acres of palm oil plantations is almost beyond belief. When the rain forests with their old growth trees are cut and burned to be replaced by palm oil plantations, the deep peat below the surface burns for months. Hundreds of orangutans are found suffering from smoke inhalation and/or dying of starvation because their forests are gone. The amount of wildlife, plants, and indigenous people disappearing because of palm oil is shocking. Things are disappearing before Western science knows about it. For instance, there is a tree in Borneo that the indigenous tribal people call the contraceptive tree. Women who don't want children or don't want any more children chew the bark and never get pregnant again. Yet, Western science doesn't seem to know about this.
I love nature, animals, and the wilderness and it's painful for me to think about what we are losing just so our chocolate is shiny and Doritos are oily. I know I'll be looking at packaging to see if palm oil is used and I'll avoid any products containing it.
Much of this book is painful to read, but it is also a memoir of Shoumatoff's childhood. Shoumatoff was one of the co-founders of Outside magazine and is a frequent contributor to Smithsonian. The destruction of Borneo's forests is hard to read about but it's important to know. How we live and what we buy can make the difference in whether the rain forests and its animals and people continue to live.
I won The Wasting of Borneo in a goodreads giveaway for which I am grateful.
The devastation caused by the millions of acres of palm oil plantations is almost beyond belief. When the rain forests with their old growth trees are cut and burned to be replaced by palm oil plantations, the deep peat below the surface burns for months. Hundreds of orangutans are found suffering from smoke inhalation and/or dying of starvation because their forests are gone. The amount of wildlife, plants, and indigenous people disappearing because of palm oil is shocking. Things are disappearing before Western science knows about it. For instance, there is a tree in Borneo that the indigenous tribal people call the contraceptive tree. Women who don't want children or don't want any more children chew the bark and never get pregnant again. Yet, Western science doesn't seem to know about this.
I love nature, animals, and the wilderness and it's painful for me to think about what we are losing just so our chocolate is shiny and Doritos are oily. I know I'll be looking at packaging to see if palm oil is used and I'll avoid any products containing it.
Much of this book is painful to read, but it is also a memoir of Shoumatoff's childhood. Shoumatoff was one of the co-founders of Outside magazine and is a frequent contributor to Smithsonian. The destruction of Borneo's forests is hard to read about but it's important to know. How we live and what we buy can make the difference in whether the rain forests and its animals and people continue to live.
I won The Wasting of Borneo in a goodreads giveaway for which I am grateful.
August 12, 2019
What could have been an interesting (and important) read about the destruction of Borneo's rain forest is instead a meandering, unfocused, semi-autobiographical account of the author's life leading up to a trip to Borneo with a childhood friend. It is more of an eco-travelogue than a serious discussion about the fate Borneo forests.
November 29, 2016
What an Amazing look inside to a Beautiful , but vanishing place. Very moving
April 13, 2017
Alex Shoumatoff has certainly had an illustrious career. He has published several books, written hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, and traveled to some of the farthest reaches of the planet, places where normal people such as myself may never get to see. It isn’t the inability to get on a plane and fly to Venezuela that’s stopping us; no, it’s the fact that these Eden-like, natural sanctuaries are disappearing rapidly. The rainforests of Borneo are disintegrating in the wake of consumer culture’s demand for palm oil, and this atrocity is something that Shoumatoff attempts to explicate for readers in his newest book, The Wasting of Borneo. However, that mission isn’t fully accomplished.
As I previously mentioned, Shoumatoff is an accomplished individual. A quick Google search, or even reading the back cover of The Wasting of Borneo, will alert anyone to the fact that this is a man who doesn’t need to introduce himself. Yet, the first two parts of the book do exactly this. Instead of jumping straight to the point, we endure several long, stream-of-consciousness, dreamlike narrations about romanticized memories from Shoumatoff’s childhood, including those that helped to establish his animism and spiritual-like connection with nature. This material might be useful in some regard, as it helps to establish Shoumatoff’s motivations and credentials, as well as Davie’s character and relation to our storyteller, but the first 40 or so pages seem better suited for an autobiography. In a book that promises to be shocking and descriptive of the injustice occurring in Borneo, the point is not met very quickly. One moment we are in Shoumatoff’s childhood, and in the next we are observing a conversation between Davie and Shoumatoff before they arrive in Borneo. It’s almost as if Shoumatoff is shouting, “Hey! Listen to all these things I’ve done that make me the perfect person to write this book! Never mind Borneo; we’ll get to that after I tell you my life story.”
