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Summary: Journey of the Pink Dolphins : An Amazon Quest
Review: I approached this book with the enthusiasm of a scientist wishing to discover something about the elusive pink dolphin. Unlike the waters of the Amazon the book was shallow, a shallow account of a psuedo scientific expedition by two giddy tourists pretending to conduct scientific research. If you like good natural history books, or books about real travellers, then this one is not for you. It's just too repetitive and very touchy-feely!
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Summary: Why haven't we heard this before?
Review: I can't believe how many people (including myself) had never heard of freshwater dolphins before seeing this book. Why isn't there any information out there about these intriguing cousins of the saltwater dolphins that we all know and love? Well, now there is! And Sy Montgomery takes us deep into the habitat of the freshwater dolphins --- the Amazon (where, as she explains, there are trees and ants that can kill you, among many other things). She not only explores the life and biology of these dolphins, but she also explores some of the myths that surround them. She learns that many native Amazon peoples believe that these creatures can take the form of humans in their efforts to seduce women into their underwater world. She relates first hand accounts of these stories and myths. But the author doesn't stop there, she writes extensively about the atmosphere of the Amazon, the people, the ecosystem, the cultures, the tourists, the industries, etc... She provides alot of interesting information about a very unique subject. As I read the book, I felt as if I was being pulled into the Amazon. Her writing is clear and approachable, sometimes poetic, but other times drawn-out. There are some very insightful passages as well. And fascinating photographs are scattered throughout. I recommend this book to anyone interested in animals, conservation, adventure travel, aboriginal/native cultures and all those intrigued by the idea of a freshwater dolphin!
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Summary: Stunningly beautiful look at the pink dolphins & the Amazon
Review: I first learned about this book when the library where I work ordered the hardcover edition for the shelves. Then I began looking at the book reviews on Amazon -- and my imagination was stirred by the legends told about them. We still don't have the book at the library where I work -- but I do have the book at home now; in fact, I managed to finish the book!And what a fascinating account it is! True, there isn't all that much scientific info on the pink dolphins of the Amazon (known by Peruvians as the bufeo colorado and by Brazilians as the boto) in the book, since these dolphins are still very mysterious, though bold as well; but what we do have is an intriguing account of two women's journey to understand these dolphins, ultimately succeeding by listening to the natives and those scientists who know the dolphins best. What's almost as intriguing is the way Sy Montgomery is able to connect the search for the pink dolphins with efforts to preserve the world of the Amzaon jungle, a beautiful though potentially deadly world which nonetheless should be respected, not exploited. I would say that the small amount of scientific information and the large amount of non-scientific info on these dolphims means that those who are looking for a strict scientific account probably should either abandon their preconceptions (which I recommend), or look elsewhere. But those who can become interested in a book with a mixture of pure storytelling and science should love Montgomery's book! I know I loved it! Belle Book
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Summary: enchanting travelogue and work of natural history
Review: I loved this book! Sy Montgomery is a talented writer, able to put you in exotic places with vivid descriptions, I almost felt I was in the Amazon. She really brought it to life, I look forward to reading another book of hers I have purchased, "Search for the Golden Moon Bear." The book focuses on the author's quest for the pink dolphin, but really it is a journey to find not one but two dolphins. I don't refer to the other species of dolphin that lives in the Amazon, the tucuxis (one which she also covers in the book), but for two sides of the same animal. On the one hand she searches for the pink dolphin, the bufeo in Spanish or boto in Portguese, a living animal of which little is known about in comparison with many other dolphin species. Living in the most massive river system on earth, one connnected to innumerable lakes in the rainy season, in waters often black as coffee and infested with caimans, piranha, stingrays, and electric eels, in often very remote regions to which there is no reliable transportation to, it is a difficult subject to study. An example of cetaceans from an earlier geologic era, primitive when compared to modern oceanic dolphins, the pink dolphins preserve something from an eariler era, a holdover in the modern world. Montgomery and her various companions in the book struggle to get good observations of the dolphins, to try and track them, to identify individuals, to observe their behavior. The author finds that even experts who have studied the bufeo for years are often perplexed by them. She has many successes, providing much interesting information on them and a fine series of color photographs of the often startingly pink dolphins. Montgomery though is also questing for the Encante, the mystical shape-shifting dolphin that is very real to many of the peoples who live along the mighty Amazon. Believed to exist in fabulous cities beneath the surface of the river, the locals speak in conspiratorial tones about the dolphins' magic powers and often lust for attractive humans. The natives often worry that their wives, husbands, sons, and daughters will be stolen about by the fabulous Encante, and speak with awe and reverence about the dolphins. Montgomery continually quests for the natives' views of the Encante, for their "true" tales, and for how they protect themselves against their fantastic