The River of Doubt

**SpoDaddy** · 09 Jan 2009, 12:22 AM

My girlfriend, knowing my love of presidential history, got me this book for Christmas called The River of Doubt by Candace Millard. Without spoiling anything, it chronicles Teddy Roosevelt's feelings of emasculation and humiliation following his election loss in 1912 and the resulting near-suicide expedition he went on to re-establish his manhood by putting a legendary uncharted part of the Amazon on the map. He was a renowned naturalist and had always dreamed of making such a landmark discovery, which was another reason he went. Anyway, it's really an amazing book. Lots of detail about the deadly plants and animals in the Amazon, such as a parasitic worm that can ride up a man's urine stream into his urethra (usually resulting in either death or penis amputation at the time). Roosevelt ends up stranded, with no food or clean water, surrounded by deadly predators in the rainforest and suffering from several diseases. He almost kills himself. It's a must-read if you like Teddy Roosevelt or naturalist studies.

**solger** · 16 Mar 2009, 05:52 AM

**YellerDog** · 16 Mar 2009, 09:39 AM

I didn't notice this thread at the time, but that pig picture up there has made me really pay attention. I will track this book down.

**ChaoofNee** · 16 Mar 2009, 08:00 PM

i actually bought this book after Spo first mentioned it in the "what are you reading" thread.

It's a lot of fun!

**DacaZ** · 19 Jul 2009, 08:39 PM

Somehow this one slipped under my radar, but it sounds awesome and I seem to remember Spo and I having pretty similar taste in books.

I'm going to add it to the pile on my creaking, overburdened nightstand.