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The Last Wild Men of Borneo
- A True Story of Death and Treasure
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
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Publisher's summary
Two modern adventurers sought a treasure possessed by the legendary "Wild Men of Borneo". One found riches. The other vanished forever into an endless jungle. Had he shed civilization - or lost his mind? Global headlines suspected murder. Lured by these mysteries, New York Times best-selling author Carl Hoffman journeyed to find the truth, discovering that nothing is as it seems in the world's last Eden, where the lines between sinner, saint, and myth converge.
In 1984, Swiss traveler Bruno Manser joined an expedition to the Mulu caves on Borneo, the planet's third largest island. There he slipped into the forest interior to make contact with the Penan, an indigenous tribe of peace-loving nomads living among the Dayak people, the fabled "Headhunters of Borneo." Bruno lived for years with the Penan, gaining acceptance as a member of the tribe. However, when commercial logging began devouring the Penan's homeland, Bruno led the tribe against these outside forces, earning him status as an enemy of the state, but also worldwide fame as an environmental hero. He escaped captivity under gunfire twice, but the strain took a psychological toll. Then, in 2000, Bruno disappeared without a trace. Had he become a madman, a hermit, or a martyr?
American Michael Palmieri is, in many ways, Bruno's opposite. Evading the Vietnam War, the Californian wandered the world, finally settling in Bali in the 1970s. From there, he staged expeditions into the Bornean jungle to acquire astonishing art and artifacts from the Dayaks. He would become one of the world's most successful tribal-art field collectors, supplying sacred works to prestigious museums and wealthy private collectors. And yet suspicion shadowed this self-styled buccaneer who made his living extracting the treasure of the Dayak: Was he preserving or exploiting native culture?
As Carl Hoffman unravels the deepening riddle of Bruno's disappearance and seeks answers to the questions surrounding both men, it becomes clear saint and sinner are not so easily defined, and Michael and Bruno are, in a sense, two parts of one whole: each spent his life in pursuit of the sacred fire of indigenous people. The Last Wild Men of Borneo is the product of Hoffman's extensive travels to the region, guided by Penan through jungle paths traveled by Bruno and by Palmieri himself up rivers to remote villages. Hoffman also draws on exclusive interviews with Manser's family and colleagues, and rare access to his letters and journals. Here is a peerless adventure propelled by the entwined lives of two singular, enigmatic men whose stories reveal both the grandeur and the precarious fate of the wildest place on earth.
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This is the inspiring story of an ordinary guy who achieved two great goals that others had told him were impossible. First, he set a record for the longest automobile journey ever made around the world, during the course of which he blasted his way out of minefields, survived a breakdown atop the Peak of Death, came within seconds of being lynched in Pakistan, and lost three of the five men who started with him - two to disease, one to the Vietcong.
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Fantastic Adventure
- By CJ on 09-12-18
By: Albert Podell
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Indonesia, Etc.
- Exploring the Improbable Nation
- By: Elizabeth Pisani
- Narrated by: Jan Cramer
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Bewitched by Indonesia for twenty-five years, Elizabeth Pisani recently traveled 26,000 miles around the archipelago in search of the links that bind this impossibly disparate nation. Fearless and funny, Pisani shares her deck space with pigs and cows, bunks down in a sulfurous volcano, and takes tea with a corpse. Along the way, she observes Big Men with child brides, debates corruption and cannibalism, and ponders "sticky" traditions that cannot be erased.
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Bill Bryson channels Margaret Mead
- By John S. on 09-01-14
By: Elizabeth Pisani
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Grandma Gatewood's Walk
- The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail
- By: Ben Montgomery
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than $200. The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great-grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail. And in September 1955, atop Maine's Mount Katahdin, she sang the first verse of "America, the Beautiful" and proclaimed, "I said I'll do it, and I've done it."
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Inspiring story about a strong amazing woman
- By David Shear on 12-22-14
By: Ben Montgomery
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Love, Africa
- A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival
- By: Jeffrey Gettleman
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A seasoned war correspondent, Jeffrey Gettleman has covered every major conflict over the past 20 years, from Afghanistan to Iraq to the Congo. For the past decade, he has served as the East Africa bureau chief for the New York Times, fulfilling his teenage dream of living in Africa. Love, Africa is the story of how he got there - and of his difficult, winding path toward becoming a good reporter and a better man.