The book’s disjointed start doesn’t completely fail, however; in fact, there are several poignant moments in which Shoumatoff considers how the Edens of his childhood have disappeared, that never-before-seen species are dying by our far-away hand, removed from the horrifying reality of deforestation. When we finally reach Part 4, where Shoumatoff recounts his experience in Borneo, despite being dragged still through clunky, stream-of-consciousness time traveling, we find a heart-wrenching account of the tragic beauty of these forests. We find true emotion, true pain felt for these microcosms at risk, and true dedication on the part of the author to spreading the word and protecting nature. “Humanity is overrunning the planet like a virus,” he says. “But voices for the animals and planets and the indigenous subsistence cultures that evolved with them and are part of the same ecosystem are needed even more desperately.” Shoumatoff steps in to be that voice for the victims of the palm oil craze; he just loses a few readers in the process.
As I previously mentioned, Shoumatoff is an accomplished individual. A quick Google search, or even reading the back cover of The Wasting of Borneo, will alert anyone to the fact that this is a man who doesn’t need to introduce himself. Yet, the first two parts of the book do exactly this. Instead of jumping straight to the point, we endure several long, stream-of-consciousness, dreamlike narrations about romanticized memories from Shoumatoff’s childhood, including those that helped to establish his animism and spiritual-like connection with nature. This material might be useful in some regard, as it helps to establish Shoumatoff’s motivations and credentials, as well as Davie’s character and relation to our storyteller, but the first 40 or so pages seem better suited for an autobiography. In a book that promises to be shocking and descriptive of the injustice occurring in Borneo, the point is not met very quickly. One moment we are in Shoumatoff’s childhood, and in the next we are observing a conversation between Davie and Shoumatoff before they arrive in Borneo. It’s almost as if Shoumatoff is shouting, “Hey! Listen to all these things I’ve done that make me the perfect person to write this book! Never mind Borneo; we’ll get to that after I tell you my life story.”
The book’s disjointed start doesn’t completely fail, however; in fact, there are several poignant moments in which Shoumatoff considers how the Edens of his childhood have disappeared, that never-before-seen species are dying by our far-away hand, removed from the horrifying reality of deforestation. When we finally reach Part 4, where Shoumatoff recounts his experience in Borneo, despite being dragged still through clunky, stream-of-consciousness time traveling, we find a heart-wrenching account of the tragic beauty of these forests. We find true emotion, true pain felt for these microcosms at risk, and true dedication on the part of the author to spreading the word and protecting nature. “Humanity is overrunning the planet like a virus,” he says. “But voices for the animals and planets and the indigenous subsistence cultures that evolved with them and are part of the same ecosystem are needed even more desperately.” Shoumatoff steps in to be that voice for the victims of the palm oil craze; he just loses a few readers in the process.
April 20, 2017
THE WASTING OF BORNEO: DISPATCHES FROM A VANISHING WORLD by Alex Shoumatoff. This book was sent to me by Beacon Press in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. The exchange was sponsored by LibraryThing’s Early Review program.
Alex Shoumatoff has been a staff writer for The New Yorker and a contributing writer for Vanity Fair, Conde’ Nast, Esquire, Travel & Leisure and Onearth. He has written several books and developed a website - Dispatches from the vanishing world - to raise consciousness about the disappearance of biocultural diversity.
The book includes an Introduction; Four Parts; Acknowledgements and Notes. (The Notes section is an excellent resource.)
Part I - The education of an animist (background and early experiences of Mr. Shoumatoff)
Part II - Wonder Wanderings (excellent interviews and related experiences with people working with animals and plants)
Part III - Learning from the animals (fascinating interviews and conversations with people working with animals)
Part IV - Vanishing Edens (travel to Sarawak and reflections on vanishing ecosystems)
Mr. Shoumatoff is traveling to Sarawak - a region of Borneo - with his childhood best friend Davie Holderness, who he hasn’t seen in 55 years. But before he describes and reflects on this journey to one of the most challenged ecosystems in the world, we journey through Mr. Shoumatoff’s childhood experiences in Bedford Village, New York and his adult travels, writings, interviews and experiences which led him to his ‘education as an animist”. (He describes himself as an animist. Animism is “a way of being alive to the communications and connections that are constantly going on between all living things - human, animal, plant.”) This trip to Borneo in 2013 is where he sadly and eloquently speaks of this last vanishing Eden with its peoples, its animals and its plants.
