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Lost in the Jungle
Four backpackers meet in Bolivia and set off into the rainforest on a dream expedition, lured by the promise of uncharted villages and forgotten tribes hidden in places tourists only dream of seeing. But what begins as the adventure of a lifetime quickly becomes a struggle when they get lost in the Amazonian jungle.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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About the author
Yossi Ghinsberg
13 books85 followersYossi Ghinsberg is an Israeli adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker based in Australia.
Ghinsberg is most known for his survival story of when he was stranded in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon jungle for three weeks in 1981
Ghinsberg is most known for his survival story of when he was stranded in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon jungle for three weeks in 1981
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 721 reviews
April 3, 2018
On the inside of the cover of the book I am reading there is written in ink: "Ron: I think we could have co-authored this book!! Merry Christmas. Erik 2005"
Would love to hear their story as well, so it is too bad that Erik didn't write his last name in the book, because then I could try to find him on the internet and if I had found him, I would have let him know that I now have the book and so on.
I also would have loved to have taken a trip like this one when I was younger, that is, if I had not been such a chicken. Yet, my friend Julie and I had walked 10 kilometers into one of the jungles of Mexico when trying to get to the ruins of Bonanpak, just 30 miles from the Guatemalan border. We spent the night there and were thankful to have gotten out alive.
What Yossi went through with his four friends was horrendous; it was frightening. I couldn't put the book down although at times I had thought to do just that. The first time was when he had said that they bought rifles in order to kill animals. I thought, "Trophy hunting," which I am against, but no, it was for survival.
Then they brought a dog with them because someone suggested that it would be a great idea. He would protect them from jaguars and boars. Perhaps, he would be fighting with an animal, and they could get away while he was busy protecting himself or them. I don't remember now how much I am reading into this "bring the dog" idea, but eventually the dog wore out, had to literally be dragged and then finally left. This was the second time I wanted to quit reading this book, but I knew that they were going to be in some serious trouble up ahead, and so my curiosity got the best of me. I picked up the book again, saw that I wasn't half way through and thought, "This will take me another two weeks to read." No, I read it that day and into the evening--just couldn't put it down. Best true adventure jungle story I have ever read.
Next, they killed two monkeys and a sloth for food, and I was feeling bad again, that being another time I wanted to quit the book, but then I settled down into the book. Survival.
Then their party got split up, the rains came, then the fire ants, flesh eating termites, jaguars, boars, bot fly larvae deposited under Yossi's skin by a mosquito, painful, peeling fungus on their feet and legs that made it hard for some of them to walk, and then Yossi, and his friend took a very dangerous raft trip.
My friend Julie and I had experienced the rain, the grunting of a wild boar, and the low rumbles of a jaguar following us. Julie had contacted malaria, while I came home with bot fly larvae in my scalp, and all this after only 24 hours in the jungle. She and I both ended up in the hospital, and later I found that I had warts on the bottom of my feet. Fire ants, I have experienced, but only in America.
I am really surprised that Yossi came home alive, really surprised. Not everyone on this trip survived because this jungle trip had many mishaps and dangerous moments. I believed every word of it. It was easy to believe after my own trip.
On the raft: "Around noon we ran into trouble. A large rock jutted out from the shore, and the water pounding against it formed a treacherous whirlpool. The current carried us into its center. We tried for two hours to get out of it without success. Finally seeing no other way, Kevin swam to shore, climbed onto the rock, and tried to use the rope that was tied to the front of the raft to pull it out of the whirlpool. Twice he slipped, fell into the water, and was swept away by the current, but quickly recovered. On his third try the rope broke off in his hands, and he fell once again into the water, but this time he didn't return so quickly. I was left whirling with the raft, fear churning in my stomach. What if Kevin had drowned? What would become of me? I sat on the raft, craning my neck, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of him. When I saw his his star hat carried downstream, I froze."
November 18, 2017
The book opens with Yossi Ghinsberg's 'Acknowledgements': a page and a half of flowery, gushing, quasi-mystical thank yous. This didn't auger well. Yossi Ghinsberg's writing style is pretty basic. I wonder if this is a translation - which might explain his style.
I have read a few accounts of what could be labelled Travel Misadventures, Personal Disasters, or Idiots Taking Silly Risks & Living To Tell The Tale. These include, Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest, and Into the Wild. For the first two thirds of this book I concluded that 'Lost in the Jungle' was not up to the same standard, however I was gripped by the last third of the book and he certainly has an extraordinary tale to tell. At the end of the book he also touches on how his near death experience shaped the rest of his life and I was impressed by what he has gone on to achieve.
Overall I rate this 3/5. It's worth reading and I feel Yossi's tale will stay with me. That said if you've yet to read Touching The Void or Into Thin Air, then I would suggest reading those first as I think they're both more accomplished and interesting books that explore similar themes.
EDIT (Nov 2017): Someone told me this is being made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe. What a strange and wonderful world
I have read a few accounts of what could be labelled Travel Misadventures, Personal Disasters, or Idiots Taking Silly Risks & Living To Tell The Tale. These include, Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest, and Into the Wild. For the first two thirds of this book I concluded that 'Lost in the Jungle' was not up to the same standard, however I was gripped by the last third of the book and he certainly has an extraordinary tale to tell. At the end of the book he also touches on how his near death experience shaped the rest of his life and I was impressed by what he has gone on to achieve.
Overall I rate this 3/5. It's worth reading and I feel Yossi's tale will stay with me. That said if you've yet to read Touching The Void or Into Thin Air, then I would suggest reading those first as I think they're both more accomplished and interesting books that explore similar themes.
EDIT (Nov 2017): Someone told me this is being made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe. What a strange and wonderful world
December 28, 2018
Very good book by Yossi about the 3 weeks he spent lost, and alone, in an uncharted section of the Amazon jungle in Bolivia. The tale begins in Peru, where he meets the other men, and they decide to go into the Amazon. The first half of the book relates their journey together. The last half of the book is about Yossi's ordeal all alone, and his eventual rescue.
4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.
4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.
March 14, 2015
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.
July 20, 2011
As far as the storyline goes, it is incredible, amazing, and a total 5 star entertainment keeping you on the edge of your seat until you finish the book. Then, if you think that it is actually a true story, and that these people get into all that trouble because of their absolute stupidity and unawareness of what might be happening to them, you ask yourself "why should i give this book 5 stars"? They are idiots who are convinced that going through the jungle is no different than walking through the park down the block.... And so just about all that could go wrong goes wrong... not only for them but for the poor animals who happen to run into them and get mercilessly slaughtered by them for no reason other than the arrogance of the human being.
March 16, 2010
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.
March 30, 2016
Had to quit reading it...I normally love books like this, but Ghinsberg and his buddies were imperialistic idiots. I've read Amazonian accounts by men in the early 20th Century that sounded less bourgeois, arrogant and racist (he refers to indigenous tribes as "savages" on more than one occasion). If you're looking to read a better book on Amazonian adventures by white guys, read The Lost City of Z or The River of Doubt.
December 27, 2021
Reading books about adventures and very brave people while laying comfortable in my bed is something I enjoy doing from time to time. Usually they are very fascinating and borderline scary at times being a real story. But this one just didn't quite work for me. Not sure why though but didn't fully connect with it
December 23, 2019
A touching, shocking, harrowing, incredible, story.
Yosseph "Yossi" Ghinsberg is an Israeli adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker based in Australia. Ghinsberg is most known for his survival story when he was stranded in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon jungle for three weeks in 1981.
Yossi tells an incredible story of survival, the shocking facts of how to survive, how hard to survive, how the body can go through so much....
