The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon's Last Uncontacted Tribes

by Scott Wallace

THE UNCONQUERED TELLS THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF A JOURNEY INTO THE DEEPEST RECESSES OF THE AMAZON TO TRACK ONE OF THE PLANET’S LAST UN-CONTACTED INDIGENOUS TRIBES.

Even today there remain tribes in the far reaches of the Amazon rainforest that have avoided contact with modern civilization. Deliberately hiding from the outside world, they are the unconquered, the last survivors of an ancient culture that predates the arrival of Columbus in the New World. 

In this gripping first-person account of adventure and survival, author Scott Wallace chronicles an expedition into the Amazon’s uncharted depths, discovering the rainforest’s secrets while moving ever closer to a possible encounter with one such tribe—the mysterious flecheiros, or “People of the Arrow,” seldom-glimpsed warriors known to repulse all intruders with showers of deadly arrows.

On assignment for National Geographic, Wallace joins Brazilian explorer Sydney Possuelo at the head of a thirty-four-man team that ventures deep into the unknown in search of the tribe. Possuelo’s mission is to protect the Arrow People. But the information he needs to do so can only be gleaned by entering a world of permanent twilight beneath the forest canopy.

Danger lurks at every step as the expedition seeks out the Arrow People even while trying to avoid them. Along the way, Wallace uncovers clues as to who the Arrow People might be, how they have managed to endure as one of the last unconquered tribes, and why so much about them must remain shrouded in mystery if they are to survive. Laced with lessons from anthropology and the Amazon’s own convulsed history, and boasting a Conradian cast of unforgettable characters—all driven by a passion to preserve the wild, but also wracked by fear, suspicion, and the desperate need to make it home alive—The Unconquered reveals this critical battleground in the fight to save the planet as it has rarely been seen, wrapped in a page-turning tale of adventure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Adventure, Anthropology, Science, Nature

514 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Scott Wallace is a writer, photographer, and broadcast journalist whose career covering national and international affairs spans the past three decades. He gained an early reputation for gutsy reporting from the battlefronts and barricades of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Panama in the 1980s, where he filed for CBS News Radio and a succession of print outlets that included the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsweek, the Independent of London, and Manchester/London Guardian.

Scott’s assignments have taken him from Afghanistan’s windswept Wakhan Corridor to the Alaskan Arctic, from the clandestine arms bazaars of the former Soviet Union to midnight raids on suspected fedayeen hideouts in the slums of Baghdad. He has authored two cover stories for National Geographic about the Amazon, and his writings about war, revolution, international organized crime, and vanishing cultures have appeared in Harper’s, Grand Street, National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, the Village Voice, and Sports Afield, among many others.

His photography has been featured in Smithsonian, Outside, Details, Interview, Sports Afield, the New York Times, and Newsweek, and his television producing credits include CBS, CNN, Fox News, and National Geographic Channel.

He has three sons and lives in Washington, DC.

Reviews

[Tracy Towley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received The Unconquered courtesy of the Goodreads First Reads program, and I will admit that I was immediately biased against it. The purpose of the expedition on which Scott Wallace tagged along is to locate 'lost savages'. Supposedly not to contact them, but as early as the Prologue, Mr. Wallace admits his real desires:

"Any direct contact with the Arrow People could be disastrous. The tribe had no immunity to the germs we carried. We were not doctors and carried few medications . . .Yet, who among us - yes even the purist Possuelo - didn't secretly hope for a "first contact" . . . An experience for all time, a tale to recount to wide-eyed children and grandchildren . . . We'd bedazzle the world with images of the Stone Age savages, appear on the Today show, become celebrity journalists. Maybe I'd get a book contract."

Well, looks like you got your fancy book contract! Though, quite frankly, I don't understand why. While I was very uncomfortable with these modern day men trying to mess with these tribespeople's way of life (and yes, I prefer terms like "tribespeople" or "indigenous people" versus the books use of "savages" and "Indians"), I also assumed that if the man had written a 450+ page book about it, something must have happened, right? Not so much.

