Junglekeeper: Book Review

Synopsis: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Most people assume that the world has been explored and true adventure is dead: This book is one man’s rebuttal. Explorer and conservationist Paul Rosolie shares his incredible life in the Amazon rainforest—and what we can learn from the people fighting to protect it.

“On behalf of the forests that I love, thank you, Paul, for writing this book.”—Jane Goodall

Deep in the Peruvian jungle, there exists a corner of the world that remains untouched—one teeming with giant anacondas, where the haunting cries of howler monkeys send brightly colored macaws shooting across the canopy. It’s an ecosystem of stupendous biodiversity, uncontacted tribes, and adventures that most people don’t even dare to dream of.

When he first set foot in the jungle, Rosolie was a dyslexic kid from Brooklyn who struggled to graduate from high school but had an undeniable calling to the outdoors. He was lucky enough to meet the indigenous naturalist Juan Julio Durand, and together, over two decades, they have created Junglekeepers, an organization that has found a way to halt deforestation and protect more than 110,000 acres—inspiring millions along the way by documenting their progress online. But this work takes grit, and years in, Rosolie and Durand are past their “barefoot machete days,” grappling with chain saws, massive fires, illegal miners, and the worst of humanity. Here, Rosolie brings you up close and personal with one of the wildest places on the planet and tells the incredible story of “first contact” with one of the most mysterious uncontacted tribes on Earth: the Mashco Piro.

This book is about the profound power of saying yes: yes to one’s calling, yes to sticking with your dream when it comes at a high cost, and yes to taking a stand to save what might otherwise be gone in a generation. It’s a story of calling, connectedness, and hope.

Review: By all accounts Paul Rosolie is an impressive man. Born in New York, Rosolie committed his life to the Amazon rainforest at a rather young age, and Junglekeepers is one part biography, and one part a hero’s journey.

Rosolie spends much of this book with concerned that the reader might find his account far fetched or flat out lies and to be fair this is reasonable, Rosolie has lived quite an impressive life. Few people seem to have such a clear calling at such a young age and yet Rosolie shares the reality of not playing by the rules in the scientific and environmentalism space. Junglekeeper is an absolute must read that is impossible to put down, Rosolie’s absolute candor and passion come through in every word and chapter and shares a truly human and unique look at the weight and difficulty of being the “face of a movement.”

The Positives: Rosolie is blessed with verve, passion, and more importantly great and equally passionate friends. This book is inspiring, real, tragic, and emotional like a life well lived. 

The Negatives: Honestly, there aren’t many. I was properly gripped from beginning to end and it was a joy to pick but up with the story each time I was forced to put it down. If there is a negative it’s the general climate and enviromental anxiety of the topic. Some days its hard to be an informed citizen of the planet Earth and brutal first hand accounts like Junglekeeper make it all the more real.