River of singing fish, the

One of the most fascinating forms of life in the Amazon is not just the Amazon itself, but the mammals and insects it harbors. Arkady Fiedler traveled to the Amazon in the mid 1930?s to hunt these animals and insects, importing both live and preserved species for the Warsaw Museum. Through his daily ventures into the forest with his young companion, who shared his passion for all things living as well as expressing a natural instinct for hunting, we learn about the unpredictable climate, the nature and survival skills of all living creatures in the deepest depths of the forest. The book is accompanied by fascinating pictures detailing this trip as well as capturing many of the living creatures he encountered. A must have for any reader interested in either rare tropical species or adventuring in the Amazon. The Jungle took possession of us the moment we entered the estuary of the Amazon, and did not release us for many long months. We already knew it well?from books. We were prepared for the wall of vegetation, so fantastic that it seemed like the unearthly handiwork of a madman: for the wild variety of forms and colours; leaves as white as snow and leaves as red as blood; trees growing almost horizontally; bushes larger than trees; palms, lianas, bamboos, all in a feverish blaze. We also knew that, although it sounds improbable in these days of wireless, radar, and aeroplanes, all this tremendous tract of country has so far largely resisted the march of civilization and was almost as veiled and secret as it was in the times of Orellana, four hundred years ago. And so we were ready for the Amazon jungle, the most perfect form of vegetable life, to unfold before our eyes?as it had done before those of so many other explorers.