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FitnessProsBooks.com - The Man Who Swam the Amazon: 3,274 Miles on the World's Deadliest River
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List Price: $16.95
Our Price: $0.86
Your Save: $ 16.09 ( 95% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 797.21092
EAN: 9781599213583
ISBN: 1599213583
Label: The Lyons Press
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2007-10-01
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Studio: The Lyons Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written
Comment: An interesting story but not at all well written. Matthew Mohlke writes from a very "young guy" perspective and could have stood to have a lot more editing done to his work, not only because of the numerous typos. I was aghast that he described one of the Amazon women he saw on his journey as "incredibly ugly". I had to read the sentence over a few times to make sure I read it right. An unnecessary and gratuitous comment.
The telling of the story would have been much better served if it had been written as a straight account of the swim, and not drawn from the Mohlke's diary entries. Usually I think the book versions of stories are much better than the movie versions, but this is one story that I look forward to seeing the movie version of (filmmaker John Maringouin's upcoming "Big River Man") and hope that it is a much better documentation of Martin Strel's swim than Mohlke's account.
As an admitted "armchair adventurer" this book was a big disappointment and it was only because of wanting to find out how Strel finished his swim that I even finished reading it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting story, boring read
Comment: I celebrate the effort in the swim and the writing, and the author seems like a nice guy, but I could not finish this book because it was so boring.
The story takes a while to get into the meat of the journey and from then on reads like a travelogue of a very uneventful trip. The key tension in the story seems to be the 'Real World' like relationships on the support boats.
Sorry, I wanted to like this but the writing is dry, the trip seems uneventful as described and it manages to suck the athletic effort out of the subject.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing Journey
Comment: I followed Martin's swim via his web site from start to finish. Needless to say I couldn't wait for the book. I read it in just two sittings and found the insites into the man and his crew to be simpley amazing. Matthew wrote this as a day to day diary, just as the web site did. For those of us that will never experance the Amazon in person, it gives you the feel of the jungle and the strength and determation of this man. He has to considered one of the greatest and most unselfish people on this planet. To do this, to open the eyes of the rest of us to what is really happening with the inviornment is an accomplishment that no politican or hollywood movie could ever do. If we had Martin Strel running the governments of this world it would be a better place for all of us. Martin proves that anything is possible if you really want it. A must read for anyone who say's "I just can't do that".
Customer Rating:
Summary: outstanding!
Comment: This is your quintessential "page turner." Despite being fully aware of how the story ends, I found my fingers glued to the book, just dying to know what would happen next. In addition to chronicling Strel's astonishing athletic feet, Mohlke also allows the reader to voyeur his or her way onto the boat as we meet members of the crew and delve into small human dramas which unfold as they travel deeper into the deadly jungle, (I, too, can't wait for the movie.) All is written by an author who was masterfully able to marry articulacy with slang, and eloquence with wit. I loved it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: inspiring glimpse at humanity
Comment: What Martin Strel did is unbelievable! This story is written beautifully to chronicle the journey through the jungle, as well as unveil the different sides of a man who seems incredibly human, yet not human, at the same time. The daily, journal style arrangement of this book has an easy, exciting flow and makes it near impossible to put down. I am exctied for the documentary "Big River Man" to come out, to put a face to all of the characters of the book!.....Here's to hoping that Martin's dream of peace, clean water, and friendship will be realized.
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Editorial Reviews:
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On Sunday, April 8, 2007, a 52-year-old self-described fat man in a Speedo by the name of Martin Strel swam 3,274 miles of the Amazon River. The Fish Man, as he was called by locals, almost died in the process several times. At the finish his blood pressure was at heart attack level, his entire body full of subcutaneous larvae, and besieged by dehydration and diarrhea and exhaustion. Strel undertook this epic swim to call attention to two issues he is concerned about: deforestation, and river pollution. Along the way he suffered from blisters, sunburn, exotic stomach illnesses, all the while trying to avoid piranhas, anacondas, crocodiles, alligators, river sharks, and a small fish known as the canduru, which when attracted by the smell of urine releases razor-sharp spines into the human orifice it has crawled into.
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