What do you think?
Rate this book
In the Heart of the Amazon Forest
One of the most impressive of all Victorian scientists but also a marvelous writer, Bates' (1825-1892) account of his years in the upper reaches of the Amazon is almost too good to be true - a great monument to human inquisitiveness as he battles great hoards of malevolent reptiles and insects in his quest for ever more obscure specimens on ever more narrow and creeper-choked tributaries. "Great Journeys" allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries - but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding great civilizations, walls of ice, violent and implacable jungles, deserts and mountains, and multitudes of birds and flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.
108 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1863
6 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
About the author
Henry Walter Bates
129 books5 followersAfter British naturalist Henry Walter Bates, a palatable or harmless species of insects especially in Batesian mimicry, a protective form, closely resembles one that predators therefore avoid.
This fellow of royal, Linnean, and geological societies and an English explorer gave the first scientific account in animals. He started his most famous expedition to the rainforests of the Amazon River with Alfred Russel Wallace in 1848. Wallace returned in 1852 but lost his collection on the return voyage, when his ship caught fire. Bates sent back more than 14,712 samples, including eight thousand new scientific specimens, and after a full eleven years arrived home in 1859. Bates wrote up his findings in The Naturalist on the River Amazons , his best-known work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_W...
This fellow of royal, Linnean, and geological societies and an English explorer gave the first scientific account in animals. He started his most famous expedition to the rainforests of the Amazon River with Alfred Russel Wallace in 1848. Wallace returned in 1852 but lost his collection on the return voyage, when his ship caught fire. Bates sent back more than 14,712 samples, including eight thousand new scientific specimens, and after a full eleven years arrived home in 1859. Bates wrote up his findings in The Naturalist on the River Amazons , his best-known work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_W...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 10, 2022
Cool section on ants but I couldnt get past him eating all the species he discovered
December 8, 2009
Intrepid explorer and naturalist Walter Henry Bates wanders around the upper reaches of the Amazon for 11 years and this is an account of some of his experiences.
He canoes up and down the Amazon and its tributaries with various natives as his companions and battles alligators and jaguars all the while. He gathers many hundreds of specimens of insects never before recorded and eventually ships them all back to England in three different ships, in case of any loss. And there is an extensive account of many of the species that he finds with a particular funny story about a toucan.
At the same time he learns hunting skills to provide food, spearing fish and gathering precious turtle's eggs while most of the time sleeping under the stars, often in monsoon conditions. It certainly was quite an achievement in mid-Victorian times but he obviously enjoyed it for when he returned home he was sorrowful about leaving behind "a country of perpetual summer", where his life had been spent "like that of three-fourths of the people - in gypsy fashion", for "gloomy winters and long grey twilights".
A truly fascinating account of an intrepid Victorian; I must find the full length version one day!
He canoes up and down the Amazon and its tributaries with various natives as his companions and battles alligators and jaguars all the while. He gathers many hundreds of specimens of insects never before recorded and eventually ships them all back to England in three different ships, in case of any loss. And there is an extensive account of many of the species that he finds with a particular funny story about a toucan.
At the same time he learns hunting skills to provide food, spearing fish and gathering precious turtle's eggs while most of the time sleeping under the stars, often in monsoon conditions. It certainly was quite an achievement in mid-Victorian times but he obviously enjoyed it for when he returned home he was sorrowful about leaving behind "a country of perpetual summer", where his life had been spent "like that of three-fourths of the people - in gypsy fashion", for "gloomy winters and long grey twilights".
A truly fascinating account of an intrepid Victorian; I must find the full length version one day!
January 21, 2021
I’ve read a fair number of books of this type in recent years (travel/nature books) and for the most part have really enjoyed them, even when they dragged on a little dryly. I wanted to love this one too, but I just didn’t. The only thing I can think is that maybe it was TOO abridged? I had thought that in this case brevity would be nice - only the highlights, you know - but I just left feeling like I didn’t know Bates or why he was there or what motivated him or anything. So maybe I’ll try to read him in his entirety. The only question is, download a free public domain version, or the buy the illustrated hardcover facsimile? Hmm...