One thing is for sure, well a few things, mental toughness, common sense, and purely the will to live.
A harrowing tale in the depths of the Amazon jungle gave this survivor the vision to make the world a better place.
The rain forest was deafeningly loud. All the creatures sang their song or called out under the dense canopy as leaves danced in the humid air streams. There’s so much beauty. Yossi Ghinsberg couldn’t help but admire the wonders of this eco-system. It almost distracted him from his hunger pains. It’s been weeks and he hasn’t seen any sign of civilization. The woman beside him didn’t seem as weak as he was, yes his mind
The ants didn’t seem to bite her, and her foot wasn’t being devoured by fungi like his was. It wouldn’t be until the end of his last bit of strength that the ants actually saved him. Ant bites can cause the release of hormones and steroids in the human body giving an extra push to survive. He covered himself with them, and that bit of energy saved him.
“I actually went and shook a tree and showered myself with them because my feet couldn’t carry me anymore and I needed to stand,” he says. “I showered myself with the fire ants and, on the waves of pain, I managed to get up and keep on going.” With the last shred of hope he heard the sound of an engine. When he turned around to call on the woman, it became clear she never existed. He survived the Amazon alone.
Eating it was not an easy feat, but at least it was food. He recounts his hunger, “I would have eaten human flesh. With hunger at that level, it’s just energy. It’s beyond disgust.”
The next three weeks, he roamed without supplies or equipment. Completely lost, he had to survive as best he could. Creatures and beasts tried to devour him at every turn. Ants slowly ate away the skin of his deteriorating body as hope seemed to fade away. Fire ants bite and so painfully, the reality of all the scary days and nights, the sounds, jaguar paw prints, snakes and much more, trying to sleep while been bitten to death...
At last there was a sound different from the din of the jungle — the sound of an engine. He made his way towards a river and reunited with his partner and a crew of natives that had launched rescue operations for him. They found him after three days of search and after three weeks of being stranded. He claimed a woman had kept him company. They were almost at their last bit of hope when they came upon him. He spent the next few months in recovery at a local hospital. The other two adventurers continued their journey into the jungle but were never seen or heard from again, not known at all if they survived.
After two decades, a movie was finally made, The Jungle, a feature film retelling his adventure in the Amazon starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame.
In 1993, he wrote his first book, Back from Tuichi, which sold millions of copies, gained extreme popularity in Israel, has been translated into 15 languages, and was published under a variety of names worldwide. Then in 2008, he wrote his second book, Laws of the Jungle: Jaguars Don’t Need Self-Help Books.
“The story,” he says simply, “has been a blessing in every way I can see”. This true-life adventurer and his contributions to making a better world continues to this day.
BRINGING AMAZON SURVIVAL SKILLS TO BUSINESS, HIS CAREER NOW.
Great story, four stars
Yosseph "Yossi" Ghinsberg is an Israeli adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker based in Australia. Ghinsberg is most known for his survival story when he was stranded in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon jungle for three weeks in 1981.
Yossi tells an incredible story of survival, the shocking facts of how to survive, how hard to survive, how the body can go through so much....
One thing is for sure, well a few things, mental toughness, common sense, and purely the will to live.
A harrowing tale in the depths of the Amazon jungle gave this survivor the vision to make the world a better place.
The rain forest was deafeningly loud. All the creatures sang their song or called out under the dense canopy as leaves danced in the humid air streams. There’s so much beauty. Yossi Ghinsberg couldn’t help but admire the wonders of this eco-system. It almost distracted him from his hunger pains. It’s been weeks and he hasn’t seen any sign of civilization. The woman beside him didn’t seem as weak as he was, yes his mind
The ants didn’t seem to bite her, and her foot wasn’t being devoured by fungi like his was. It wouldn’t be until the end of his last bit of strength that the ants actually saved him. Ant bites can cause the release of hormones and steroids in the human body giving an extra push to survive. He covered himself with them, and that bit of energy saved him.
“I actually went and shook a tree and showered myself with them because my feet couldn’t carry me anymore and I needed to stand,” he says. “I showered myself with the fire ants and, on the waves of pain, I managed to get up and keep on going.” With the last shred of hope he heard the sound of an engine. When he turned around to call on the woman, it became clear she never existed. He survived the Amazon alone.
Eating it was not an easy feat, but at least it was food. He recounts his hunger, “I would have eaten human flesh. With hunger at that level, it’s just energy. It’s beyond disgust.”
The next three weeks, he roamed without supplies or equipment. Completely lost, he had to survive as best he could. Creatures and beasts tried to devour him at every turn. Ants slowly ate away the skin of his deteriorating body as hope seemed to fade away. Fire ants bite and so painfully, the reality of all the scary days and nights, the sounds, jaguar paw prints, snakes and much more, trying to sleep while been bitten to death...
At last there was a sound different from the din of the jungle — the sound of an engine. He made his way towards a river and reunited with his partner and a crew of natives that had launched rescue operations for him. They found him after three days of search and after three weeks of being stranded. He claimed a woman had kept him company. They were almost at their last bit of hope when they came upon him. He spent the next few months in recovery at a local hospital. The other two adventurers continued their journey into the jungle but were never seen or heard from again, not known at all if they survived.
After two decades, a movie was finally made, The Jungle, a feature film retelling his adventure in the Amazon starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame.
In 1993, he wrote his first book, Back from Tuichi, which sold millions of copies, gained extreme popularity in Israel, has been translated into 15 languages, and was published under a variety of names worldwide. Then in 2008, he wrote his second book, Laws of the Jungle: Jaguars Don’t Need Self-Help Books.
“The story,” he says simply, “has been a blessing in every way I can see”. This true-life adventurer and his contributions to making a better world continues to this day.
BRINGING AMAZON SURVIVAL SKILLS TO BUSINESS, HIS CAREER NOW.
Great story, four stars
April 5, 2022
The version of the book I read has an introduction by Daniel Radcliffe. He plays the part of the author in the film. I have not seen the film, but I believe this is how it should be. Read the book first and then if you want to then go and see the film.
1981, Bolivia. Yossi Ghinsberg, an Israeli, has been backpacking in South America. We meet up with him in Peru where he is planning to visit Machu Picchu, but circumstances change when he meets Marcus from Switzerland, and they go off to La Paz in Bolivia. Marcus meets up with his American friend Kevin. Yossi ends up speaking to an Austrian called Karl who has been out in Bolivia for 10 years. Karl knows the jungle and says he will be their guide to a jungle trek for a price. Yossi, Marcus and Kevin agree and off they go. This is a chance for real adventure. Into the jungle to see primitive tribes and trek through unchartered territory hunting for food. It is an opportunity they cannot miss.
The issue was that the group as a whole was not working. Tensions arose and they ended up splitting. Two carried on and two decided to go back to La Paz. They were all going to go back but then Kevin decided that actually he wanted the adventure to continue so decided to carry-on. Yossi agreed to go with him but pretty quicky he wished he gone with the other two.
While reading this I watched some YouTube clips of interviews with Yossi and the ‘accident’ that would then split-up him and Kevin. The hell Yossi went through in that jungle on his own. Oh my word. Gross out fest (you can tell I’ll never get a job as a professional book reviewer). The descriptions make this a factual horror book.
Let’s just say that this book is full of twists even though it is non-fiction. Unfortunately, the writing is a bit dry and monotone which stops it from being a masterpiece of adventure storytelling. All the ingredients are there for it to be just that. The story has everything but the writing does not do it justice. Maybe I should go and watch that film.