In Part II, he travels to the King Ranch in the Brazilian state of Para’ where the rain forest is decimated so as to convert forest to pasture for cattle. He was on a hill surrounded by “miles and miles of thick, black smoke pouring into the sky as far as I could see”. Another fire in the Amazon was reported to be “bigger than Belgium”. Mr. Shoumatoff saw this (and other experiences) as “becoming the mission of my writing: to evoke the beauty and fascination and preciousness of what is being laid waste to in a way that the reader starts to care and maybe even wants to do something about it”.
An extremely personal, reflective and informative book, a lengthy list includes many of the topics discussed in this book - botany, zoology, anthropology, cultural anthropology, psychology (human and animal), myth, religion, animism, economics, politics, greed, corruption, conservation, forestry, deforestation, agriculture, ecology, physical geography, culture, language, biocultural diversity, animal behavior. Whew! I’m out of breath. Reading this book is a very interesting educational experience.
Some highlights for me were:
p. 57 - 5 main causes of the destruction of our plant and animal life
p. 64 - contagious empathy among humans, animals and plants (absolutely fascinating)
p. 68 - Gandhi’s observation that “one measure of the morality of a society is how it treats its animals.”
p. 69 - Temple Grandin and her amazing brain
p. 107 - dipterocarp species
p. 109 - tragedy of Sarawak’s deforestation
p. 111 - early migration to Borneo
p. 130 - animal stories/myths. “The Penans’ Suket (myths) explain why the world is the way it is, how its animals and plants came into being, the Penans’ place in it, and how they are supposed to behave.”
p. 169 - the latest on the battle for Borneo
pp. 179-184 - Notes Section
website - Dispatches from the Vanishing World
My only critique of THE WASTING OF BORNEO is that there are no maps. I read most sections with an atlas at my side. Geography (physical geography, cultural geography, political geography) is an integral part of this book.
I recommend that you read this book. Please.
It is fascinating, reflective, educational, distressing, emotional and important.
Alex Shoumatoff has been a staff writer for The New Yorker and a contributing writer for Vanity Fair, Conde’ Nast, Esquire, Travel & Leisure and Onearth. He has written several books and developed a website - Dispatches from the vanishing world - to raise consciousness about the disappearance of biocultural diversity.
The book includes an Introduction; Four Parts; Acknowledgements and Notes. (The Notes section is an excellent resource.)
Part I - The education of an animist (background and early experiences of Mr. Shoumatoff)
Part II - Wonder Wanderings (excellent interviews and related experiences with people working with animals and plants)
Part III - Learning from the animals (fascinating interviews and conversations with people working with animals)
Part IV - Vanishing Edens (travel to Sarawak and reflections on vanishing ecosystems)
Mr. Shoumatoff is traveling to Sarawak - a region of Borneo - with his childhood best friend Davie Holderness, who he hasn’t seen in 55 years. But before he describes and reflects on this journey to one of the most challenged ecosystems in the world, we journey through Mr. Shoumatoff’s childhood experiences in Bedford Village, New York and his adult travels, writings, interviews and experiences which led him to his ‘education as an animist”. (He describes himself as an animist. Animism is “a way of being alive to the communications and connections that are constantly going on between all living things - human, animal, plant.”) This trip to Borneo in 2013 is where he sadly and eloquently speaks of this last vanishing Eden with its peoples, its animals and its plants.
In Part II, he travels to the King Ranch in the Brazilian state of Para’ where the rain forest is decimated so as to convert forest to pasture for cattle. He was on a hill surrounded by “miles and miles of thick, black smoke pouring into the sky as far as I could see”. Another fire in the Amazon was reported to be “bigger than Belgium”. Mr. Shoumatoff saw this (and other experiences) as “becoming the mission of my writing: to evoke the beauty and fascination and preciousness of what is being laid waste to in a way that the reader starts to care and maybe even wants to do something about it”.
An extremely personal, reflective and informative book, a lengthy list includes many of the topics discussed in this book - botany, zoology, anthropology, cultural anthropology, psychology (human and animal), myth, religion, animism, economics, politics, greed, corruption, conservation, forestry, deforestation, agriculture, ecology, physical geography, culture, language, biocultural diversity, animal behavior. Whew! I’m out of breath. Reading this book is a very interesting educational experience.
