Wild Coast: Travels on South America's Untamed Edge - Softcover

John Gimlette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846682533 ISBN 13: 9781846682537

Publisher: Profile Books, 2012

Synopsis

Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2012 Between the Orinoco and the Amazon lies a fabulous forested land, barely explored. Much of Guiana seldom sees sunlight, and new species are often tumbling out of the dark trees. Shunned by the conquistadors, it was left to others to carve into colonies. Guyana, Suriname and Guyane Française are what remain of their contest, and the 400 years of struggle that followed. Now, award-winning author John Gimlette sets off along this coast, gathering up its astonishing story. His journey takes him deep into the jungle, from the hideouts of runaway slaves to penal colonies, outlandish forts, remote Amerindian villages, a 'Little Paris' and a space port. He meets rebels, outlaws and sorcerers; follows the trail of a vicious Georgian revolt, and ponders a love-affair that changed the face of slavery. Here too is Jonestown, where, in 1978, over 900 Americans, members of Reverend Jones's cult, committed suicide. The last traces are almost gone now, as the forest closes in. Beautiful, bizarre and occasionally brutal, this is one of the great forgotten corners of the Earth: the Wild Coast.

About this title

Review:

'A madcap journey... Another wonderful travel book by a master of the art' -- Giles Foden, CN Traveller

'Fabulously vivid and absorbing' --Independent on Sunday

Book Description:

John Gimlette travels to Guyana, to the Wild Coast in South America, and discovers his ancestral colonial history - one of brutal, cruel and often uncomfortable truths

About this edition

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1846682533
• ISBN 13: 9781846682537
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384