1981, Bolivia. Yossi Ghinsberg, an Israeli, has been backpacking in South America. We meet up with him in Peru where he is planning to visit Machu Picchu, but circumstances change when he meets Marcus from Switzerland, and they go off to La Paz in Bolivia. Marcus meets up with his American friend Kevin. Yossi ends up speaking to an Austrian called Karl who has been out in Bolivia for 10 years. Karl knows the jungle and says he will be their guide to a jungle trek for a price. Yossi, Marcus and Kevin agree and off they go. This is a chance for real adventure. Into the jungle to see primitive tribes and trek through unchartered territory hunting for food. It is an opportunity they cannot miss.
The issue was that the group as a whole was not working. Tensions arose and they ended up splitting. Two carried on and two decided to go back to La Paz. They were all going to go back but then Kevin decided that actually he wanted the adventure to continue so decided to carry-on. Yossi agreed to go with him but pretty quicky he wished he gone with the other two.
While reading this I watched some YouTube clips of interviews with Yossi and the ‘accident’ that would then split-up him and Kevin. The hell Yossi went through in that jungle on his own. Oh my word. Gross out fest (you can tell I’ll never get a job as a professional book reviewer). The descriptions make this a factual horror book.
Let’s just say that this book is full of twists even though it is non-fiction. Unfortunately, the writing is a bit dry and monotone which stops it from being a masterpiece of adventure storytelling. All the ingredients are there for it to be just that. The story has everything but the writing does not do it justice. Maybe I should go and watch that film.
March 15, 2018
Protagonist so Unlikable he Bullies His Imaginary Friend:
Yet it is also one of the most intriguing stories I've read this year. Yossi is telling the true story of how he and 2 guys he met while backpacking in Bolivia hire a 4th friendly stranger to guide them through the jungle for a river ride. Of course, it was all the guide's idea. And, these crazy kids are looking for an adventure of a lifetime... and it finds them.
At first, I was shocked at what a jerk Yossi seemed to be, but he stated everything so matter-of-factly. He described his own stupid behavior as if it was someone else he was talking about. I think most people would have been ashamed to admit these things about themselves. But, the account draws you in quickly. By the time they are lost, you are almost glad to see Yoshi get his payback. Almost. Nature has its ways of exacting revenge. Then the story becomes riveting and there's no stopping. It is written in the simple language of a young adult, so not really prize-winning lit, but a warm personal memoir that is easy to read and follow.
I read the book in the Audible format narrated by Pat Young. This would certainly be the idea format to enjoy the book. Pat Young read it in a voice that sounded young and overconfident. I could have imagined this must be how Yossi himself would have sounded at that age. It was an excellent performance and I enjoyed it immensely. This was my Bolivia read for my Around the World in 80 Books Challenge for 2018.
Yet it is also one of the most intriguing stories I've read this year. Yossi is telling the true story of how he and 2 guys he met while backpacking in Bolivia hire a 4th friendly stranger to guide them through the jungle for a river ride. Of course, it was all the guide's idea. And, these crazy kids are looking for an adventure of a lifetime... and it finds them.
At first, I was shocked at what a jerk Yossi seemed to be, but he stated everything so matter-of-factly. He described his own stupid behavior as if it was someone else he was talking about. I think most people would have been ashamed to admit these things about themselves. But, the account draws you in quickly. By the time they are lost, you are almost glad to see Yoshi get his payback. Almost. Nature has its ways of exacting revenge. Then the story becomes riveting and there's no stopping. It is written in the simple language of a young adult, so not really prize-winning lit, but a warm personal memoir that is easy to read and follow.
I read the book in the Audible format narrated by Pat Young. This would certainly be the idea format to enjoy the book. Pat Young read it in a voice that sounded young and overconfident. I could have imagined this must be how Yossi himself would have sounded at that age. It was an excellent performance and I enjoyed it immensely. This was my Bolivia read for my Around the World in 80 Books Challenge for 2018.
September 29, 2020
An Israeli, an American, a Swiss and an Austrian go into the Bolivian jungle. Sounds like the opening of a bad joke. Why they decided to trust the Austrian to guide them was beyond me. He turned up wearing cowboy boots that disintegrated within days, bought no spare clothes or shoes, had a backpack that consisted on a plastic garbage bag strapped to his back, had an "uncle" they would met who was an escaped Nazi, planned to take them rafting but he could not swim and so on. So no surprise they became stuck in the jungle, then separated and the author spent 3 weeks alone trying to get to safety. Ho hum.
September 27, 2019
Normally, this is a book I’d be all over. I love this sort of survival story. However, I was shocked at not only how terrible his writing is but also how boring he could make it sound. Overall the impression I left with is this is a book about arrogant and entitled men who make one stupid decision after another.
October 27, 2022
The common denominator for adventure survival memoirs is selfishness. Also recklessness and hubris. But the selfishness is what gets me every time.
Yossi's jungle adventure is particular in that regard, because not only did this man decide to head into the jungle with little to no food, an Austrian fraud geologist and a promise of river gold. No, he also roped a bunch of other people into his crazy plan. Both men he convinced had other plans, and one of them didn't make it out of the jungle alive.
It was an all over terrible experience: 4 man, no map, a shotgun and no food. They even bought a starving dog to bring along as jaguar bait and to kick occasionally.
In short, I hate everyone in this book and the fact that the people are real makes it so much worse.
When reading books like Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer, at least all the people were consenting adults with mountaineering experience who knew the risks and made their own choices fully knowing what could go wrong. In a way, that makes it okay.
But risking your own life and also making other people to do the same and convincing them there was no risk? That's super horrible.
When pursuing self-destructive, suicidal adventures, people should do it alone or with others who know what they are doing. You wanna free solo an unhospitable rockface? Do it with other pros and not with unsuspecting tourists.
Yossi's jungle adventure is particular in that regard, because not only did this man decide to head into the jungle with little to no food, an Austrian fraud geologist and a promise of river gold. No, he also roped a bunch of other people into his crazy plan. Both men he convinced had other plans, and one of them didn't make it out of the jungle alive.
It was an all over terrible experience: 4 man, no map, a shotgun and no food. They even bought a starving dog to bring along as jaguar bait and to kick occasionally.
In short, I hate everyone in this book and the fact that the people are real makes it so much worse.
When reading books like Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer, at least all the people were consenting adults with mountaineering experience who knew the risks and made their own choices fully knowing what could go wrong. In a way, that makes it okay.
But risking your own life and also making other people to do the same and convincing them there was no risk? That's super horrible.
When pursuing self-destructive, suicidal adventures, people should do it alone or with others who know what they are doing. You wanna free solo an unhospitable rockface? Do it with other pros and not with unsuspecting tourists.
December 13, 2019
'Jungle' by Yossi Ghinsberg is a memoir of an incredible month-long trek into and out of a Bolivian jungle! The trip was originally supposed to be only a fun two-week camping and hiking experience for four adventure junkies. After the first week, things went terribly wrong. Getting out became a survival walk of solitary hell. Awful parasites, jaguars, fire ants, constant rain, a major storm, bogs, overturned rafts in fast moving streams - I was horrified and intrigued by the descriptions. Ghinsberg had only a small pack of essentials for jungle survival - mosquito net, some food, one lighter, etc. - but rough terrain, mistakes, insects and starvation almost killed him.
Everybody did not survive. It was deadly journey. Why do guys DO this to themselves?
