The River of Doubt

Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

By: Candice Millard

Narrated by: Paul Michael

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.

The River of Doubt; it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.

After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil's most famous explorer, Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.

Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.

From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt's life, here is Candice Millard's dazzling debut.

©2005 Candice Miller (P)2005 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Millard...nails the suspense element of this story perfectly, but equally important to her success is the marvelous amount of detail she provides on the wildlife that Roosevelt and his fellow explorers encountered on their journey, as well as the cannibalistic indigenous tribe that stalked them much of the way." (Publishers Weekly)

River of Doubt

This work is a must listen for anyone interested in TR, Amazonia, tropical diseases, eqauatorial rainforests and the living things in them. In retrospect, this beautifully read work is brilliant because of its sheer depth and breadth. Every wound, sliver, bird, native and whitewater rumble is there for the listener to imbibe. Nearly every unique personality of the expedition party is woven into the this tale of naive and brash exploration. If you listen carefully you can be with them in the jungle without risk.

A Glorious Listen

This is the story of Teddy Roosevelt's trip through the Amazon rain forest to explore the newly discovered River of Doubt in 1913. If I were teaching school I would use this book for almost any subject: science, geography, political science, history, etc. Lots more fun than textbooks.

The narrator is Paul Michael, who is as good as Scott Brick or George Guidall. Audible indicates it is read by Richard Ferrone, but that applies to the abridged version. This is one of those rare non-fiction books that reads like the best novel. I find it very hard to believe that this is by a first time author.

One nit I have to pick is that there is no mention of Tweed Roosevelt, Teddy's great grandson, who repeated the trip in 1992 (finding that the cannibals by then were watching satellite TV!).

This is a book I would never have opened in paper, and I would have been much the poorer for it.

This is not a biography, but an exploration of a region that even today we don't know much about, incidentally undertaken by a former US president.

Great audio book

The author made this account of traveling through the Amazon exciting and informative at the same time. Great narration, fast paced, overall worth a listen.

Great Book, Great Story,

loved this fantastic story. however the fact that the chapters were misalligned made it difficult to find my place. this was my only complaint. seems to be audibles fault, not the author. no issues if you listen to it straight through

A Great View of a Great Man

This book does a great job of weaving the historical, biological, and political history of the time into a very compelling recounting of a particular exploration. The only shortcoming was a slight tendency towards repetitiveness, but overall a very worthwhile read.

They don’t have a clue

The people tearing down statues of great men like the ones who live in these pages will never come close to living a life that in anyway compares to the accomplishments of these great men.

No Doubt about This Book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a riveting adventure told in just the right amount of detail - some political backdrop, a nature lesson about the Amazon, the sheer determination of strong-willed men, what we in Boy Scouts call "piss-poor planning" and some biography. Candice Millard is a great storyteller who brings the action to life.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The River of Doubt?

Former President Roosevelt's life-threatening injury, the decisions around it and its impact on the rest of the trip. Ms. Millard paints the picture in terms of human struggle, the instinct to survive and one's duty not to impede the progress of the many because of the injury or illness of the few.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I neither laughed nor cried. I'm not a crier, and the book didn't pretend to be humorous. No extreme reactions, but rather just remaining easily engaged in the story. Obviously, I knew the outcome, since I know that Roosevelt died several yeas later. What was interesting was feeling as though I was in a dugout canoe on the expedition along with the Roosevelt-Rondon party.

No Doubt about this book

This book was entertaining and educational, a real eye opener. I sat in my car to finish up the chapters

Interesting and Entertaining!

This is among the top 5 books that I've ever listened to - it's well written and the story is very suspenseful. I had no idea that the story about a part of Teddy Roosevelt's life could be so interesting. Narration was good - overall, I was very pleased that I chose this book.

Liked it

This is not normally the type of book I would read or listen to, and I can't remember what prompted me to buy it. Having said that, I quite enjoyed it. This expedition was something I had never heard about. I wouldn't say all the details were fascinating, but they were interesting. Sometimes I felt like I was on this expedition with them. It really is sort of amazing that they survived. I thought the narration was good, which is important in an audio book. I recommend it, especially if history, Theodore Roosevelt, the Amazonian wilderness of Brazil, or adventures are your thing.