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Loved this book!!!
- By Benjamin on 05-26-17
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Elephant Company
- The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II
- By: Vicki Constantine Croke
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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At the onset of World War II, Williams formed Elephant Company and was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in Burma and saving refugees, including on his own "Hannibal Trek." Billy Williams became a media sensation during the war, telling reporters that the elephants did more for him than he was ever able to do for them, but his story has since been forgotten.
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Story of Friendship, Loyalty, and Bravery
- By Patrick on 04-15-15
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Travels in Siberia
- By: Ian Frazier
- Narrated by: Ian Frazier
- Length: 20 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Ian Frazier trains his eye for unforgettable detail on Siberia, that vast expanse of Asiatic Russia. He explores many aspects of this storied, often grim region. He writes about the geography, the resources, the native peoples, the history, the 40-below midwinter afternoons, the bugs. The book brims with Mongols, half-crazed Orthodox archpriests, fur seekers, ambassadors of the czar bound for Peking, tea caravans, German scientists, American prospectors, intrepid English nurses, and prisoners and exiles of every kind....
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I Loved This Book
- By Sara on 01-05-14
By: Ian Frazier
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Getting Stoned with the Savages
- A Trip through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
- By: J. Maarten Troost
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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After two grueling years on the island of Tarawa, Troost was in no hurry to return to the South Pacific until he began to feel remarkably out of place in modern America. He knew it was time to set off again for parts unknown. Here he tells the story of his time on Vanuatu, a cluster of islands where he struggles against typhoons, earthquakes, and giant centipedes but finds himself swept up in the laid-back, clothing-optional lifestyle of the islanders.
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My new favorite author!
- By L. Worthington on 08-28-07
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Three Cups of Tea
- One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations
- By: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan's Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time: Greg Mortenson's one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.
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A Fraud
- By Sara on 02-23-16
By: Greg Mortenson, and others
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Wide-Open World
- How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family's Lives Forever
- By: John Marshall
- Narrated by: John Marshall
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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John Marshall had read about the growth of voluntourism, and frankly, it was the only kind of extended trip he could afford. He'd heard that some peoples' lives were changed by a week of overseas service - what might half a year accomplish for his family? His wife, Traca, was all in favor of it; his kids, especially his 14-year-old daughter, were strongly opposed. Wide-Open World is the totally engaging, bluntly honest story of the Marshall family's life-changing adventure.
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I enjoyed every minute
- By Chris on 05-15-15
By: John Marshall
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Visit Sunny Chernobyl
- And Other Adventures in the World's Most Polluted Places
- By: Andrew Blackwell
- Narrated by: Ax Norman
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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For most of us, traveling means visiting the most beautiful places on Earth - Paris, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon. It’s rare to book a plane ticket to visit the lifeless moonscape of Canada’s oil sand strip mines, or to seek out the Chinese city of Linfen, legendary as the most polluted in the world. But in Visit Sunny Chernobyl, Andrew Blackwell embraces a different kind of travel, taking a jaunt through the most gruesomely polluted places on Earth.
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Better than I predicted
- By Paul Luthi on 08-23-13
By: Andrew Blackwell
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The Man Who Quit Money
- By: Mark Sundeen
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The Man Who Quit Money is an account of how one man learned to live, sanely and happily, without earning, receiving, or spending a single cent. Suelo doesn't pay taxes, or accept food stamps or welfare. He lives in caves in the Utah canyonlands, forages wild foods and gourmet discards. He no longer even carries an I.D. Yet he manages to amply fulfill not only the basic human needs - for shelter, food, and warmth - but, to an enviable degree, the universal desires for companionship, purpose, and spiritual engagement.