The book was first published in 1985, revised in 2015. Yossi talks briefly about his 1981 Amazon jungle trip in a YouTube video, apparently because of the movie about his extraordinary survival, made in 2017:
https://youtu.be/kDx2fv33Ez8
Movie trailer:
https://youtu.be/Ys9si3mFqGY
The video is not very plain-spoken or explanatory about 'Jungle' (it seems a montage of jungle videos), but it gives you an idea of Ghinsberg today. The Epilogue chapter tells us he is a motivation speaker, and is a promoter for a technology curing opiate addiction. In Australia where he lives, he initiated the Alma Libre Foundation and a clinic to treat opiate addictions. Unbelievably, he still is enraptured by rainforests!
When Ghinsberg had this jungle adventure he was only twenty-one years old and a mochilero (backpacker). I didn't know there was a huge culture of mochileros and supporting businesses which supplied them with cheap places to sleep and eat, although I knew many young American people of my generation were indulging in backpacking travels during the 1970's and 1980's - mostly to southeast Asia and India. However, I guess young people from many countries, and some not so young, were traveling everywhere around the world with a pair of jeans, sneakers and a backpack wherever they felt like going. Ghinsberg, an Israeli, met an Austrian, Karl Ruchprecter (thirty-five) and an American, Kevin Gale (twenty-nine) and a Swiss, Marcus Stamm (twenty-eight) in La Paz, Bolivia. Karl offered to guide them all to the Amazon jungle. He claimed he was one of the best guides they could hire, very familiar with the Bolivian part of the Amazon. The other young men had never hiked into a real jungle before! They couldn't wait! So thrilling! They wanted to see a real Amazon native village, and Karl promised to guide them to one which was untouched by civilization.
Really? Really!
The men were very different, so under the physical stress of jungle camping they soon were disputing with each other about divisions of labor and hunting. Marcus in particular did not like the shooting and cooking of various animals. Eventually, Gale and Ghinsberg teamed up more often than not, both English speakers. Marcus became sort of the odd man out. Ghinsberg does not hide his own participation in these disputes from readers.
Questions about Karl's expertise began to percolate up into sotto voce conversations - did he know where he was going? Karl did seem to know things about hunting - but the Amazon jungle? Maybe not....
The book is well written and fascinating. It reminded me a bit of the fiction novel The Ruins, actually. The book has a lot of the same horrors, only worse, with insects as the creeping crawling horror instead of a plant. Wow. I will never set foot in a jungle. Never. No. Not.
Everybody did not survive. It was deadly journey. Why do guys DO this to themselves?
The book was first published in 1985, revised in 2015. Yossi talks briefly about his 1981 Amazon jungle trip in a YouTube video, apparently because of the movie about his extraordinary survival, made in 2017:
https://youtu.be/kDx2fv33Ez8
Movie trailer:
https://youtu.be/Ys9si3mFqGY
The video is not very plain-spoken or explanatory about 'Jungle' (it seems a montage of jungle videos), but it gives you an idea of Ghinsberg today. The Epilogue chapter tells us he is a motivation speaker, and is a promoter for a technology curing opiate addiction. In Australia where he lives, he initiated the Alma Libre Foundation and a clinic to treat opiate addictions. Unbelievably, he still is enraptured by rainforests!
When Ghinsberg had this jungle adventure he was only twenty-one years old and a mochilero (backpacker). I didn't know there was a huge culture of mochileros and supporting businesses which supplied them with cheap places to sleep and eat, although I knew many young American people of my generation were indulging in backpacking travels during the 1970's and 1980's - mostly to southeast Asia and India. However, I guess young people from many countries, and some not so young, were traveling everywhere around the world with a pair of jeans, sneakers and a backpack wherever they felt like going. Ghinsberg, an Israeli, met an Austrian, Karl Ruchprecter (thirty-five) and an American, Kevin Gale (twenty-nine) and a Swiss, Marcus Stamm (twenty-eight) in La Paz, Bolivia. Karl offered to guide them all to the Amazon jungle. He claimed he was one of the best guides they could hire, very familiar with the Bolivian part of the Amazon. The other young men had never hiked into a real jungle before! They couldn't wait! So thrilling! They wanted to see a real Amazon native village, and Karl promised to guide them to one which was untouched by civilization.
Really? Really!
The men were very different, so under the physical stress of jungle camping they soon were disputing with each other about divisions of labor and hunting. Marcus in particular did not like the shooting and cooking of various animals. Eventually, Gale and Ghinsberg teamed up more often than not, both English speakers. Marcus became sort of the odd man out. Ghinsberg does not hide his own participation in these disputes from readers.
Questions about Karl's expertise began to percolate up into sotto voce conversations - did he know where he was going? Karl did seem to know things about hunting - but the Amazon jungle? Maybe not....
The book is well written and fascinating. It reminded me a bit of the fiction novel The Ruins, actually. The book has a lot of the same horrors, only worse, with insects as the creeping crawling horror instead of a plant. Wow. I will never set foot in a jungle. Never. No. Not.
September 2, 2020
As travel destinations go, South America is hard to beat, which is why in pre-COVID time it was popular on the backpacking circuit. Yossi was one of those who was there wanting to see the sights and enjoy life for a bit. He wanted to take a trip to Macchu Pichu but after he got talking to a man called Karl, the offer of a guided trip into the Amazon Rainforest in Bolivar was discussed. He was desperate to go, and managed to find a couple of others who were interested in doing it too.
The guy leading the venture was a little bit of a maverick and said that they only had a limited amount of time as he was going to see his uncle who had a remote ranch in around a months time. They collected supplies and soon after began their trip into the jungle. To begin with, it was just what they had hoped it would be, a tough adventure that would push them to their limits. Somehow they acquired a dog on their trek, but this was left at one of the villages. They ate what they found as they walked, from game to fruits, but slowly Yossi began to realise that the places where Karl said they would be, weren’t always there. Even though there was only four of them, tensions began to rise as the group dynamic fell apart and they made the fateful decision to split up into two pairs. Yossi and Kevin get to take the raft and Karl and Marcus would make their own way back to La Paz.
They are not that experienced with the raft and when they get to a small waterfall and all hell breaks loose. The raft gets stuck on a rock and Kevin jumps free. Just as Yossi is about to get off, it breaks free and he is carried over the waterfall and falls in the water. Somehow he doesn’t drown, but loses his pack and is washed ashore. He is utterly alone and doesn’t know if he will see anyone ever again. Making a shelter is the first priority, but the machete is with Kevin so he struggles to make something suitable. He finds his pack in the morning, but it is sodden. Thankfully the dry bag inside kept some things from getting too damp.
Now he had to find his way back to civilisation.
Not only did he have almost no food, everything in the jungle seemed to want to kill him. There was a heart-stopping moment when he was face to face with a jaguar and he came across snakes a couple of times that had the potential to kill. But what almost killed him was the relentless rain and water. He nearly drowned several times, the pervasive damp turned his feet into a bloody red mess and they had developed by a fungal infection too. Then there were the leaches and the fire ants and he even managed to pick up a horrid sounding bot fly.
He was so so lucky to survive this trip, none of the locals who were helping to search for him thought that he stood a chance of surviving and the way that he was found was a miracle. Quite what happened to the other two, Karl and Marcus, is anyone’s guess, though it is likely that they perished.
It is a bit of a page-turner, especially in the latter half of the book. I am sure that he did go through the events in the books, but I thought he was an ok writer, but occasionally the narrative felt a bit too fictionalised. I was surprised that he knew just how many days he had been staggering through the jungle as I think that most people by then would be just concentrating on staying alive. It did remind me of The Backpacker by John Harris, which is another chilling story of a holiday adventure gone wrong.
