Into the Amazon: The Life of Cândido Rondon, Trailblazing Explorer, Scientist, Statesman, and Conservationist
by Larry Rohter
480 pages
W.W. Norton & Company
Published: May 2023

One of this year’s most intriguing new releases is Larry Rohter’s biography of Cândido Rondon, the Brazilian explorer who led the 1913-14 Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition. Rohter is a journalist and author who recently served as South American bureau chief for the New York Times. His previous book “Brazil on the Rise: The Story of a Country Transformed” was published in 2010.

Unless you’ve read Candice Millard’s “The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey” you are unlikely to know much about the man featured in this biography. Cândido Rondon (1865-1958) was a Brazilian explorer and military officer responsible for installing telegraph lines across huge, often unexplored, regions in Brazil. Outside his native country he is best-known for leading a harrowing thousand-mile expedition with former US president Teddy Roosevelt through an unforgiving and uncharted area of the Amazon basin.

The book’s thesis is presented early and supported often: that Rondon is the greatest tropical explorer in history but has never received proper credit within the English-speaking world. The author’s appreciation for his subject is not limited to his outdoor skills, though. Rondon was also a passionate supporter of the rights of indigenous Brazilians, maintained a lifelong anti-violence stance and received several nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Also obvious early in this biography is that Rohter understands Rondon and his world extraordinarily well. The narrative is supported by extremely thorough research which is no small task given the language, geographic, technological and other barriers which impede access to sources. Nevertheless, Rohter appears to have uncovered every available nugget concerning Rondon’s ancestry, childhood, personal philosophy, military career and, of course, his various expeditions.

Among the book’s best moments are its excellent introduction, a surprisingly accessible explanation of Positivism (a philosophical worldview embraced by Rondon), a convincing case for how his ardent non-political stance limited his effectiveness for the causes he championed and, of course, several riveting chapters describing the Roosevelt-Rondon journey in 1914.

But where Millard’s “River of Doubt” provides a consistently enthralling literary adventure, “Into the Amazon” is a different biographical beast. While nearly all of Millard’s book is focused on the thrilling Roosevelt-Rondon adventure, only about one-fourth of Rohter’s biography describes that nineteen-week journey.

Instead, the majority of Rohter’s biography is concerned with Rondon’s university studies, his method for interacting with indigenous (and sometimes never-before-contacted) tribes, his personal philosophy and moral code, and his disdain for dealing with – or avoiding – the political environments which affected him during his career.

Although these intellectual explorations are critical to understanding Rondon’s persona, some readers may find them comparatively unexciting. And because he was often in the field for years at a time, there is relatively little to be gleaned of his scant personal life. So while some aspects of this book are almost absurdly engrossing, other elements of the biography reflect the less glamorous, gritty side to life.

Overall, Larry Rohter’s newly released biography of Cândido Rondon provides a fresh perspective into a fascinating figure who history has often overlooked.  “Into the Amazon” is certainly compelling on its own. But it will probably appeal most to readers who are at least vaguely familiar with Rondon’s life; they will find that it robustly underscores his talents and virtues while filling out his portrait.

Overall rating: 4 stars