Some highlights for me were:
p. 57 - 5 main causes of the destruction of our plant and animal life
p. 64 - contagious empathy among humans, animals and plants (absolutely fascinating)
p. 68 - Gandhi’s observation that “one measure of the morality of a society is how it treats its animals.”
p. 69 - Temple Grandin and her amazing brain
p. 107 - dipterocarp species
p. 109 - tragedy of Sarawak’s deforestation
p. 111 - early migration to Borneo
p. 130 - animal stories/myths. “The Penans’ Suket (myths) explain why the world is the way it is, how its animals and plants came into being, the Penans’ place in it, and how they are supposed to behave.”
p. 169 - the latest on the battle for Borneo
pp. 179-184 - Notes Section
website - Dispatches from the Vanishing World
My only critique of THE WASTING OF BORNEO is that there are no maps. I read most sections with an atlas at my side. Geography (physical geography, cultural geography, political geography) is an integral part of this book.
I recommend that you read this book. Please.
It is fascinating, reflective, educational, distressing, emotional and important.
April 24, 2017
Review: The Wasting Of Borneo by Alex Shoumatoff. 3★'s 04/20/2017
Alex Shoumatoff is a pronounce naturalist speaking out to protect the endangered rainforest of Borneo Island. This is an interesting book about the dangers of Borneo’s
rainforest, people, animals, and the diverse ecosystem being overlooked. The most endangered tribal people on earth, the Penan are fighting for their right to exist along with the orangutan, and other life forms, who habitat the rainforest of Borneo Island. Shoumatoff has become an author and journalists traveling the world to write about places, animals, people, and cultures that are in danger. In his own words he writes what binds humans to animals, and nature in the environment of the rainforest and the palm-oil crises but not how to protect the biodiversity that effects us all.
The Penan tribe have been living in the Borneo rainforest for thousands of years but now the lowland of the rainforest has been logged and burnt to make way for a vast palm-oil plantation. All over the world the rainforest are being cleared for one product or another. Palm-oil is being consumed by many countries. Next time you pick up a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, toothpaste, or spooning peanut butter from a jar think of how many animals and people who are being deprived of their home and food. However, also think about the workers on the plantation and loggers who need to feed their families….
Shoumatoff’s book covered his personal travel journey with a childhood friend which I thought was interesting but I feel the author could have used some of the space and time for more information on the crisis of losing a vast part of the rainforest of Borneo Island and other rainforest around the world. The book was well written and kept my interest but I felt like I didn’t have enough thought provoking issues or opinions to make a judgment of concern.
I feel there’s two sides to a story of this magnitude. There’s the tribal people and the animals of the rainforest which is alarming and also there are the plantation and loggers income to consider for raising their families and the issue of the vast world of consumers who need this product. There could be a sensible answer if you were an activist on either side. The author could have collected some information regarding both issues. It’s going to take more then this book to come up with opinions, advise, comments, rationality, and answers which I don’t feel the author gave any data for either side…. However, the issue was worth reading about….
Alex Shoumatoff is a pronounce naturalist speaking out to protect the endangered rainforest of Borneo Island. This is an interesting book about the dangers of Borneo’s
rainforest, people, animals, and the diverse ecosystem being overlooked. The most endangered tribal people on earth, the Penan are fighting for their right to exist along with the orangutan, and other life forms, who habitat the rainforest of Borneo Island. Shoumatoff has become an author and journalists traveling the world to write about places, animals, people, and cultures that are in danger. In his own words he writes what binds humans to animals, and nature in the environment of the rainforest and the palm-oil crises but not how to protect the biodiversity that effects us all.
The Penan tribe have been living in the Borneo rainforest for thousands of years but now the lowland of the rainforest has been logged and burnt to make way for a vast palm-oil plantation. All over the world the rainforest are being cleared for one product or another. Palm-oil is being consumed by many countries. Next time you pick up a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, toothpaste, or spooning peanut butter from a jar think of how many animals and people who are being deprived of their home and food. However, also think about the workers on the plantation and loggers who need to feed their families….
Shoumatoff’s book covered his personal travel journey with a childhood friend which I thought was interesting but I feel the author could have used some of the space and time for more information on the crisis of losing a vast part of the rainforest of Borneo Island and other rainforest around the world. The book was well written and kept my interest but I felt like I didn’t have enough thought provoking issues or opinions to make a judgment of concern.
I feel there’s two sides to a story of this magnitude. There’s the tribal people and the animals of the rainforest which is alarming and also there are the plantation and loggers income to consider for raising their families and the issue of the vast world of consumers who need this product. There could be a sensible answer if you were an activist on either side. The author could have collected some information regarding both issues. It’s going to take more then this book to come up with opinions, advise, comments, rationality, and answers which I don’t feel the author gave any data for either side…. However, the issue was worth reading about….
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