The guy leading the venture was a little bit of a maverick and said that they only had a limited amount of time as he was going to see his uncle who had a remote ranch in around a months time. They collected supplies and soon after began their trip into the jungle. To begin with, it was just what they had hoped it would be, a tough adventure that would push them to their limits. Somehow they acquired a dog on their trek, but this was left at one of the villages. They ate what they found as they walked, from game to fruits, but slowly Yossi began to realise that the places where Karl said they would be, weren’t always there. Even though there was only four of them, tensions began to rise as the group dynamic fell apart and they made the fateful decision to split up into two pairs. Yossi and Kevin get to take the raft and Karl and Marcus would make their own way back to La Paz.
They are not that experienced with the raft and when they get to a small waterfall and all hell breaks loose. The raft gets stuck on a rock and Kevin jumps free. Just as Yossi is about to get off, it breaks free and he is carried over the waterfall and falls in the water. Somehow he doesn’t drown, but loses his pack and is washed ashore. He is utterly alone and doesn’t know if he will see anyone ever again. Making a shelter is the first priority, but the machete is with Kevin so he struggles to make something suitable. He finds his pack in the morning, but it is sodden. Thankfully the dry bag inside kept some things from getting too damp.
Now he had to find his way back to civilisation.
Not only did he have almost no food, everything in the jungle seemed to want to kill him. There was a heart-stopping moment when he was face to face with a jaguar and he came across snakes a couple of times that had the potential to kill. But what almost killed him was the relentless rain and water. He nearly drowned several times, the pervasive damp turned his feet into a bloody red mess and they had developed by a fungal infection too. Then there were the leaches and the fire ants and he even managed to pick up a horrid sounding bot fly.
He was so so lucky to survive this trip, none of the locals who were helping to search for him thought that he stood a chance of surviving and the way that he was found was a miracle. Quite what happened to the other two, Karl and Marcus, is anyone’s guess, though it is likely that they perished.
It is a bit of a page-turner, especially in the latter half of the book. I am sure that he did go through the events in the books, but I thought he was an ok writer, but occasionally the narrative felt a bit too fictionalised. I was surprised that he knew just how many days he had been staggering through the jungle as I think that most people by then would be just concentrating on staying alive. It did remind me of The Backpacker by John Harris, which is another chilling story of a holiday adventure gone wrong.
May 2, 2016
Three different things pulled me toward this book, and I'm going to list them, not in order of their importance to me, but in chronological order of when I learned about each. First of all, Daniel Radcliffe is currently filming the movie adaptation of the book. Second, the author and protagonist is an Israeli Jew, and third, since it's about survival in nature, I hoped it would interest my oldest son. As it turns out, my son says he doesn't want to read any books about survival in nature unless they're how-to books, but I'm glad I read it anyway. I'm completely impressed with Yossi Ghinsberg, not just because of the book, but because of what he's done with his life since then.
When the book begins, Yossi is a young man who finished his army service in Israel and is backpacking around South America. He meets up with a few other guys, including the middle-aged Karl, who dazzles him with stories of the jungle. Yossi is raring to go with him, but the two other guys take more convincing. Eventually, all four set out, with Karl as their guide.
Some sections of the beginning bored me, and vegetarians are certain to be disgusted by it because these four guys kill animals right and left. They also begin to argue, which is inevitable as their trip gets tougher. Throughout the first half, I was thinking, "This is good, but A Walk in the Woods is better. At least it made me laugh."
Then Yossi is accidentally separated from his friends. From that point on, the book is an absolute page-turner. With all the hardships he faced, it's nothing short of a miracle that Yossi survived.
And that brings me to the "religious" aspect of this book. Now, don't get me wrong. Yossi is secular. At the beginning of the book, he eats pig and even monkey right along with his friends. But in the course of the book, he tells a story that I think most religious Jews will love. When alone in the jungle, he prays to G-d all the time. The cynical interpretation of this is the classic, "There are no atheists in foxholes," but I prefer to see Yossi's entire story as the pintele Yid shining through. There's even a moment of "prophecy" in it: while indulging in fantasies to help him get through his harsh reality, Yossi imagines writing his story and it being made into a movie. And now it's coming true!
If you're a strict vegetarian or animal rights activist, you should probably skip this book. Ditto if you're a religious Jew who can't stomach the idea of a Jew eating tamei animals. But if you can look past that, you might find that Yossi has some great hashkafos. Check out his TED Talk and you'll see what I mean.
When the book begins, Yossi is a young man who finished his army service in Israel and is backpacking around South America. He meets up with a few other guys, including the middle-aged Karl, who dazzles him with stories of the jungle. Yossi is raring to go with him, but the two other guys take more convincing. Eventually, all four set out, with Karl as their guide.
Some sections of the beginning bored me, and vegetarians are certain to be disgusted by it because these four guys kill animals right and left. They also begin to argue, which is inevitable as their trip gets tougher. Throughout the first half, I was thinking, "This is good, but A Walk in the Woods is better. At least it made me laugh."
Then Yossi is accidentally separated from his friends. From that point on, the book is an absolute page-turner. With all the hardships he faced, it's nothing short of a miracle that Yossi survived.
And that brings me to the "religious" aspect of this book. Now, don't get me wrong. Yossi is secular. At the beginning of the book, he eats pig and even monkey right along with his friends. But in the course of the book, he tells a story that I think most religious Jews will love. When alone in the jungle, he prays to G-d all the time. The cynical interpretation of this is the classic, "There are no atheists in foxholes," but I prefer to see Yossi's entire story as the pintele Yid shining through. There's even a moment of "prophecy" in it: while indulging in fantasies to help him get through his harsh reality, Yossi imagines writing his story and it being made into a movie. And now it's coming true!
If you're a strict vegetarian or animal rights activist, you should probably skip this book. Ditto if you're a religious Jew who can't stomach the idea of a Jew eating tamei animals. But if you can look past that, you might find that Yossi has some great hashkafos. Check out his TED Talk and you'll see what I mean.
December 2, 2020
DNF at page 100.
Good grief, what book were all these other raters reading? The writing is so basic and clunky. The level of writing is comparable to a junior high student. At 100 pages in nothing had happened. I flipped through 30 more pages, still nothing.
This just isn’t the “harrowing” tale I expected. Just take me to the jungle right away. I don’t care about all this irrelevant stuff that happened beforehand. I’m not invested in this guy or any of his fellow travelers because we get no internal insight on the writer. It’s like “this happened, then this happened, and then this happened, some lengthy bit about something that is irrelevant, some unnatural dialogue here, another tangent here, then this happened, irrelevant tangent, okay, we’re heading to the jungle and this is page 100.”
This book probably should’ve been half the length and gotten to the story way sooner. It was so bad I couldn’t even force myself to keep going to find out what the harrowing parts were. The writing feels so forced and the dialogue feels robotic, meaning these don’t sound like words that were spoken. Maybe I’ll watch the movie?
Also, he writes stuff like “retarded looking dwarf” and “he looked retarded.” He has sex with a girl but then says he never contacts her again because he doesn’t feel like it. Okay? 🙄 Unlikeable dude all around.
Good grief, what book were all these other raters reading? The writing is so basic and clunky. The level of writing is comparable to a junior high student. At 100 pages in nothing had happened. I flipped through 30 more pages, still nothing.
This just isn’t the “harrowing” tale I expected. Just take me to the jungle right away. I don’t care about all this irrelevant stuff that happened beforehand. I’m not invested in this guy or any of his fellow travelers because we get no internal insight on the writer. It’s like “this happened, then this happened, and then this happened, some lengthy bit about something that is irrelevant, some unnatural dialogue here, another tangent here, then this happened, irrelevant tangent, okay, we’re heading to the jungle and this is page 100.”
