THE RIVER OF DOUBT

I read this book a few years ago but today at lunch I mentioned it to a friend. It was great to relive a few of the harrowing accounts of Theodore Roosevelt's expedition down a segment of the Amazon River.

Candice Millard did an excellent job of taking her research and turning it into a book that first, makes you hyperventilate at the very thought of being in the jungles of the Amazon; second, makes you thankful that you will NEVER travel to the Amazon or have the need to carry cyanide tablets; and third, I'm not kidding about the hyperventilating--you feel as if you are actually on this ill-planned expedition.

I loved every minute of this book. Of course, I am a big fan of President Theodore Roosevelt and have read several of his biographies. But if you enjoy well-written, non-fiction adventure stories this is a book I highly recommend.