attention. Montgomery doesn't exlusively focus on dolphins though. Her book in part is a vivid travelogue of Amazonia, bringing us to many exotic locations. We visit Manaus, the impossible Paris of the Amazon, home to an opera house right out of a fairy tale. Built upon the backs of native jungle peoples by rubber barons, today it is a squalid city trying to embrace change. She takes us to amazing Meeting of the Waters, where for miles two tributies of the Amazon, the black River Negro and the white Solimoes, flow side by side before forming the true Amazon River. We are taken to two different nature reserves, both with differing strategies, Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo and Mamiraua, where some of the rich life and deadly beauty of Amazonia is preserved against an uncertain future. Montgomery takes us to the impossibly clear waters and white sandy beaches of the Tapajos and Arapiuns Rivers, where she actually swims with the dolphins, something not possible elsewhere in the dark and piranha-infested rivers elsewhere. She undertakes a vision quest by taking the hallucigenic Ayahuasca or "Mother of the Vine," something few Westerners have done (and for good reason). Further, while the bufeo or boto is the star of the book, many other animals form a rich supporting cast. The odd hoatzin, a bird with claws, seemingly someting out of the Mesozoic. Electric eels, extremely common and suprisingly complex. Caimans, another seemingly prehistoric species. Amazonian manatees, gentle vegetarians that are much more intelligent than often given credit for. The weird side-necked turtle. All manner of insects, including ants. And more are given space. Some have said that she rhapsodizes too much in the book, but I disagree. She has done her research, the book is filled with interviews with experts, and there is a nice bibliography at the end. She has skillfully combined hard science with poetry, and the effort is very worthwhile. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: I'm impressed! And I'm very picky about cetacean literature!
Review: I'm usually quite disappointed in 'general' cetacean literature but this book surprised me. Very well done! Although I'm not an expert in freshwater dolphin biology, small North Pacific Odontocetes were the topic of my own MS thesis so I approach these works from a biased perspective. Loaded with marvelous black-and-white photos and sections of color photographs. I've already got this book out on loan to some of my fellow biologists down the hall at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory.
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Summary: I thoroughly enjoyed this book
Review: In reading this book, I feel as though I learned as much about the Amazon and its people and culture as I did about pink river dolphins. Mythology, botany, entomology, anthropology, zoology...it's all there, along with doses of history and present-day conservation and environmentalism. I love Montgomery's style of writing (and thinking). There were times which were poetic, educational, reflective, and others in which I found myself laughing out loud. A long-time dolphin lover, I appreciate Montgomery's enormous effort she undertook to connect with pink river dolphins. I'm happy to have found and read this book so she could share them with me... This was the next best thing to being there.
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Summary: steamy wilderness adventure
Review: It's not that I learned a lot about pink dolphins; there actually isn't a lot of info about them here. But I loved this book. Sy writes so poetically and describes the areas where she worked so vividly, that I imagined her every move and drop of sweat in this hot tropical adventure. She does inform us in great detail of many natural creatures and events around the Amazon, and I learned a lot about that part of the world. It was so delightful I never wanted the book to end. Her writing style is memorable and beautiful. I especially liked the description of "man rain" and "woman rain" and have used this concept in my conversations with people.
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Summary: Searching for Wholeness in the Unknown
Review: Sy Montgomery's Journey of the Pink Dolphin book is the most beautifully written and insightful scientific "read" I've encountered this year. Not only does it relate biological facts, geological history, and the current problems the Amazon basin faces, it is also a hilarious travelogue, full of adventure, national history, folklore, questions and dreams. Color photographs record the abundance of life in the jungle where beauty and danger twine around every view. In each chapter, Montgomery immodestly seeks to find meaning, strength and purpose in her own life. As an armchair adventurer, Journey of the Pink Dolphin greatly enriched and inspired my life as well.
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Summary: Journey of the Pink Dolphins: A terrific read!
Review: Sy Montgomery's Journey of the Pink Dolphins is by far the best book I have read during 2000. It's a unique combination of lyrical writing, high adventure, fascinating characters (cetacean and human), environmental significance, and factual information about the Amazon's past and present. The author was determined to both learn about, and experience the company of, these mysterious freshwater whales. Her quest, ultimately successful, necessitated a rigorous set of travels through the watery world of the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon River Basin. Participating in this journey via the author's engaging prose is most enjoyable. I highly recommend this book!
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Summary: Part travelogue, part science study, and a great read!
Review: The author's quest to study and locate the pink river dolphin makes for a compelling story which charts her discoveries in the Amazon over the course of four separate expeditions. Zoology, anthropology and natural history blend in this first-person account which at times reads like a travelogue, at times a science study - always accessible to lay readers.
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