This book probably should’ve been half the length and gotten to the story way sooner. It was so bad I couldn’t even force myself to keep going to find out what the harrowing parts were. The writing feels so forced and the dialogue feels robotic, meaning these don’t sound like words that were spoken. Maybe I’ll watch the movie?
Also, he writes stuff like “retarded looking dwarf” and “he looked retarded.” He has sex with a girl but then says he never contacts her again because he doesn’t feel like it. Okay? 🙄 Unlikeable dude all around.
April 6, 2021
Not only horribly written, but screams fraud. How does someone who has no food for 21 days use the only food he has as a pillow, instead of eating it? How does someone who is so obviously not experienced with the backcountry manage to find so much food everywhere he goes? He finds bird eggs every day?! Why is there no info on the internet about this ordeal? It's like this Yossi has carefully cultivated his media image. I don't know if the entire book is a fraud or if he really did get lost in the jungle. But if you're interested in reading about a guy having amphetamine delusions while he is supposedly starving but not eating his only food, this book is for you.
December 13, 2019
I was hoping for something much better, like The Lost Citt of Z or The Lost Girls but this was Animal cruelty, bad writing, stupid decisions, hunting exotic game, etc. pass.
January 28, 2021
For Yossi, what starts off as a backpacking trip through Peru and Bolivia soon turns into a fight to stay alive in the Amazonian jungle and river. Yossi meets two guys, Marcus and Kevin, and a guide, Karl, who manages to convince the three into going on the adventure of a lifetime on a trip through the Amazon. He lures them with the promise of living the jungle experience, seeing tribes firsthand, and traveling on the river.
Karl takes care of the group's needs from the start of the trip. He hunts, builds shelter wherever they stop for the night, teaches them how to survive in the jungle and on the river, and keeps their spirits going. Yossi and Kevin are lazy and feel spoiled by Karl, which angers Marcus because he feels the guys treat Karl like he is their servant. Soon, Yossi and Kevin start to feel a rift between themselves and Marcus. They get easily exasperated with Marcus and his neediness.
Yossi and Kevin don't take the seriousness of Karl's warnings about the power of the river and it's evident once the group sets out on a raft. Karl basically helps maneuver the raft to safety all on his own after seeing the inexperience of all three in keeping the raft from being swept away or tossed by the strong current. Kevin adds to the problem by thinking he doesn't have to listen to Karl because he feels Karl doesn't know anything about rafting. Not wanting to go any further as the river is coming to a very dangerous pass that not even experienced rafters would venture, Karl tells the group he is going back. Yossi and Kevin decide to continue on their journey while Marcus leaves with Karl.
Just like Karl warned them, the guys see the brute force of the river for themselves. They are thrown into a rock and separated. Kevin manages to make it to shore but Yossi gets swept away over a fall that he miraculously survives. Yossi is now on his own as he tries to survive in the jungle, meet up with Kevin, and get back to civilization.
I was very gripped by Yossi's story of survival. By the end of the story, we find out that
Yossi and Kevin were somewhat cocky at the beginning of their trip, but they were also young and wanted to go on an adventure they would remember for the rest of their lives. Remember they will but for all the wrong reasons. The one main lesson here is not to underestimate mother nature. On the positive side is the resilience to survive and even when people think they cannot go on anymore, they can still find that small fight left inside of them that will push them forward.
Karl takes care of the group's needs from the start of the trip. He hunts, builds shelter wherever they stop for the night, teaches them how to survive in the jungle and on the river, and keeps their spirits going. Yossi and Kevin are lazy and feel spoiled by Karl, which angers Marcus because he feels the guys treat Karl like he is their servant. Soon, Yossi and Kevin start to feel a rift between themselves and Marcus. They get easily exasperated with Marcus and his neediness.
Yossi and Kevin don't take the seriousness of Karl's warnings about the power of the river and it's evident once the group sets out on a raft. Karl basically helps maneuver the raft to safety all on his own after seeing the inexperience of all three in keeping the raft from being swept away or tossed by the strong current. Kevin adds to the problem by thinking he doesn't have to listen to Karl because he feels Karl doesn't know anything about rafting. Not wanting to go any further as the river is coming to a very dangerous pass that not even experienced rafters would venture, Karl tells the group he is going back. Yossi and Kevin decide to continue on their journey while Marcus leaves with Karl.
Just like Karl warned them, the guys see the brute force of the river for themselves. They are thrown into a rock and separated. Kevin manages to make it to shore but Yossi gets swept away over a fall that he miraculously survives. Yossi is now on his own as he tries to survive in the jungle, meet up with Kevin, and get back to civilization.
I was very gripped by Yossi's story of survival. By the end of the story, we find out that
Yossi and Kevin were somewhat cocky at the beginning of their trip, but they were also young and wanted to go on an adventure they would remember for the rest of their lives. Remember they will but for all the wrong reasons. The one main lesson here is not to underestimate mother nature. On the positive side is the resilience to survive and even when people think they cannot go on anymore, they can still find that small fight left inside of them that will push them forward.
July 27, 2012
Yossi Ghinsberg's "Lost in the Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival" tells the story of Ghinsberg's trip into the Bolivian jungle and his three weeks surviving alone after being separated from his friends. As a survival story, it is pretty amazing as Ghinsberg survives starvation, jaguars, torrential rains and bugs before he is rescued. In that way the story is compelling. However, it was difficult to like the book because I so disliked Yossi -- who created a good portion of his own troubles and fell in with someone who was very obviously at best a con man. He appears to feel little remorse about one of his comrades, who was likely murdered (an idea that Ghinsberg doesn't even seem to entertain...) My dislike for the narrator definitely lessened my enjoyment of this book.
May 29, 2016
picked up this book in search of a nail biting adventure, instead I received a mind blowing, badly written, boring journal. I would rather read an account of someone who ventured into Walmart Asda to buy a pickled egg. I am shocked in regards to the authors lack of descriptive writing and to why he needs to literate boring details, such as eating a cucumber. it's as if a seven year old has written it...
February 7, 2016
Seemed like a work of fiction. No one to back up the story and just seemed made up.
April 7, 2023
Gotta vent about this one.
I read this solely because I liked the movie and wanted to learn more details about it.
Yossi in the movie: fine. Manipulative, but fine.
Yossi describing his experience throughout the book: INFURIATING!
Why is no one SCREAMING MARCUS’S name and discussing the injustice done to him? His friends turned against him within days like some sort of 12-year-old chick clique. He is described as being this lively, energetic, soulful human but the moment they begin their treck that becomes a bad thing and he deserves to get shunned? To get judged when he talks to the only person who will hold a conversation with him (Karl)? “Aw look at him going and running to his poppa,” PROBABLY BECAUSE HIS TWO BEST FRIENDS ARE ACTIVELY EXCLUDING HIM AND BEING SHORT WITH HIM?? I can understand that when you’re under extreme stress, as they were just hiking through the jungle as a team, and getting irritated, but talk your shit through for goodness sake. If your friendship means anything to you at all lol.