February 9, 2022
This book is essentially a piece of travel writing from the 1850s, when Bates visited the Amazon Rainforest and wrote about his experiences there. Because of the time in which it was written, it’s a fascinating insight into both nature and history, and so it’s worth reading if only for that.
It’s also an excerpt from a longer work, and so I think it made for a great introduction to what Bates is all about and would make it easy for people who wanted to learn a little more. Good stuff!
It’s also an excerpt from a longer work, and so I think it made for a great introduction to what Bates is all about and would make it easy for people who wanted to learn a little more. Good stuff!
September 6, 2015
This Penguin Great Journeys book Bates' The Naturalist on the River Amazons, 1863.
My pet hate with books of excerpts is when the contain sentences like "as mentioned in an earlier section" or "as I will cover in more detail later" and the referred parts are not in the excerpt. There are a couple of these in here. I don't know why they don't just edit the sentence out, it would not effect the context and remove the frustration.
Anyhow, despite how long this took me to finish (it was a read at work book, and when work gets busy, lunchtimes are cancelled, as it has been for a couple of weeks), is is a short book of 108 pages. It is an interesting book, concentrating mostly on describing of animals and birds (turtles feature heavily, alligators, toucans, bats and ants are the main topics, with some good general descriptions of the habitats and environment too. The book went a long way to dispell misconceptions about animals, where poor conclusions had been earlier reached (by others) or assumptions had been made, or pure misinformation meant that what was commonly 'known' about certain animals was incorrect. This added interest to the provision of new information.
My reason this only got the three stars, and not more was that the writing style was so measured and consistent. There was no building to a revelation, no changes in pace and no excitement portrayed. It was written very factually, and was interesting, but was ultimately easy to put down. It read as a education rather than an entertainment, and in my opinion it would have been better as both. There was certainly enough happening on his travels to entertain. FWIW it would have been 3.5 stars if we were allowed halves.
Still worth the read, just try not to spread it out across 2 weeks!
My pet hate with books of excerpts is when the contain sentences like "as mentioned in an earlier section" or "as I will cover in more detail later" and the referred parts are not in the excerpt. There are a couple of these in here. I don't know why they don't just edit the sentence out, it would not effect the context and remove the frustration.
Anyhow, despite how long this took me to finish (it was a read at work book, and when work gets busy, lunchtimes are cancelled, as it has been for a couple of weeks), is is a short book of 108 pages. It is an interesting book, concentrating mostly on describing of animals and birds (turtles feature heavily, alligators, toucans, bats and ants are the main topics, with some good general descriptions of the habitats and environment too. The book went a long way to dispell misconceptions about animals, where poor conclusions had been earlier reached (by others) or assumptions had been made, or pure misinformation meant that what was commonly 'known' about certain animals was incorrect. This added interest to the provision of new information.
My reason this only got the three stars, and not more was that the writing style was so measured and consistent. There was no building to a revelation, no changes in pace and no excitement portrayed. It was written very factually, and was interesting, but was ultimately easy to put down. It read as a education rather than an entertainment, and in my opinion it would have been better as both. There was certainly enough happening on his travels to entertain. FWIW it would have been 3.5 stars if we were allowed halves.
Still worth the read, just try not to spread it out across 2 weeks!
Want to read
August 27, 2008Wow! I've just discovered the "Penguin Great Journeys" series, which includes this volume. Looks like Penguin is doing something for travel/exploration books similar to what the wonderful Dover books have long done for literature - putting together affordable books for the discerning reader. These Penguin editions are abridged from longer accounts that might daunt many, but compressed into 120 pages or so should make appealingly shorter versions.
I can't wait to get my hands on more in this series, including accounts by Alexander von Humboldt, Marco Polo, Isabella Bird, Alfred Russel Wallace, James Cook and Mary Kingsley.
By the way, this book's author is misnamed here as "Walker Bates." It was Henry WALTER Bates, of course. There's another listing of the same edition given as "Walter Bates," which is at least slightly more accurate, but not quite on the mark either. Good grief, people, Henry Walter Bates was one of the most famed explorers of the Amazon; rather sad that he's been misnamed not once but twice here.
It's a pity I haven't ever been able to turn up a decent biography of Bates. Biographies of his friend and sometime traveling companion Alfred Russel Wallace have been springing up right and left in recent years, but for some reason Bates hasn't attracted the same attention.
