Lost in the Jungle

A Harrowing True Story of Survival

By: Yossi Ghinsberg

Narrated by: Pat Young

Four travelers meet in Bolivia and set off into the heart of the Amazon rainforest, but what begins as a dream adventure quickly deteriorates into a dangerous nightmare, and after weeks of wandering in the dense undergrowth, the four backpackers split up into two groups. But when a terrible rafting accident separates him from his partner, Yossi is forced to survive for weeks alone against one of the wildest backdrops on the planet. Stranded without a knife, map, or survival training, he must improvise shelter and forage for wild fruit to survive. As his feet begin to rot during raging storms, as he loses all sense of direction, and as he begins to lose all hope, he wonders whether he will make it out of the jungle alive.Lost in the Jungle is the story of friendship and the teachings of nature, and a terrifying true account that you won’t be able to put down.

©2009 Yossi Ghinsberg (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Incredible testimony of will and perseverance.

Because I had seen the movie version. It became a compelling need to visit the underlying story line to gain more insight from adventurers themselves. I was not disappointed at all. In fact... I was deeply drawn in as though Yossi himself was relaying his remarkable experience... Well done...👏👏👏👏👏

So many levels of good but narrator 👎👎

This story hits me on so many levels. SA adventures, the intricacies of friendships, the ridiculos male ego, self discovery, the limits of mental and physical (and spiritual!) strength and one hell of an amazing story. Told by anamazing author. BUT WHO LETS THIS GUY NARRATE?!?!? I thought I was just being a snob but apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. This story has so much passion, suspense and moments of adrenaline and introspection but he just drones on, skipping poinant puntuaction and racously hitting my eardrums with each over annunciated T!!!
This story deserves better - if I hadn't seen the movie and knew it was worth it, his narration would have caused me to bail.
His voice isn't bad, and I don't want him to give up on narration if that's what he truly loves, but maybe he could get some coaching? ❤

You have to get used to it

The story ends up being amazing but I almost gave up and returned it. I had to skip a chapter because of mistreatment of a dog. I still don't know what happened in that chapter. But I jumped ahead to the next chapter and still almost gave up. But once they finally start their big trip down the river on the raft it gets very good. And by that time I was used to the weird narration and it stopped bothering me as much. It's not as well written as other survival books I've read/listened to, which I also had to get used to. But ultimately I think hearing the whole story is worth it.

An Okay Survival Story

I love a great survival story, but this one is merely satisfactory.

There's a lot of "this happened, and then this, and then that" in Ghinsberg's tale. He shares many icky details about parasites and infections (what happens to his feet is truly disturbing) that bring the ordeal to life. He doesn't spare his ego at all, describing one highly embarrassing injury (ouch!) and a couple of gross-out moments involving soiling himself. You really do feel for the guy, and his increasing frustration and despair is obvious. Almost everything goes against him, and even though we know he survived, it does seem doubtful at many points in the story.

But ultimately, there's not much depth here. I like survival stories that have something to say about the human condition, and while Ghinsberg touches on topics like religion and talks about a special talisman given to him by a relative, it is "interesting" rather than "significant".

Loved it.

I watched the movie first and then wanted to read the book. the book of course explained so much more than the movie and kept me interested every minute. what an experience and I'm so happy that it led him to so many good deeds in his life.

Needs a reader

Good story... Inspiring... Reader Ned's a different pace... Soften consents... Glad I hung in past the reader.

Excelllent!

A must read for everyone! When Yossi entered into that jungle I have no doubt there was a much greater plan for him right from the beginning from a much more forceful power then the fierce and mighty jungle.

An incredible story written and read poorly

I wanted to like this book, but it was a struggle to finish. Narration was the worst of any book in my library (about 300 titles) but the writing seemed very elementary and detached. If rewritten with passion and character development, this is a best seller.

Interesting story, distracting narrator

I watched the movie “Jungle” and wanted to know more about Yossi’s interior experience. The story did focus on Yossi’s thoughts during his ordeal and I appreciated the mental struggles of continuing on in the face of uncertainty and a seemingly hopeless situation.

I was very disappointed with the narration and almost stopped listening to this story because it was so irritating. The narration was choppy and distracting and did not flow comfortably. Sentences ended abruptly and awkwardly. If the sentences had been read with the correct inflection, I’m sure the awkwardness would have disappeared.

I really appreciated the final thoughts at the end of the book. As a mature person, Yossi reflected on the meaning of his experience and used the lessons he learned in the development of his philosophy of life. He shared some of his impressive accomplishments later in life. This book did prompt me to want to find out more about his life since his youthful experience in the jungle.

Decent story with a less than decent narrator

My biggest struggle making it through this book was a combination of the poor editing, and the narrator insistent on over enunciating every other word. In addition, there were countless points where the "flow" of the story felt strange. One sentence on one subject would end, and another completely unrelated sentence would begin seemingly without a pause for breath. This honestly could've been the fault of editing or narration, but it made for a jarring experience. There was also at least one major editing issue that was missed before publishing the book (a very noticeable "chopped off" sentence halfway through the book).

However, the story was at least intriguing enough to keep going despite the issues above. A slow start, but entertaining once the actual survival began.