Basically, a group of 30 or so men set off into the Amazon, hike and camp for several months, and then turn around and come back. About half of the book is just straight up infighting and gossip regarding the group of men who were stuck with each other for months. The other half of the book was split between somewhat interesting tidbits and histories of the various people who lived in the Amazon, and descriptions of the landscape.

Which brings up another point - Mr. Wallace is extremely heavy handed with his descriptions. If I were the type to skim, I certainly would have been skimming a lot of this book, as many of his descriptions went on for several paragraphs - and very unnecessarily. They read as though he wrote down a simple concept, oh, like, "The fog rolled in and surrounded our camp," and instead of adding a few descriptive words to help the reader visualize it, he grabbed a Thesaurus and just went to town. Something as simple as some fog could easily stretch for an entire page. If I didn't know better, I would have thought Mr. Wallace was being paid by the word.

Overall, I was personally glad to see that the outcome wasn't what they'd hoped for, but as a reader the story was a bit dull and inevitably pointless. The interesting parts could have been whittled down to 150 pages or so, and the book would have been greatly improved if the author had managed to be more concise.

[Ioana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unbearably boring memoir of a trek through the Amazon, written by a self-absorbed, privileged brat suffering from delusions of grandeur. I was expecting The Unconquered to offer at least some insight into uncontacted native tribes, the history of the region/forest, ecology, or really, ANYTHING at all. Ok, so there was a little info on the different groups and Brazil's efforts to maintain a protected area, but the learning opportunities were few and far between.

Not only that, but this wasn't even a good rendering of a real-life "adventure"--monotone pacing, constant whining-while-pretending-to-be-oh-so-very-brave-and-awesome, and waaaay too much wallowing in trivial details.

Lastly, the author is detestable. Besides his constant digs at native culture and natives recruited for the journey (he was "surprised" one of them didn't use the new shoulder pads on the author's backpack but instead fashioned his own out of reeds and such) --one other example of the author's obnoxiousness will suffice: throughout the book, it's a theme that he won't see his kids for months, and yet he cannot pass up this opportunity for them. Ok, fine. But then he goes on about how his ex-wife forced him into a divorce and into complaints about her, and that's when I know Scott Wallace is not a man I'd like as a friend.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is going straight to my favourites shelf. It will sit there in the company of other gems such as Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger and The Road Gets Better From Here by Adrian Scott. Books that capture the people, the culture, the food, the environment, 'the message' in a way that few books do.

The Unconquered was hard to put down and by the end I didn't want it to finish. In fact, I could have started it all over again. It is books like those than will forever have a treasured place in my memory. For teaching me so many new things, for opening my eyes to a place I have never been, to a culture I have never experienced. For taking me on a journey that I would like to have the courage to take myself. But mostly it is books like those that are the reason I read books in the first place.

Scott Wallace is a freelance journalist who is asked by National Geographic to join Brazilian Explorer Sydney Possuelo on an exploration of the Amazon in search of the Uncontacted Tribes. The flecheiros, the Arrow People, who live in the deepest bosom of the jungle in isolation, having never experienced white civilization. They are under pressure by the illegal loggers and prospectors (among other illegal activities) and are often hunted themselves by white men. Entire tribes are brutally and callously wiped out so the flecheiros cannot attack or interfere with illegal activities in protected Brazilian lands. Sometimes they are hunted and slain purely to cleanse the jungles of them as it is the presence of the uncontacted tribes that keeps large tracts of the Amazon protected.

This book had it all for me,excellent up close and personal description of the Amazon's unique ecosystem, action, adventure, tests of human endurance. The only problem I had, which wasn't a problem with the book itself, was that I didn't much like Sydney Possuelo. I think he would be a hard man to work for and to spend much time around and I am sure if I had been on this exploration, things would not have gone well. Much like everyone else on his team, I do not appreciate this type of personality. There is no doubt he has done some good in his former role in FUNAI, but he was lucky he didn't cause full scale mutiny in the middle of the green nowhere.

[Kavita · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Scott Wallace received the opportunity of a lifetime to explore the Amazon rainforest, he could not refuse. A journalist with the National Geographic, Wallace was used to tough terrains, but he was to find out that the Amazon really beat them all hollow. He was to meet a NG photographer, Nicolas Reynard, and together, they were to meet Sydney Possuelo.

The aim of the trip was to enter into the forest in order to chart out the boundaries of an uncontacted tribe, based on which the area would be cordoned off and banned for the ever-encroaching group of loggers, wildlife poachers, miners, and other instruments of environmental disaster. FUNAI, an organisation working for the betterment of the indigenous people, is sponsoring the trip. Apparently, Brazil, unlike Peru and Colombia, is doing a decent job of trying to protect both the forest and its inhabitants. Though, no clue what Jair Bolsonaro might opt to do now. Right wing candidates are always very dangerous to the environment.

The expedition included a few white people as well as a number of people from different tribes, amounting to thirty four. Such a huge party was bound to make noise and leave their imprint on the forest, but it would also be safer. They battled the jungle for close to two months and managed to return unharmed. They also succeeded in their mission and even got close to the Arrow People (the uncontacted tribe).

All this was quite exciting to read, but once this phase was over, Wallace should simply have put a full-stop to the book. Instead he goes on for more than a hundred pages about other visits they make in the nearby towns and in the borders of the jungle. This got to be a bit tiresome after a bit because that's not what I wanted, after all. Wallace's personal life also comes out quite a bit, and frankly, it was not interesting or relevant to the story.

If the book had been made crisper and the extras cut out, this would have been a great book. As it is, it's average. But still worth a read, especially for the stand it takes on leaving uncontacted tribes in the Amazon alone. It is by their choice. And any contact can prove disastrous. And to do this, their lands (the forest) must also be left alone. This might be anathema for the big industrialists, but they need to be curbed and controlled massively.

[Fiona Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Unconquered by Scott Wallace is his account of an expedition into the deepest recesses of the Amazon, on assignment for National Geographic, to confirm the existence of ‘The Arrow People’ (or ‘les flecheiros’) so that their territory may be preserved and protected. Wallace joins Sydney Possuelo; a larger-than-life figure in the history of Brazil’s endangered indigenous people, and a man who has devoted his life to saving and protecting the last of the uncontacted tribes.

‘Uncontacted’ is a bit of a misnomer because the remaining elusive tribes have fled from contact, diving deeper in the vast Amazon to escape what they know (from bitter experience) will happen: death from disease, despoliation of their territory, and the loss of their culture from ‘contamination’ by modern artifacts and an increasing dependency on them – this fate has befallen many tribes who now straddle the uncomfortable divide between totally indigenous and self-sufficient, and those who no longer can fend for themselves because they have forgotten the old ways of hunting, fishing, and making their own weapons. Brazil’s past and indeed much of the South Americas is steeped in blood, both historically and in today’s times. The devastation of the forests, the outright plundering of wildlife and natural resources of yesteryear has been tamed but not to the extent that uncontacted tribes can rest in peace and go about their daily lives. Ever watchful, often times violent (and with good cause), they find their existence is precarious. Amazingly, drug dealers have turned to the Amazon to find passages through; entrepreneurs (in the worst sense of the word) prey on Indians and their territory for precious woods, rare fish and animals, and gold, despite the best efforts of FUNAI (National Indian Foundation), the agency set up to protect the Indians’ rights.

I found this book hard to read for several reasons. I thought I was prepared for the tragedy unfolding between the pages, having subscribed to newsletters such as Survival International, where a dedicated organisation highlights the plight of indigenous people worldwide. I wasn’t prepared for the litany of bloodshed and tragedy that taints Brazil’s history. The details of the horrors perpetrated by the architects of Brazil’s rubber boom verges on genocide. Colonialism in its worst form still prevails, but this time there is no outside invader: the threat comes from the vilest of Brazil’s population, those who don’t care a damn about the trail of destruction in their wake. Indigenous Indians are considered a nuisance, and expendable at that. They battle death threats, being shot at, being evicted, being hunted by people who want what is theirs by right; the invaders’ reasoning being how can a tiny percent of the country’s inhabitants (less than 1%) need so much land (11%)? We have learned very little from history when colonial invaders destroyed indigenous cultures outright and reduced their people to the horrors of dependency and/or death in the name of civilisation. People like Sydney Possuelo and the teams of dedicated ‘rangers’ deserve better support than they have received. It is an on-going, thankless task, and one that seems doomed unless the government gets its act together.

I also found the book hard going because the actual journey is hard going. From the idyllic start of a river-borne expedition, to the utterly hellish conditions whereby the team members had to toil up inclines and down slopes, drenched and slipping in mud, plagued by ferocious insects, under threat from dangerous wildlife, having to make camp each night by hacking their way through thick foliage, facing dwindling supplies; not to mention food theft, food hoarding, and the kind of weird mentality that takes over a group ‘trapped’ in an endless round of daily trudging. One is reminded of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in many ways as a grim madness prevails. Ironically, the team was only minutes away from civilization, had a plane been able to land, but months away from it by foot or boat.

At first I thought author Wallace was something of a moaner; he complained endlessly about everything. Then, as I wearily took up the book each night, I began to appreciate exactly what they went through, and the hideous discomforts associated with such a journey. Things such as satellite phones and the like are useless in the dense jungle, so increasingly they had to rely on themselves. Apart from the Indians amongst them who could cope, many did not. No wonder they emerged three months later wild-eyed, exhausted, and much thinner. I ultimately appreciated the mind-set and thoughts the author expressed; from saying a special prayer each night, to totally doubting they would ever emerge from the impenetrable jungle. There is so much more in the book than one review can ever tell. The most significant message for me was that we have reached a tipping point where there is very little left that has not been explored, exploited, and ultimately destroyed by civilization’s need, greed, and depredation. Where will it end, one wonders? How much more can be stripped from our natural environment before we are left with the bleak, barren, infertile remnants of a once-beautiful planet? The inhospitable dystopian future so fondly depicted by movie makers and writers does not seem either far-fetched or very far away.

[Susan (aka Just My Op) · Rating 4 out of 5]

nonfiction, 3.5 out of 5 stars

Child-killing anacondas, ants that have pincers so strong they are used as a substitute for stitches in wounds, jaguars wanting a tasty snack, vampire bats – are these going to be smaller dangers than the Arrow People?

I'm sorry to say that I would never have had the courage to attempt the expedition that National Geographic author Scott Wallace undertook when he joined Sydney Possuelo's attempt to find and protect, but not meet, “the last uncontacted tribes” of the Amazon. The hardships and dangers are almost unimaginable to me. And to the degree that I can imagine them, that is where I want them to stay – in my mind only.

The Amazon basin is fascinating to me, perhaps because it is so different from my part of the world. Mr. Wallace did a great job of showing me the isolation of the country, the vulnerability of its inhabitants, both native and non-native, animal and human. Mr. Possuelo, an outspoken supporter of the indigenous tribes and critic of those who harm them, either intentionally or not, comes across as a bit of a Captain Queeg but even so, was not able to control the actions of some of his employees. Speaking of Possuelo's plans, the author writes “It was a grandiose vision, seeming to require an extraordinary combination of altruistic impulse and an ego of Amazonian proportions.”

The author speaks of a caiman's “malicious smile,” and while that seems anthropomorphic, I wouldn't blame the caiman if it were malicious. The cruelty to animals, often unnecessary even through the men needed to eat, was horrifying. “He worked his machete like a sushi chef, excising the upper and lower jaws. The mouthless fish continued to flip-flop around the bottom of the boat, as though powered by some demonic force that refused to die.” And the monkeys – awful!

The writing was too drawn out for me, and some of what was intended as lyrical seemed just overwritten. “...exposed tree roots protruding hideously from its sandy declivity like the ganglia of some huge terrestrial jellyfish” and “his eyes were wet like the morning dew that dropped from the leaves.” The author, I thought, included a little too much about himself. The information about his relationships back home didn't add to the story for me. There was too much repetition. There were some funny bits, including the men's habit of calling the author “Scotchie” and later “Scotchie White Dick.”

I appreciate that the author recognized how different his life would be when he returned home compared to most of the men who were on the journey with him and the Indians left in the jungle. And I appreciate that there is no easy solution to protecting the lifestyles as well as the lives of the indigenous people in the Amazon basin. I learned from the book and I appreciated the story, just not always the way it was told.

The quotes were taken from an uncorrected proof and may have changed in the published edition. Thank you to the publisher for giving me a copy for review.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fascinating topic: tribes in the Amazon living without contact with the modern world. But far too concerned with petty personality issues, and too fullof poetic description. What should have been an adventure story about the Amazon, the tribes, and the challenges they face, turns into a narrow description of an expedition that ultimately has little impact on the greater issues.Edit out a hundred pages and this is a better book.

[GD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those non-fiction books that is so badass and teaches you so many badass things you never knew you wanted to know that you talk about it continuously the entire time you're reading it to anyone around you that will listen. "Dude, check this out, these dudes are fucking hunting and eating monkeys, and one of the dudes keeps thinking it's kind of like cannibalism and has nightmares where monkeys attack him with knives for revenge." "Dude, these dudes made a giant-ass canoe out of a single huge tree the size of an 18 wheeler." "Dude, if this arrow so much as nicks you, you're probably going to be dead in a few minutes because the poison is THAT FUCKING DEATH METAL!"

Also a big eye-opener to the problem the Amazon tribes face, a really weird one, that if they are ever contacted, even if that contact is to help them out, they'll probably get really fucking sick and die because of our gnarly germs.

Crazy crazy highly-recommended book.

[Clif Wiens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A journey into the unknown, dangers in a forbidden jungle, and a larger-than-life hero – the stuff of fiction, only Scott Wallace’s unforgettable, “The Unconquered” is a true adventure, with the narrative drive of a great novel but also an acute moral sensibility encompassing the complexities of our world on personal, social, and global level. Wallace’s story is that of a journey to protect an uncontacted tribe in the northwest reaches of Brazil, led by Sidney Possuelo, a larger than life Mr. Kurtz – if Kurtz had a saintly twin.

There is only a few books that stay with one long after you've read them, and even change how you look at the world on a daily basis. Peter Matthiessen's "The Snow Leopard," Bruce Chatwin's "In Patagonia," and Colin Thubron's "The Lost Heart of Asia," are on that shelf for me. Wallace's "The Unconquered" is now there as well.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story Wallace tells is fascinating, and his journey through the rivers and rainforests of the Amazon is amazing and at times surreal. But this book needed a better editor-- Wallace is frequently and painfully repetitive, reiterating the same points about Indian land conservation and his own personal family worries again and again. This very long book should have been much shorter and more concise. Wallace also chooses to focus on some odd things and skim over others. I would have liked to know what the motivation was behind some of Possuelo's more puzzling actions, his mood swings, and why the crew was so angry with him by the end. Instead there are endless ponderings about what the Europeans originally conquering the land must have thought 500 years ago. Also, Wallace has had some amazing experiences as a journalist, but he's constantly worrying and fussing and comes across as kind of a nerd. At least, more of a nerd than you'd expect to sign on for a 3-month trek through the jungle. He shares a few too many anecdotes in which he 'could have possibly been in danger if something had actually happened'. Overall, there is an important message and an interesting story here, if you can mine it out from among all the extra information. In the end I did sympathize entirely with Wallace's desire for the slow and arduous journey to reach its conclusion, because I felt the same way.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED Scott's account of his dark dense jungle trip: Hard to believe there are still folk today that have had no modern gringo contact...! Wallace takes us to the edge of 'the unconquered' world via true life quixotic adventurer Sydney Passueolo...With them both, and a bevy of indigenous tribes people, we travel for eight weeks into dank inner Amazonian depths learning fabulous history, culture, geography and various biting bug info along the way...!

Scott Wallace is a terrific story teller: here he recounts real important piece of past and current history to and for us; this held me from page one to its too early end. Read and ENJOY!!

[Jake Wavra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only 5 percent of the book actually talked about the indigenous Indian tribe they were seeking to observe. Another 5 percent went towards stuff we already now about the destruction of natural wilderness. The final 90 percent was a personal blog about running around out in the Amazon forest. Overall, somewhat disappointing.

[Apala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about an expedition into the Amazon jungle to chart the territory of an yet-uncontacted Amazonian tribe. I really liked it for the subject matter because I love reading travel stories. Amazon, of course, has a special place in my imagination. I liked it even more for the author's style of writing. His style is very down-to-earth and un-judgmental. He does not idolize environmentalists/indigenous tribes, nor does he condemn anyone. He sticks to the facts, which makes it a really good read. But the writing is not dry because it is interspersed with his thoughts and with the intimate stories of interactions between the expedition members. I loved the passages on the definition of contact and its pros and cons. And finally, the book is very informative. It not only describes the expedition, it also talks about the events that led to it. And these events stretch back hundreds of years. It is exciting to get context that dates back to the 1500s on events that are happening today. Yet it does not read like a history book, so beautifully is this all blended in.

[Stan Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book!! The author through his writing was able to take me on an expedition that included hardship, adventure, pathos, and danger only found in the Amazon. I felt the heat of the Amazon, the sting of the insects, and the privation that the author endured during his trek. The "Unconquered" also outlines the life's work and internal fire of Sydney Posseulo driven to protect the indigenous people from many advancing forces threatening their existence. Sydney Posseulo is the tireless and unrelenting Brazilian government leader heading the trek. His leadership techniques are detailed and sometimes questioned by the author. The trek included natives who were recruited locally for their indigenous ways and language skills. Another interesting aspect of the book is the wealth of background information and facts that are well researched and cited in the notes.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a real page-turner; an adventure that is riveting, brutal, and life-changing. It is the story of an egomaniacal Brazilian named Sidney Possuelo, who is on a crusade to protect the last independent peoples of the the earth: the wild Indian tribes who inhabit the deepest most impenetrable parts of the Amazon rain forest. Reading this book raises many philosophical questions regarding the heirachy of humanity in our world today and whether our high tech fast-paced modern lifestyle is truly an improvement over the hunter-gatherer way of life. This is an extremely thoughtful book that will change your view of the natural world forever. When the movie is released, it will be the first film produced which addresses the many complex environmental, social, and moral issues that Scott Wallace explores in The Unconquered.

[Anna Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my blog for more extensive reviews and more!

PROS: I am still in awe of this book. This may be one of the best books I've ever read. I was a little concerned going in because as much as my Western curiosity wants to read about the "wild" Indians (and in this book they are referred to as Indians, not "Native Brazilians" or anything, so I will use that here), I know that contacting them, no matter how pure-intentioned the gesture may be, will almost certainly prove detrimental to their physical, emotional and social well-being. This book alleviated all those concerns. It combines the action, adventure, hardship of a early 1900's exploration of the Amazon with modern-day realizations and sensibilities regarding the Indians.

CONS: None.

[Elan Garfias · Rating 5 out of 5]

So hard to put this one down. Scott Wallace does such an excellent job bring the Amazon to life in all of its beauty, strangeness, and danger. What makes it truly shine is the little bits of philosophizing thrown at regular intervals. While the author traipses through the jungle with a massive expeditionary party, he muses frequently on the history of violent contact between settlers and natives and the relative merits of civilization. The party is led by the larger-than-life Sydney Possuelos, the fiercest advocate for the Indians and wholeheartedly committed to keeping the remaining uncontacted tribes out of the reach of civilization. An interesting point here: many of the remaining "wild Indians" as they are known are remnants of larger tribal units who came into contact with the Portuguese decades or perhaps even centuries ago and have gone quiet to protect themselves. Though we know a fair deal about them through aerial footage, they have in some cases worked these hostile encounters with settlers into their mythology, and through the grapevine have even come to cultivate some Old World crops. As the expedition makes its way into the Amazon backcountry, Wallace alternates between wide-eyed wonder at the flora and fauna and infectious pessimism at the sheer hostility of the "green desert." The rigors of such a trip, fraught with exhaustion, bugs for days, and in some cases malaria, quickly take their toll on the mixed group of whites and Indians (at varying levels of contact), casting a shadow of suspicion over everyone as supplies start dropping. This book somehow manages to turn the tedium of camp life into a plot, often accompanied by reflections of the fleeting nature of said camps, destined to disappear into the jungle once abandoned. It's hard to do it justice in a review, but the contrast between civilization and jungle life is made so elegantly and consistently by Wallace, who flies from Manhattan to Manaus and watches modern society gradually fade away down the path of the Amazon river until he is once again immersed in the wild. He poignantly describes the sense of longing for something as simple as a Coke when he sees a commercial liner flying high above the treetops; how strange to be able to take a direct flight in an air-conditioned plane watching a movie while just a few miles below the indigenes subsist according to their ancient ways, no doubt observing the whole thing with awe while going unobserved themselves. The specter of the mysterious Arrow People hangs over the whole book, as Wallace's party attempts to document the tribe's existence without coming into contact with them. The whole time they are constantly shadowed by the flecheiros, as they are known in Portuguese, and come tantalizingly close to them a couple times. It's hard not to read these passages without an elevated pulse, as the two worlds threaten to collide. In a world of relentless globalization it can often seem like everyone inhabits the same basic universe, with obvious demarcations based on income but nonetheless privy to the same information and part of the same world. The strange world of Amazonia casts doubt on that premise, revealing civilization itself to exist on a bit of a spectrum, where megacities like Sao Paolo (or even Manaus in the middle of a jungle) can exist in the same country as the Arrow People who have no idea what a country even is. Even a decade after this book was written, there still remain uncontacted, and even unknown, tribes. After showing the devastating effects of of civilization on hapless Amazonians down the river, and indeed in all of Brazil, Wallace and Possuelos make a damn convincing case that they remain that way.

[Vivek KuRa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the rest of the world, I was also captivated by the release of uncontacted Amazonian tribes aerial photographs back in 2008. Again, in 2011 , when videos of one such uncontacted tribes men from the Brazilian jungle , who are seen covered by red paint made from urucum plant and shooting arrows at the low flying observation plane surfaced in internet, I was mesmerized by what I perceived theirs as a free life.
But this book changed my view of such gross romanticization and swashbuckling associated with one such adventure drastically. This book showed how much pressure the modern world has put on those isolated communities who chose not to integrate themselves with our supposedly civilized society.
Author is a freelance writer and a contributor to National Georgraphic who goes on the FUNAI (Fundação Nacional dos Povos Indígenas) exploration trip with the famous Brazilian conservationist Sydney Possuelo and his crew of Matis and Kanamari Indians in search of the feared “Arrow People” aka “Flecheiros”. The book is the authors reportage of this grueling journey to identify the territory of the arrow people with out making contact. The book talks about FUNAI’s constant effort to define the boundaries of the uncontacted tribes so that it can be protected effectively from illegal loggers, gold prospectors and poachers. I really liked the policy of FUNAI, which is protect the tribes without making contact.
Book really reads like an adventure fiction. But the author could have trimmed down some content in every chapter which I found to be boring. But I think this is an important book to understand how our blind consumerism and biopiracy wipes out the primordial lifestyle of these tribes very fast. Also, one should not forget that rain forests are the “Lungs of our earth”. Amazonia is one such lung which is worth protecting along with its primeval peoples.
Highly recommend this book for anybody interested in learning about the uncontacted tribes of the world, Amazonia or exploration.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitled In Search of the Amazon's Last Uncontacted Tribes, this memoir details the author's experiences spending three months in the Amazon in search of the People of the Arrow, an elusive indigenous tribe known for using bow and arrow to hunt and to scare away persons to get too close to them.