I can't wait to get my hands on more in this series, including accounts by Alexander von Humboldt, Marco Polo, Isabella Bird, Alfred Russel Wallace, James Cook and Mary Kingsley.
By the way, this book's author is misnamed here as "Walker Bates." It was Henry WALTER Bates, of course. There's another listing of the same edition given as "Walter Bates," which is at least slightly more accurate, but not quite on the mark either. Good grief, people, Henry Walter Bates was one of the most famed explorers of the Amazon; rather sad that he's been misnamed not once but twice here.
It's a pity I haven't ever been able to turn up a decent biography of Bates. Biographies of his friend and sometime traveling companion Alfred Russel Wallace have been springing up right and left in recent years, but for some reason Bates hasn't attracted the same attention.
November 15, 2020
I couldn't really get past the prejudice and 1850s attitude of our narrator. His observations are worthwhile but a little more self awareness would have been welcome (and a little less mass murder of every animal in sight). He constantly classifies the natives as uncivilised or half civilised but has no problem taking an alligator from the jungle to force it to face a pack of dogs just for the hell of it. And then killing the animal when it tries to flee. Semantics aside, is that how civilised people behave? The guy is long dead but there were so many instances where I wanted to say to him: hello, what you're doing goes directly against what you're saying.
On the other hand, even through his sense of superiority he notices the complexity of the natives' hunting tools and the skill required to operate them. He makes observations about the natural world that are detailed and interesting and then comments that it almost seems like the animals in question possess intelligence. You don't say. What ultimately made me give three stars was the enjoyable description at the end of bands of marauding ants.
On the other hand, even through his sense of superiority he notices the complexity of the natives' hunting tools and the skill required to operate them. He makes observations about the natural world that are detailed and interesting and then comments that it almost seems like the animals in question possess intelligence. You don't say. What ultimately made me give three stars was the enjoyable description at the end of bands of marauding ants.
December 28, 2024
A low rating because: being written in 1863 from the perspective of a British Naturalist, I found the manner in which Walter Bates discusses local people and customs quite confronting (and, I admit, somewhat infuriating). He rarely seems to be writing about human beings, instead describing people as though they're fascinating animals or (at best) low class beings. Similarly, the way Walter Bates discusses nature - as something inferior to himself, that can be shot at when it fails to please him or even just slightly irritates him - raised my hackles.
All that said, it was interesting and educational to read about these experiences and get a glimpse into the mentalities of the time of writing. I'm glad I've had an insight into 19th century ways of thinking.
All that said, it was interesting and educational to read about these experiences and get a glimpse into the mentalities of the time of writing. I'm glad I've had an insight into 19th century ways of thinking.
November 22, 2010
Part of an amazing true story of first glimpses by european scientists of the amazon area and contact with the local tribes. The mission of scientific information which sent them there in the first place is described in some detail in the first chapters but as the journey continues it becomes a more personal challenge. This true account shows the resilience and grit which was necessary to merely survive when confronted with neverending jungle, heat, pests, wild animals. Without any aids one can only imagine how difficult it was just to keep going. I read this book because it was on the list of references for my previous read - the mapmakers wife.
July 4, 2018
These selected writings of Bates are a light, easy and entertaining read. The extreme nonchelance of how he knocked aligators on the head had me sold and kept me hooked throughout the otherwise interesting but long-winded series of events that he tells. I like that its not solely focussed on the wildlife either, and more on the Amazon as a whole and the variety of communities within its heart.
September 2, 2025
I devour these Great Journeys editions but that’s not to say that the turtle massacres that feature so prominently in Bates’ narrative didn’t turn my stomach inside out. I feel like this story must have served as partial inspiration for the turtle pools in The People In The Trees. As the rest of the early explorers.. fascinating and hugely morally compromised.
January 20, 2018
God this makes me want to pack up and do something extraordinary with my life. Bates is truly amazing. I would have been terrified at all times of all the different Amazonian animals, but he was basically chasing after them like a maniac for science.
January 24, 2020
Liked the cultural understanding to the Amazonian tribes and natives. Also the stories of their livelihood and views of western Christian culture. Didn't care about the 20 pages of bug descriptions.