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Roots are weak and faith was thin
- By MISSCHRISTY on 08-26-17
By: Mark Sundeen
What listeners say about The Last Wild Men of Borneo
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David
- 09-05-23
Summed up very well by previous reviewers
I picked this book up in an Audible sale but I would have gladly used a credit for the experience. Joe Barret is by far my favorite narrator. I have over 1,000 titles in my Audible library and this book would fall within my top rated ten percent. My favorite genres are mysteries, thrillers and outdoor adventure. The book has several excellent reviews posted here so I don't think I could add much except to say that if you like the premise you should really enjoy the book. The amazing thing is that it's all based on actual events and all occurred within my lifetime. Apparently there had been some initial plans in the past to make a movie but it never materialized. I think it would be difficult to tie both of these amazing lives into a single movie but I think the author did a great job of it here. In fact I think the contrast just added to the story. Maybe a mini series?
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-01-24
The story
An unbelievable story about modern day explorers an treasure hunters in Boreno. Which one found the real treasure?
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- Rick
- 05-26-19
Art, Timber, and a Vanishing Culture
During the parallel, contemporaneous, but largely separate lives of two Westerners, Borneo emerges from the Dark Ages, where it might have been better off remaining. It’s difficult to say.
Bruno Manser, a Swiss shepherd, climber, and student of nature, made his way in 1984 to live among the Penan people of Borneo, learning their language, adopting their customs, and earning their respect and acceptance. Michael Palmieri was a California surfer kid and draft dodger when he got to the region, where he, too, absorbed the culture and language and became an expert in tribal art whose provenance spanned centuries.
The two men met only once, barely realizing it, but both their lives had a profound impact on Borneo in the late 20th century. Palmieri had a long and lucrative career as an art dealer, while Manser fought the logging companies that were systematically clearing away the forests that were the Penan people’s world.
Hoffman’s account shows that neither man could easily be defined as “good” or “bad.” Palmieri devoted his entire adult life to Borneo and Indonesia, making a profitable business of selling ancient ironwood sculptures and other artifacts to collectors and museums worldwide – but much of that art would have been lost if he hadn’t. Manser gave his all to the cause of saving the Penan’s rain forest from destruction – but he didn’t succeed, and in the end disappeared into that wilderness without a trace.
Hoffman leaves it to the reader to decide.
His most sympathetic characters are the Penan themselves, who were promised schools and modernization by the Malaysian government in exchange for their timber, but got very little. “They had everything they needed; were fabulously wealthy. The Penan had nothing, but they had everything. They and their forest were incalculably rich… Indeed, their forest had become so rare, so valuable, that rich people who could never get enough had come and taken it away.”
Impeccably read by the incomparable Joe Barrett.
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2 people found this helpful
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- robert
- 08-29-22
Excellent
This is two great stories which tie together. Don't be afraid to relisten to the first chapter or two in order to figure it out. The narrator is a little different, but good.
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- Christine Currie
- 03-26-18
adventure is my bedtime story
love love love this work. great storytelling with much to glean along art history and travel
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3 people found this helpful
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- Than
- 07-21-19
Wow
This is an amazing tale. The book tells the story of two different men. I can see why it angered some other reviewers who thought the writer shoulder have just written two books but I'm happy to hear both stories awkwardly mashed together as one book.
Bruno's story I had never heard of before now and it draws to mind the book "Into the Wild" about Christopher McCandless. Someone renouncing the modern world to go back to a primitive existence. It also gives a good window into one of the last nomadic people on Earth right as their lifestyle in the forest is destroyed by logging companies and the government of Malaysia. It's hard to believe the story all took place in my own lifetime because it feels more like a first contact narrative from hundreds of years ago. Fascinating start to finish.
Michael P's story is more lackluster and less adventurous. He does have some adventure stories but they're told looking back on his younger days. His modern life is one of bartering for cultural art found in the forest that he rarely goes to find himself. It gives one a good sense of the art that gets saved, destroyed, collected, faked, etc. One is grateful he has saved ancient artifacts from destruction while also being mad he's selling them to the highest bidder for a profit
Overall I highly recommend the book if you're into tales of uncontacted tribes during first contact (even though the Penan aren't exactly uncontacted) or ancient traditions being lost to the modern world.
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3 people found this helpful