The part that really has set me off is how, at the end of the book, Yossi is describing what could have happened to Marcus and Karl and he has the GALL to say that if Karl had gotten injured, since Marcus was “ill, sick and downhearted he wouldn’t have survived in the jungle alone”. DOWNHEARTED. D O W N H E A R T E D. SORRY? I thought he was living, energetic and soulful but now you’re assuming his mood would be downhearted without taking accountability for the fact that you could have, maybe, potentially had something to do with that??? Maybe a month of being ignored could make you sad??? Maybe you wouldn’t be in the best mood going into the rest of the hike??? But no let’s still throw digs at his attitude and assume he wouldn’t have been able to make it, which you have no way of knowing what he’s capable of because you had no faith in him to begin with. Of course, if it was Kevin out with Karl he would have definitely survived because he is big strong man, strong as three men! Strong guy. (Please detect my sarcasm) But Marcus? Maybe treat your missing friends name a little more appropriately. Acknowledge how you felt in the moment but show some sort of remorse for your actions.
Obviously we’ll never know what happened to Marcus. If he had been separated from Karl, depending on what supplies he had I like to think that he could have survived for a while. But I like to assume it was a natural accident and that his soul is resting peacefully.
That’s my rant.
It’s getting a 2 because it does take a lot to be able to survive that, but the writing was amateur at best and I expected more respect towards Marcus.
I read this solely because I liked the movie and wanted to learn more details about it.
Yossi in the movie: fine. Manipulative, but fine.
Yossi describing his experience throughout the book: INFURIATING!
Why is no one SCREAMING MARCUS’S name and discussing the injustice done to him? His friends turned against him within days like some sort of 12-year-old chick clique. He is described as being this lively, energetic, soulful human but the moment they begin their treck that becomes a bad thing and he deserves to get shunned? To get judged when he talks to the only person who will hold a conversation with him (Karl)? “Aw look at him going and running to his poppa,” PROBABLY BECAUSE HIS TWO BEST FRIENDS ARE ACTIVELY EXCLUDING HIM AND BEING SHORT WITH HIM?? I can understand that when you’re under extreme stress, as they were just hiking through the jungle as a team, and getting irritated, but talk your shit through for goodness sake. If your friendship means anything to you at all lol.
The part that really has set me off is how, at the end of the book, Yossi is describing what could have happened to Marcus and Karl and he has the GALL to say that if Karl had gotten injured, since Marcus was “ill, sick and downhearted he wouldn’t have survived in the jungle alone”. DOWNHEARTED. D O W N H E A R T E D. SORRY? I thought he was living, energetic and soulful but now you’re assuming his mood would be downhearted without taking accountability for the fact that you could have, maybe, potentially had something to do with that??? Maybe a month of being ignored could make you sad??? Maybe you wouldn’t be in the best mood going into the rest of the hike??? But no let’s still throw digs at his attitude and assume he wouldn’t have been able to make it, which you have no way of knowing what he’s capable of because you had no faith in him to begin with. Of course, if it was Kevin out with Karl he would have definitely survived because he is big strong man, strong as three men! Strong guy. (Please detect my sarcasm) But Marcus? Maybe treat your missing friends name a little more appropriately. Acknowledge how you felt in the moment but show some sort of remorse for your actions.
Obviously we’ll never know what happened to Marcus. If he had been separated from Karl, depending on what supplies he had I like to think that he could have survived for a while. But I like to assume it was a natural accident and that his soul is resting peacefully.
That’s my rant.
It’s getting a 2 because it does take a lot to be able to survive that, but the writing was amateur at best and I expected more respect towards Marcus.
July 19, 2009
"Jungle" is a wonderful, thrill ride of a book. Its the true story of Yossi, a young man just out of the Israeli army who is traveling around South America after his tour of duty. I can easily picture him, backpack and guide book in hand, striking up conversations with people at hostels and in bars as many travelers are wont to do.
His travel plans get changed when he meets a man in Peru: Marcus. Marcus convinces him that instead of heading to Machu Picchu he should go to Boliva, with Marcus, instead. There they meet two other people, a new travel companion Kevin and a more odd, strange man, Karl, who offers them a chance of a lifetime; a hike into the jungle.
Now for people who travel, you man be amazed that Yossi and his friends would travel into the Amazon without first wondering about their guide, maybe do a little research to see if he has, I dunno, killed someone or if he's even who he claims to be. Especially when the "cost" goes from free to a few hundred dollars. But no, our protagonist is blissfully aware of nothing. There are many moments in this book where I wanted to shake him and go "stop that! Haven't you read at least one guidebook's scam section?" This is the second dumbest thing you can do! (the first is fighting a land war in Asia).
The book details their trek, their getting lost and separated, and finally the outcome. Yossi is a very good writer, his words kept me glued to the book and I found myself drawn into his struggle to survive. I also learned that peeing on yourself in the jungle is a really bad thing - a life lesson I hope to never put into practice.
If you are looking for a quick, fun and exciting read, this is a book for you.
His travel plans get changed when he meets a man in Peru: Marcus. Marcus convinces him that instead of heading to Machu Picchu he should go to Boliva, with Marcus, instead. There they meet two other people, a new travel companion Kevin and a more odd, strange man, Karl, who offers them a chance of a lifetime; a hike into the jungle.
Now for people who travel, you man be amazed that Yossi and his friends would travel into the Amazon without first wondering about their guide, maybe do a little research to see if he has, I dunno, killed someone or if he's even who he claims to be. Especially when the "cost" goes from free to a few hundred dollars. But no, our protagonist is blissfully aware of nothing. There are many moments in this book where I wanted to shake him and go "stop that! Haven't you read at least one guidebook's scam section?" This is the second dumbest thing you can do! (the first is fighting a land war in Asia).
The book details their trek, their getting lost and separated, and finally the outcome. Yossi is a very good writer, his words kept me glued to the book and I found myself drawn into his struggle to survive. I also learned that peeing on yourself in the jungle is a really bad thing - a life lesson I hope to never put into practice.
If you are looking for a quick, fun and exciting read, this is a book for you.
June 9, 2023
Jungle was an incredible story of a bunch of well-intentioned but naïve young guys jumping in head-first; way out of their depth. I am usually a fan of books like this (for better or worse), and this one didn't disappoint.
Author Yosseph "Yossi" Ghinsberg (Hebrew: יוסי גינסברג) is an Israeli adventurer, writer, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker, now based in Byron Bay, Australia.
Yossi Ghinsberg:
The presentation of this one was well done. It reads like a movie. I am very particular about how readable I find a book, and thankfully this one passed muster here. It has a great flow.
This book is the basis for the 2017 movie of the same name, with Daniel Radcliffe playing Ghinsberg.
Without giving away any spoilers, the story follows the author as he travels to South America. There he meets Markus Stamm. The two travel together to La Paz, Bolivia. There, Yossi met Karl Ruprechter, a mysterious Austrian who claimed to be a geologist. Ruprechter told Ghinsberg that he was planning an expedition into the uncharted Amazon in Bolivia, in search of gold in a remote, indigenous Tacana village.
Yossi caught the adventure bug and wanted to explore the mysterious areas of the Amazon. So, he took Karl up on the offer, and they were soon joined by two of Yossi's new acquaintances; Marcus Stamm, and Kevin Gale, an American photographer. The four newly-acquainted friends embarked into the Bolivian jungle, seeking gold.
Unfortunately, disaster strikes in the middle of the trip and leaves Yossi in a life-or-death struggle. I'll include a summary of this wild story, which can be found here; mainly for my own future reference.
At the heart of this story is who exactly was Karl Ruprechter?? He told the other three guys that he was a geologist before they embarked. He read a letter to Yossi, claiming to have a land-owning ex-Nazi uncle who wanted to bequeath him his ranch. He offered to guide them along the journey, and provide for them while they went on it. But what were his true motivations? And was he who he said he was? Yossi eventually says this of Karl:
In the book's epilogue, Yossi says this about Karl and Marcus:
Although this was a really good book, I will note that some of the recounting of Yossi's wandering mind fantasies were a bit too extensive, and added no real value to the story, other than adding pages to the book.