March 15, 2020
Uma viagem pela beleza natural da Amazónia com o olhar que atentamente observa e vive cada detalhe.
February 8, 2022
Really transports you to the upper Amazon River with its people and wildlife. Unfortunately it's often through the lens of glaring 19th century racism.
January 24, 2023
3 Stars/
74%
74%
June 16, 2023
A short trip through the Amazon jungle 🐊 🐢 🪲
Beautifully descriptive journey of a Victorian explorer through the jungle and spending time with the natives.
Beautifully descriptive journey of a Victorian explorer through the jungle and spending time with the natives.
October 16, 2014
Something of a relief to read this volume sinsects.oon after finishing Alfred Russel Wallace's account of his time in Borneo and Celebes. Whilst Darwin's greater collaborator seemed to spend his time murdering orang-utans, Bate's exploration of the Amazon river system east of Manaus seems to centre on the life of the Amerindian peoples of the region, with their sociable family structures and easy way of life on the water highways.
Bates's journeying took place in the mid-19th century during the time of rapid advance in scientific knowledge of the natural world. European settlements are being established in the midst of tropical rain forest and the curious observer has the opportunity to comment on both the unique flora and fauna of the region, but also what happened during these years of intermingling of the people. There is the poignant example of the Passes - once numerous but now drastically thinned by disease and with a future that can only be secured through inter-marriage with the Cariwas (whites). Their chief forecasts that 'before my grandchildren are old like me the name of the Passe will be forgotten.
Chapters describe the annual hunt for turtle eggs during the great laying season on the mudflat islands of the river and the excitement of dealing with alligators. We also get charming descriptions of the habits of vampire bats, toucans and foraging ants.
Bates eventually returned to Europe and became one of Darwin's champions in the scientific debates of the epoch. He contributed to these with his own theory of Batesian mimicry based on the behaviour of
Bates's journeying took place in the mid-19th century during the time of rapid advance in scientific knowledge of the natural world. European settlements are being established in the midst of tropical rain forest and the curious observer has the opportunity to comment on both the unique flora and fauna of the region, but also what happened during these years of intermingling of the people. There is the poignant example of the Passes - once numerous but now drastically thinned by disease and with a future that can only be secured through inter-marriage with the Cariwas (whites). Their chief forecasts that 'before my grandchildren are old like me the name of the Passe will be forgotten.
Chapters describe the annual hunt for turtle eggs during the great laying season on the mudflat islands of the river and the excitement of dealing with alligators. We also get charming descriptions of the habits of vampire bats, toucans and foraging ants.
Bates eventually returned to Europe and became one of Darwin's champions in the scientific debates of the epoch. He contributed to these with his own theory of Batesian mimicry based on the behaviour of
November 13, 2020
Each book a small but concise collection of abridged excerpts (ideal for those who may otherwise have found the longer accounts daunting), each man and indeed women a pioneer in his or her own right.
Despite synopsis that by and large read like something you'd find in an edition of Boy's Own, not one of the seven books in the series that I have read so far was in fact like that.
No matter the content, that much of it was actually interesting, the writing is invariably dull, some of the language used ... Hmm! Lets just say that some of the depictions whilst very much of their time will doubtlessly be construed as unacceptable nowadays.
That said, individuals I know relatively little of, my appetite whetted, I'm keen to learn more about them.
Copyright ... Felicity Grace Terry @ Pen and Paper
Despite synopsis that by and large read like something you'd find in an edition of Boy's Own, not one of the seven books in the series that I have read so far was in fact like that.
No matter the content, that much of it was actually interesting, the writing is invariably dull, some of the language used ... Hmm! Lets just say that some of the depictions whilst very much of their time will doubtlessly be construed as unacceptable nowadays.
That said, individuals I know relatively little of, my appetite whetted, I'm keen to learn more about them.
Copyright ... Felicity Grace Terry @ Pen and Paper
May 1, 2016
This book was very well written and very interesting but I thought it was going to be more of an adventure tale and it ended up being 90% really well documented field notes. Worth a read if you want to read in detail about the plants and animals of the Amazon rain forest.
August 26, 2008
Fascinating account of 11 years in the Amazon.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews