i picked up this book, without any expectations for it, because it looked like a thin and easy to read book; but i was thoroughly surprised by its beauty and its fluent translation. i learned much from this incredible novel, about ecuador, about ocelots; but most importantly i learned what we are doing to the depleting rain forests in the world, and how this is affecting both those who inhabit it and ourselves. this book is poignant and picaresque, and it seems to evoke a sense of passing of a world and a self that find it increasingly difficult to continue to exist in the current environmental conditions. i think everyone who loves animals, who is disturbed by the way technology is destroying the natural world, and who is fascinated with cultures and peoples should not give this book a miss.

It's amazing how hot, moist and intense Sepulveda contrives to make you feel as you discover the old man who read love stories. I enjoyed this book thoroughly, the story is harsh and out of the beaten track, the style is vivid and lively, it has made me feel like travelling to the amazon basin. A book which I can highly recommend.

I read this book in a university anthropology class, and I loved it. It is a extraordinary book about an elderly man in the Ecuadoran jungle who spends his days reading and thinking about love and faraway places. When nature is disturbed in his home, the old man is placed in a conflict between man and nature. It is a short book, full of beautiful imagery and poetry.

The story of Jim Eliot and his commrades is a must read for ministers and missionaries alike. It's a life changing perspective that describes the heart of this fine man. His commitment and service to God is chronicled in this fine work by his wife Elisabeth. Those who are intending to pursue a career in missions and or ministry must read this book. Just like basic training prepares our soldiers for battle, this book is a documentary of basic training for missionaries who wish to serve in the Army of God.

Few books have impacted me as much as this "life and testament of Jim Elliot" written by his wife, Elisabeth. This is the story of an earthly (though not worldly) man with a heavenly mind. Jim Elliot was a man of passion and a man of prayer. This book chronicles his journey from childhood in Oregon to college days at Wheaton to the mission field of Ecuador where he eventually gave his life at age 28. Full of journal excerpts and personal letters, one gets to know this great man's heart. His struggles, his ambitions, his loves, his dreams - and his all-consuming passion for Christ and His kingdom - gripped my heart as a teenager. This man became my hero. If you want to know the man behind the motto "he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" this is the place to start. I highly recommend this book - especially to Christian teenagers who want to give 100% to Jesus Christ.

This is a must read for all Christians who have any desire to know Christ and to offer their lives to him. If not, this book will definitely challenge you to do so. Shadow of the Almighty mainly consists of letters and journal entries Jim wrote while at college and while preparing and serving on the mission field. It represents a great example, not of a perfect man, but of a man who wanted to live his life fully for Christ, no matter what the cost. The main message is that to know Christ is to obey him, and that Christ is worth laying down anything and everything. Thus, Jim's famous words: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim is an inspiration and example to me as I prepare to serve as a missionary in some of the most unreached places on earth.

Herbs Of Southern Ecuador/Hierbas del Sur Ecuatoriano is an unique, impressive, highly accessible, English and Spanish bilingual field guide to the medicinal plants of the southern Ecuador region of Vilcabamba (where the native population has a deserved reputation for longevity). The "reader friendly" text is enhanced with black-and-white illustrations of each plant, a straightforward list of facts about each plant, along with its ethnobotana and its traditional applications. Herbs Of Southern Ecuador/Hierbas del Sur Ecuatoriano is an excellent and practical field book, and a welcome addition to personal, professional, and academic botanical reference collections.

Traditional knowledge in the use of plants, and the whole cosmology behind the use, have long been neglected by western societies. Fortunately, this is beginning to change, and such practioces are being valued again. Not too early though, as much knowledge has been lost with old healers passing away.
Herbs of Southern Ecuador provides a great insight in the uses of plants in this sacred valley, reknown for the health of its inhabitants. Important medicinal species are describes, depicted, their use, indication and preparation are explained. The fact that the book is bilingual mekes it even more an absolute treasure!

Harbs of Southern Ecuador provides an excellent overview on the most important medicinal plats of the Vilcabamba area in Southern Ecuador - popular for the longevity of its people. More than 140 plants are describes in detail - in english as well as in spanish, and are shown in black and white images.
Traditional uses as well as preparation are carefully explaind.
A must for everybody interested in the use of andean medicinal plants!

I was enthralled by this book, it is excellently written and gives the reader a true feeling of what it is like to have "Gold Fever". I have recently finished the book but I am reading it again because it is that good! It is also extremely educational, I knew nothing about the Incas until I read Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon. I am now longing to take a trip to the Llanganatis mountains, not in search of treasure, more on a pilgrimage than anything else.

This was a great story of the possibility that vast wealth in gold and silver are still hidden in the Andes. The various doccuments and treasure hunters that the author unearthed and befriended made for a ripping yarn. His own expedition to the trecherous landscape where the treasure is supposedly hidden was a real adventure. He cared about the people he wrote about and the reader will too. Loved this book!

I first read Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon in the original Atheneum hardcover. What a fine book! It's not your usual treasure-hunt adventure, but a sensitive portrayal of South American culture and dreams. Well, it's also a treasure hunt, and you can't believe Lourie lived through it all to tell the tale. I'm so happy to see it in paperback A really fine book by a fine author. His young-adult books are extraordinary as well. But this one's a must for any reader interested in the Andes, in treasure hunting, in the human soul in darkest peril. Five stars all the way. This is one of those books you keep thinking about for years.

Live the thoughts, eyes and ears of these courageous women, whose lifes bear the scent of a totally dedicated hearts sensitive to Gods call while living in a remote jungle in Ecuador and their tales will open your mind to their beauty of character and lives set as a flint for God

Out of print for many years, "These Strange Ashes" now returns as a classic of Christian missions. Written by an author better known for books about her husband Jim Elliot's well-publicized martyrdom in the 1950's, this book reviews Elisabeth's earlier mission work as a single woman deep in the South American jungle. Far from a rosy or simple story, Elliot honestly shares her struggles, frustrations and confusion when God acted contrary to the way she thought He ought. This is a "must read" for anyone who deeply cares about Christian missions.

This book is awesome!In it Elizabeth shares the details of her first missionary trip.I have the original version which was a hardback published a long time ago.This is a great book for anyone who would like or might take a mission trip.Elliot paints a picture with class using her gift with words found on the pages of her other books.

A layman needs a good guide when on tour of a new territory, whether that be a museum, a literary genre, or a country's heritage. In David Pearson's and Les Beletsky's 485 page ECUADOR and its GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, they present a book that is as good a guide as a layman could hope for, not just for exploring Ecuador or its Galapagos Islands, but for getting to know much of the fauna of Amazonian Latin America. The text is professionally written, yet down to earth and not infrequently humorous. The famous entomologist J. Henri Fabre once wrote, "Others again have reproached me with my style, which has not the solemnity, nay, better, the dryness of the schools. They fear lest a page that is read without fatigue should not always be the expression of the truth. Were I to take their word for it, we are profound only on condition of being obscure." This approach to scientific writing - being informative without being pedantic - allows writers like Pearson and Beletsky to fill the reader's heart with wonder while still often bringing a smile to his/her face.

With Ecuador being one of the most biologically diverse countries on earth, it is impossible to create a book that is both comprehensive and brief. The authors have gone for middle ground, covering the portion of Ecuadorian wildlife that is of interest and/or likely to be spotted by the ecotraveller to Ecuador. There are 96 color plates (with 5-6 animals illustrated on each one), several pages of color photographs, an excellent chapter - with maps - of Ecuador's National Parks and Bioreserves, a section on Ecuador's geography and habitats (e.g., Lowland Wet Forest, Mangrove and Coastal Vegetation) along with drawings illustrating several major plants in these regions, and 200 pages of animal descriptions under the headings 'Amphibians', 'Reptiles', 'Birds', 'Mammals', 'Insects & Other Arthropods', and 'Galapagos Wildlife'.

As an Ecuadorian resident, I have found this guide to be an excellent aid to identifying and understanding the natural history of the country. The book was both informative and fun to read, and I can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about this wonderful area of the world.

I have just returned from those Enchanted Isles and found Beletsky's guide omnipresent, dog-eared and tightly clutched in the sea-salted hands of many a visitor. I am surprised that the Sea Lions and Blue Footed Boobies did not have their own copies!

This guide is a truly indispensible accessory for those fortunate enough to have visited those Islands of wonder and enchantment. It is also a great whetter of one's appetite! Other books have their strengths, but when push comes to shove, or in this case just going around..., one wants a thorough compliment to one's naturalist (to make all those notations when one gets back home, of course) and also a look into what is to come. Accurate and beautifully illustrated.

I'm an amateur naturalist -- and had the plants of the Eastern US pretty well under control. All that went out the window when I moved to Nicaragua. This is the first broad, clear, complete guide to neo-tropical woody plants (and lots of the herbaceous plants as well) I've seen. Although it was written for Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru, it does well enough for Central America. Just leafing through the illustrations has given me the family, and often the genus, of lots of the plants I've seen in our cloud forests. The author has a very readable style, laced with an understated sense of humour that bubbles to the surface on several occasions. See the entry for Euphorbiaceae, for example.

The book is not, however, for the complete beginner. Unless you are thoroughly familiar with the arcane botanical terminology, you will need a botanical dictionary. "Plant Identification Terminology" by Harris is a good one.