A minor gripe; this was still a hell of a story.
***********************
I really enjoyed this one. Although I am admittedly a bit of a sucker for books about ill-equipped morons embarking on journeys that are clearly and objectively ridiculously dangerous.
I would recommend it to anyone interested.
5 stars.
Author Yosseph "Yossi" Ghinsberg (Hebrew: יוסי גינסברג) is an Israeli adventurer, writer, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker, now based in Byron Bay, Australia.
Yossi Ghinsberg:
The presentation of this one was well done. It reads like a movie. I am very particular about how readable I find a book, and thankfully this one passed muster here. It has a great flow.
This book is the basis for the 2017 movie of the same name, with Daniel Radcliffe playing Ghinsberg.
Without giving away any spoilers, the story follows the author as he travels to South America. There he meets Markus Stamm. The two travel together to La Paz, Bolivia. There, Yossi met Karl Ruprechter, a mysterious Austrian who claimed to be a geologist. Ruprechter told Ghinsberg that he was planning an expedition into the uncharted Amazon in Bolivia, in search of gold in a remote, indigenous Tacana village.
Yossi caught the adventure bug and wanted to explore the mysterious areas of the Amazon. So, he took Karl up on the offer, and they were soon joined by two of Yossi's new acquaintances; Marcus Stamm, and Kevin Gale, an American photographer. The four newly-acquainted friends embarked into the Bolivian jungle, seeking gold.
Unfortunately, disaster strikes in the middle of the trip and leaves Yossi in a life-or-death struggle. I'll include a summary of this wild story, which can be found here; mainly for my own future reference.
At the heart of this story is who exactly was Karl Ruprechter?? He told the other three guys that he was a geologist before they embarked. He read a letter to Yossi, claiming to have a land-owning ex-Nazi uncle who wanted to bequeath him his ranch. He offered to guide them along the journey, and provide for them while they went on it. But what were his true motivations? And was he who he said he was? Yossi eventually says this of Karl:
In the book's epilogue, Yossi says this about Karl and Marcus:
Although this was a really good book, I will note that some of the recounting of Yossi's wandering mind fantasies were a bit too extensive, and added no real value to the story, other than adding pages to the book.
A minor gripe; this was still a hell of a story.
***********************
I really enjoyed this one. Although I am admittedly a bit of a sucker for books about ill-equipped morons embarking on journeys that are clearly and objectively ridiculously dangerous.
I would recommend it to anyone interested.
5 stars.
July 14, 2018
I like the non-fiction, lost in the jungle, adventures.
Yossi’s story captivated me from page one.
I actually shed a few tears, despite knowing that he (obviously) survived.
Yossi’s story captivated me from page one.
I actually shed a few tears, despite knowing that he (obviously) survived.
April 18, 2020
Jungle is a captivating book for explorers; not just of the physical world, but also of the mind.
A touching, shocking, incredible story. The kind of experience that’ll make you hold your breath.
Yosseph ”Yossi" Ghinsberg is an Israeli adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker based in Australia. Ghinsberg is most known for his survival story when he was stranded in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon jungle for three weeks in 1981.
Yossi tells an incredible story of survival, a harrowing tale in the depths of the Amazon jungle gave this survivor the vision to make the world a better place.
The rain forest was deafeningly loud. All the creatures sang their song or called out under the dense canopy as leaves danced in the humid air streams. There’s so much beauty. Yossi Ghinsberg couldn’t help but admire the wonders of this eco-system. It almost distracted him from his hunger pains.
It’s been weeks and he hasn’t seen any sign of civilization. The woman beside him didn’t seem as weak as he was, the ants didn’t seem to bite her, and her foot wasn’t being devoured by fungi like his was.
It wouldn’t be until the end of his last bit of strength that the ants actually saved him. Ant bites can cause the release of hormones and steroids in the human body giving an extra push to survive. He covered himself with them, and that bit of energy saved him. “I actually went and shook a tree and showered myself with them because my feet couldn’t carry me anymore and I needed to stand,” he says. “I showered myself with the fire ants and, on the waves of pain, I managed to get up and keep on going.” With the last shred of hope he heard the sound of an engine. When he turned around to call on the woman, it became clear she never existed. He survived the Amazon alone. He recounts his hunger, “I would have eaten human flesh. With hunger at that level, it’s just energy. It’s beyond disgust.”
The next three weeks, he roamed without supplies or equipment. Completely lost, losing his will to survive. Creatures and beasts tried to devour him at every turn. Ants slowly ate away the skin of his deteriorating body as hope seemed to fade away. Fire ants bite and so painfully, the reality of all the scary days and nights, the sounds, jaguar paw prints, snakes, trying to sleep while being bitten to death and so much more...
At last there was a sound different from the din of the jungle — the sound of an engine. He made his way towards a river and reunited with his partner and a crew of natives that had launched rescue operations for him. They found him after three days of search and after three weeks of being stranded. He claimed a woman had kept him company. They were almost at their last bit of hope when they came upon him. He spent the next few months in recovery at a local hospital.
The other two adventurers continued their journey into the jungle but were never seen or heard from again, not known at all if they survived.
A touching, shocking, incredible story. The kind of experience that’ll make you hold your breath.
Yosseph ”Yossi" Ghinsberg is an Israeli adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker based in Australia. Ghinsberg is most known for his survival story when he was stranded in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon jungle for three weeks in 1981.
Yossi tells an incredible story of survival, a harrowing tale in the depths of the Amazon jungle gave this survivor the vision to make the world a better place.
The rain forest was deafeningly loud. All the creatures sang their song or called out under the dense canopy as leaves danced in the humid air streams. There’s so much beauty. Yossi Ghinsberg couldn’t help but admire the wonders of this eco-system. It almost distracted him from his hunger pains.
It’s been weeks and he hasn’t seen any sign of civilization. The woman beside him didn’t seem as weak as he was, the ants didn’t seem to bite her, and her foot wasn’t being devoured by fungi like his was.
It wouldn’t be until the end of his last bit of strength that the ants actually saved him. Ant bites can cause the release of hormones and steroids in the human body giving an extra push to survive. He covered himself with them, and that bit of energy saved him. “I actually went and shook a tree and showered myself with them because my feet couldn’t carry me anymore and I needed to stand,” he says. “I showered myself with the fire ants and, on the waves of pain, I managed to get up and keep on going.” With the last shred of hope he heard the sound of an engine. When he turned around to call on the woman, it became clear she never existed. He survived the Amazon alone. He recounts his hunger, “I would have eaten human flesh. With hunger at that level, it’s just energy. It’s beyond disgust.”
The next three weeks, he roamed without supplies or equipment. Completely lost, losing his will to survive. Creatures and beasts tried to devour him at every turn. Ants slowly ate away the skin of his deteriorating body as hope seemed to fade away. Fire ants bite and so painfully, the reality of all the scary days and nights, the sounds, jaguar paw prints, snakes, trying to sleep while being bitten to death and so much more...
At last there was a sound different from the din of the jungle — the sound of an engine. He made his way towards a river and reunited with his partner and a crew of natives that had launched rescue operations for him. They found him after three days of search and after three weeks of being stranded. He claimed a woman had kept him company. They were almost at their last bit of hope when they came upon him. He spent the next few months in recovery at a local hospital.
The other two adventurers continued their journey into the jungle but were never seen or heard from again, not known at all if they survived.
March 11, 2025
Wow, absolutely gripped me from the beginning.
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