The River of Doubt

Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

By: Candice Millard

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.

The River of Doubt; it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.

After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil's most famous explorer, Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.

Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.

From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt's life, here is Candice Millard's dazzling debut.

©2005 Candice Miller (P)2005 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Millard...nails the suspense element of this story perfectly, but equally important to her success is the marvelous amount of detail she provides on the wildlife that Roosevelt and his fellow explorers encountered on their journey, as well as the cannibalistic indigenous tribe that stalked them much of the way." (Publishers Weekly)

Excellent Writing, Story and Narration

River of Doubt is a must read for enthusiasts of Teddy Roosevelt, but the story would work even without him. Candice Millard has written a book not only about an interesting phase in Roosevelt's extraordinary life, but also about an extraordinary part of the world: the Amazon. It is a compelling story told well and read extremely well by Paul Michael, who has narrated such other excellent books as Mountains Beyond Mountains. I highly recommend this book.

Amazon meets TR. Wow!

Marvelous adventure punctuated by terrific background data about the rainforest and its history. Non-fiction at its best. I'm going to use it in a college course on the Amazon.

Great Story

This is one of those books I buy and give to my friends. I like all the planning that went into the journey. I love all the crazy people that went along. Can you imagine a modern president doing this?

No doubt about this book

Millard's book opens up a chapter of Roosevelt's life that was largely unknown to me. But even more than a book about Roosevelt, this is a story about the opening of the Amazon River. And Millard does a wonderful job describing the plants, anmials, bugs and fish all in a mad scramble to eke out a living in the rain forest.

There's plenty of humanity, too, from the mighty Candido Rondon (who I did not know of) to Roosevelt's son, Kermit. These men endured incredible hardships. You'll also walk away from the book with an even greater respect for Roosevelt himself.

All in all, a delightful, gripping listen that I found hard to put down.

Captivating Story

An extraordinary story of foolhardiness, daring, tenacity, and persistence. The Roosevelts and their party accomplished the near-impossible despite poor preparation, horrible conditions, and treachery. I have a new respect for Teddy Roosevelt who, at 54 years (my own age), survived this remarkable expedition into the jungle only to receive ridicule and disbelief upon his return. Makes many of my own challenges seem small and petty by comparison.

The Great Amazon Adventure

As I am about to take a cruise on the world's greatest river, I was looking for an exciting Amazon adventure story that might be informative as well. Candice Millard provided me with that and much more. Her account of Theodore Roosevelt's greatest and nearly deadly adventure is packed with fascinating details on the natural evolution of the river's plants and insects and animals and natives and explains how they all came together on a land mass that had broken away from the African continent to create the world's largest rain forest. On top of that, the book paints a remarkable portrait of one of America's first great environmentalists and one of America's greatest bigger than life historical characters. As I have learned since listening to the book, Ms. Millard is a former editor for National Geographic, which partially explains her substantial knowledge of the Amazon's natural, geographical and geological history but beyond that she has the literary horsepower to weave all of those details into the wonderfully interesting story of a great American's true life adventure.

It's hard to comprehend the scope of this trip!

If you could sum up The River of Doubt in three words, what would they be?

compelling, terrifying, inspiring

What did you like best about this story?

The descriptions of absolutely everything. Others might find them tedious, but I found they better let you feel the danger, the desperation, the elation in each situation. The dangers involved in traveling through an exotic, unknown land are very hard to make real when we have many antibiotics and anti-venoms not yet even discovered in some cases. I have always had a certain fascination for Teddy Roosevelt, but this story sealed the deal. I will be reading more about him in the future.

Which character – as performed by Paul Michael – was your favorite?

They each held their own appeal, but Kermit Roosevelt and George Cherrie were my two favorites.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

An adventure you won't believe is true!

Any additional comments?

Very nicely narrated by Paul Michael - he used different voices for many of the people but they were very subtle, not distracting.

Absolutely fascinating!

I've always been interested in men and women who shaped history. Theodore Roosevelt certainly is one of those. I read David McCulloughs' "Mornings on Horseback" some years back, also fascinating by the way, and found TR as interesting as I had expected, but felt there was probably more to be told about him then McCullough did in his book.

C. Millard tells of another side of Theodore Roosevelt and does so in the most compelling way. The story drew me in and left me not wanting to put it away. TR must have been an absolutely fascinating man and have left an indelible impression on all those who met him.

It's not just TR one gets to know better through reading this book. The other characters too are well researched and given their rightful place in the account of the exploration of the River of Doubt.

The fact that CM also takes time to give us background on exploration of unknown territories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, evolution of the rain forest and its' peoples makes for an even greater understanding of the incredible journey the exploration of the River of Doubt has been.

The narrator P. Michael deserves credit too; he did a great job. A pleasure to listen to!

For anyone interested in Theodore Roosevelt and/or exploration of unknown territories this book is a must!

A fascinating story.

Professionally researched and written like a page-turning action thriller. Read with clarity and subtle but indicative accents. A must-read.

No vacation for old men

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Only if they enjoy U.S. history.

What did you like best about this story?

The adventure.

Which scene was your favorite?

Don't remember having one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No reaction.

Any additional comments?

It was a good read. I have been curious about the story of TR's life.