Candace G. (Ogre) reviewed on 5/23/2010 + 1568 more book reviews

This book was a gift, and a good one, too! Funny and moving by turns, I sometimes wasn't sure if I was doing more laughing or crying--but my stomach hurt from laughing, so overall it was probably laughter. The author has a real knack for having the reader nearly BE THERE with him on his sometimes unlikely adventures.

From back cover: My high school years were like a television series. Hiking into the middle of the Amazon jungle to build an airstrip and nearly starving to death. Greeting the president of Peru as he stepped out of his chopper to visit our school. Spoon feeding water to feverish Machiguengas and helping bury the ones who died.
I never thought it unusual to have a 16-foot anaconda slithering around in our science class. Or going barefoot to school, getting stuck in the middle of landslides or getting cheap thrills careening through the streets of Lima in taxis in the dead of night.
What was I doint in Peru?
Well, that's a long story, a funny, sad, sometimes unbelievable story.
It's what this book is about--a really crazy family that loved adventure, loved God and loved the Machiguengas.

The author, Ron Snell, lived and worked extensively in Peru, Mexico and Indonesia. He currently lives with his family in Texas, where he dabbles in boat building, real estate, conducting tours in Peru, speaking and writing. One of his greatest joys is helping people in all walks of life learn to admire and love people of other cultures.

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