Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, 1851-1852

by William Lewis Herndon, Gary Kinder (Editor)

In 1857, Captain William Lewis Herndon sacrificed his life trying to save 600 passengers and crew when his ship foundered in a hurricane off the Carolina coast. Memorialized in Gary Kinder's best-selling book Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Herndon, with this final courageous act, epitomized a lifetime of heroism. Seven years earlier, the secretary of the Navy had appointed Herndon to lead the first American expedition into the Amazon Valley.Herndon departed Lima, Peru, on May 20, 1851, and arrived at Para, Brazil, nearly a year later, traveling 4,000 miles by foot, mule, canoe, and small boat. He cataloged the scientific and commercial observations requested by Congress, but he filed his report as a narrative, creating an intimate portrait of an exotic land before the outside world rushed in.

Herndon's report so far surpassed his superiors' expectations that instead of printing the obligatory few hundred copies for Congress, the secretary of the Navy ordered 10,000 copies in the first print run; three months later, he ordered 20,000 more. Herndon described his adventures with such insight, such compassion and wit, and such literary grace that he came to symbolize the new spirit of exploration and discovery sweeping mid-nineteenth century America.

For the next hundred years, Herndon's report languished out of print before being revived briefly in 1951. Now, for the first time in nearly fifty years, Gary Kinder and Grove Press bring to readers one of the greatest chronicles of travel and exploration ever written.

Genres: Travel, History, Nonfiction, Brazil, American History

Hardcover

First published November 30, 1852

About the author

William Lewis Herndon led a United States expedition to the Valley of the Amazon IN 1851.

He died while serving as commander of the Atlantic Mail Steamship Company steamer SS Central America during a hurricane going down with his ship.

His brother erected the Herndon Memorial on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ignore the blurb, which is essentially an ad for editor Kinder's own book about a famous shipwreck. This isn't a popular history but in fact an edited republication of naval officer Herndon's widely-read contemporary account of his travels in the 1850s.

Herndon is happily naval-officering along on en route to the Sandwich Islands when he unexpectedly receives new orders, telling him to leave his ship at the next port (Valparaiso) and go explore the Amazon river.

The government desires to be put in possession of certain information relating to the valley of the river Amazon, in which term is included the entire basin... and its tributaries.
This desire extends not only to the present condition of that valley, with regard to the navigability of its streams; to the the number and condition, both industrial and social, of its inhabitants, their trade and products; its climate, soil, and productions, but also to its capacities for cultivation, and to the character and extent of its undeveloped commercial resources.
...The route by which you may reach the Amazon river is left to your discretion.

So off he goes! In addition to the comprehensive economic and navigational information he was sent to obtain (which Kinder edits out almost entirely!) Herndon also recorded his observations on local cultures, imperialist practices, social injustices, personalities of people he interacted with, poetry he liked, illness, personal musings and homesickness. I really do wonder what the naval authorities who gave him the assignment thought when they read it.

[Holly Lindquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

This account of one of the first explorations of the Amazon Valley was an instant bestseller when it was published in the 1850s. In fact, it so fired the American imagination that a young Sam Clemens quit his job and set out for the wilds of Brazil. Fortunately for posterity, he only made it to the end of the Mississippi and embarked upon a writing career instead.
Upon reading Herndon's travelogue myself, I can't say that I was particularly enthralled.. as exploration accounts go, it's not bad. It's just not what it could be. Also, Herndon is suffering from a particularly obnoxious case of manifest destiny. "Just think what we could do with the local resources, if we could just get these pesky Indians out of the way!"

[Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early exploration was controlled by politics, much like today!

[Joel Mellish · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty tough slog. Though the journey was and remains impressive, and it must have taken an incredible amount of fortitude to complete, while still writing a balanced and optimistic account, I find it a little bit hard to look past this guy's obsession with Manifest Destiny while completely lacking empathy for any other non-white creature around him. Paraphrased excerpts: "We saw so many beautiful animals and birds today! And we shot them all!" "the Natives are terrible and lazy, and should be subjugated or killed!" "Let's bulldoze this place and turn it into another American shit-hole!"

In the scope of the adventure, wow. Amazing.

Broadly speaking, this confirms my viewpoint that everything and everyone from the past were terrible.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author explored the Andes and the Amazon Rivere 170 years ago. He kept a journal. This is it all done under the auspices of the United States Government. The book is filled with wonderful facts about the life of the Indians, the Spanish and the Portuguese. Americans looked upon the world as a place to exploit and the Indians as lazy drunkards. I am not quite certain all this time in the future that we truly see the world any differently.

[Darryl Updegrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read.

[Bruce Reiter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way hard read because of the style. A plodding look at what once was the Amazon Basin.

[David Vanness]

My copy same cover library edition 343 pages.