Wild Coast: Travels on South America’s Untamed Edge

Description

Between the Orinoco and the Amazon lies a fabulous forested land, barely explored. Shunned by the conquistadors, it was left to others to carve into colonies. Guyana, Suriname and Guyane Francaise are what remain of their contest, and the 400 years of struggle that followed.

Now, award-winning author John Gimlette sets off along this coast, gathering up its astonishing story. His journey takes him deep into the jungle, from the hideouts of runaway slaves to penal colonies, outlandish forts, remote Amerindian villages, a ‘Little Paris’ and a space port. He meets rebels, outlaws and sorcerers; follows the trail of a vicious Georgian revolt, and ponders a love-affair that changed the face of slavery. Here too is Jonestown, where, in 1978, over 900 Americans, members of Reverand Jones’s cult, committed suicide. The last traces are almost gone now, as the forest closes in. Beautiful, bizarre and occasionally brutal, this is one of the great forgotten corners of the Earth: the Wild Coast.

John Gimlette has travelled to over sixty countries and has published several books to critical acclaim, including At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig and is a winner of the Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize. He contributes regularly to radio and print media including the Guardian, Telegraph, The Times, Independent, Wanderlust and Geographical.