This book is the only one to cover so extensively the flora of Colombia in such an accessible way. You won't regret this purchase. It certainly deserves five stars.

Lost Treasures Of The Inca is a nonfiction picturebook written by Peter Lourie for more advanced young readers. Featuring simple yet highly informative language, and enhanced with a wealth of full-color photographs of ancient artifacts and modern-day people, it contains a brief history of the Inca empire and of modern-day archaeological expeditions, young readers will learn a great deal about this amazing past civilization. A highly educational and enthusiastically recommended book, Lost Treasure Of The Inca is certain to teach something new to readers of any age.

I loved this book. It's wonderfully written and right away I was pulled into the adventure of searching for ancient Inca gold. People of every age will not only learn from this book but they'll enjoy every minute of it. It is an artful blend of history and all out adventure. My son loved this book as well; in fact it was something we could appreciate together and from this book we shared hours of conversation. We are recommending Lost Treasure of the Inca to everyone we know. My son particularly appreciated the addition of the treasure map and now he is plotting his own search for lost Inca treasure! This is the kind of book that inspires readers to think about doing something adventurous in their own lives -- it is one of those stories that stays with you after you've put the book down. Peter Lourie is a terrific writer with a gift for making the spirit of adventure come alive on the page.

One of the most noble and challenging biographies you will ever read. The compelling account of a young missionary couple in the 1950's who commit their lives to ministering to the tribal people of Ecuador. What was meant to be a lifetime commitment ended in tragedy when Jim Elliot was killed by the people for whom he was laboring to translate the New Testament. His widow and biographer, incredible as it seems, remained in Ecuador for ten years to carry on his vision of ministry and compassion to the tribes who killed him. For forty years, Mrs. Elliot's life has been a testament to the enobling impact of God's love. She has written extensively, but this is the book for which she will be remembered by generations to come. The Elliots are heroes in the finest sense. Their lives inspire and challenge in a deep and lasting way. Read this book.

This book by Elisabeth Elliot is one of the most moving, most challenging books I have ever read. Not only does it depict the great obedience of Jim Elliot and the other 4 missionaries, but it shows the unimaginable faith of their wives after their deaths. It makes any Christian evaluate themselves and ask themselves, "How much am I really willing to give up for the Lord?"

The events in this book took place in the 1950's. A group of young men set out as missionaries to reach a previously un-reached savage tribe in South America. This books tells of the lives of the men and some of the events that lead up to their slaying. I did like the book "Shadow of The Almighty", (which is the life story of one of these men, Jim Elliot) better than this one, but only because it gave a more in depth look at what motivated a man to live up to what he said he believed. My favorite quote from that book sums up the whole of "Through Gates of Splendor" as well, and is as follows: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose". I also very strongly recommend the book "The Savage My Kinsman" (also by Elisabeth Elliot) which is a book that picks up where this one leaves off, of how Elisabeth went back to the same tribe of people who killed her husband to carry the message that her husband had set out to give. It's a must read!

Warning: This travel guide is not designed for the "accidental tourist," the person who travels to foreign lands hoping only to recreate a faraway, expensive version of his homeland. This book is for anyone who wants to travel not only for pleasure, but also for knowledge. With humor and incredible insight, Phil Karber writes of his adventures in the lands he has visited, lands that most of us will only see on National Geo specials. Karber immerses himself in each culture, learning as much as he can about the history, philosophy, people, and customs of each country that he visits. After reading this book, the reader will feel as if he, too, has visited each place Karber describes. This book is a must-have for anyone who plans to travel to these exotic locales, but it is also a delightful way for those of us who lack the courage, time, or funds to travel to experience places that may no longer exist in a few year's time.

Phil Karber is my Dad's first cousin. Trust me, the sarcastic humor runs in the family. I have not read my cousin's book yet, but I have no doubt that it is wonderful. Phil is a great guy to be around, and he could write a dozen books about his life. I would love to read about his childhood also.

I've just finished Yak Pizza--and how much I was transported from Fort Smith, AR to places I've only dreamed or heard of. Each day I looked forward to that time after dinner when I could grab Yak Pizza, get off by myself, and take trip after trip.

Phil Karber did a remarkable job here, finding the right distance from his subject matter--at times letting places and experiences speak for themselves and at just the right times giving such keen insights from observation and analysis.

There were such poignant moments and then humor and then righteous indignation and then such a knowledge of the background history of environment, economics, political/social structure. . .and gadzooks what a vocabulary.

I wrote a haiku over my impressions the night I finished the book and had such bittersweet emotions on finishing it--here tis Brushed bamboo, twisted thickets of morass. Leeches hold time in their craw.