Leading this expedition is Brazillian exployer Sydney Posseulo, who lays down the law with his team, instructing them to observe and not actually try to contact the tribe they seek.  Posseulo had been instrumental in securing local laws meant to keep exploitative firms and freelancers out of the rainforest.

I will say many of the adventures were exciting and Wallace's experiences read like an interesting travel journal at times.  At other times, it was slow, and make me wish the book would end.

Wallace raises some interesting points between Posseulo's approach and others' (namely anthropologists) interest in the tribes.  Posseulo is convinced contact with the modern world is harmful to the natives.  Not only are they not protected from modern disease, but even the most well-meaning action can forever alter the culture of the indigenous people.  Ultimately, despite Posseulo's efforts, observation without contact proves impossible.  Which leads, of course, to the question: "What gives us the right to even observe these people?"  Every good intention has its roots in arrogance.

[Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One way to remain unconquered is to make sure that you never lose a battle - though that is technically undefeated. If you lose the odd battle but still win the war, you're still unconquered (c.f. Super Bowl repeat-hopefuls, the Green Bay Packers). Another way is to refuse to engage the fight at all - at least, not on a scale that is live-or-die.

In 2003, author Scott Wallace traveled for roughly three months on an expedition led by Brazilian Sydney Possuelo - government worker by paycheck, charismatic leader by personality, activist by experience - to trace the outlines of the territory of an "uncontacted" tribe so as to make sure that the government has the necessary information to stave off legal incursions by various industries (including but not limited to gold, logging, fishing; not even touching yet on the illegal activities). It is the chance of a lifetime and, at the same time, a complete and utter misery. Everyone contracts dysentery (probably through the river water they drink unfiltered and untreated). Getting enough food to eat is a regular concern. Possuelo maintains discipline through a combination of braggadocio, storytelling, and haranguing, and fear.

The dangers are considerable. From nature: anacondas, bushmasters, caimans, piranhas, ants. From people: heavily armed "entrepreneurs" of many an illegal variety; "tamed" tribes of Indians - the Head-Bashers, for example; "untamed" tribes, mainly the flecheiros, the Arrow People, who use poisoned arrows as their weapons of choice. Of course, there might be a rebellion within the ranks as well. The author might slip on a steep hill and land on a knife-sharp tree, hacked down by the machete of the lead member of the expedition. They might run out of food.

Wallace's writing tasks are formidable. The spine of the manuscript has to be the adventure of the Amazon, but what a peculiar adventure it is. Sydney Possuelo has to confirm from the ground what he has seen from the air: where, exactly, do the flecheiros live? How much territory do they use? And can he document this information without actually contacting them? Everyone on the trip, from Possuelo himself to the Kanamari and Matis tribesmen, to the white riberinhos (rivermen), to the two non-Brazilians, Wallace and photographer Nicolas Reynard, wants to see a member of this mysterious group with his own eyes. Yet any physical encounter would almost certainly introduce deadly pathogens into the native population. In other words, the nominally gripping central narrative hopefully avoids any climax.

Secondly, there is the background. If the reasons for Possuelo's expedition are going to make sense, the reader has understand the history of South America's treatment of its indigenous populations - governmentally speaking; of researching anthropologists (marauders of a different sort) from Europe, the U.S.A., and Canada; and of people of all stripes looking to make a living through the riches that the rainforests would seem to hold in unending supply. The stakes of the mission don't make sense if you don't know what's going on.

Wallace has chosen to include himself as a character within the story, battling his own concerns (when will he see his sons again; is he fit enough to take on this trip; will this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity play out well for him? In addition to him, there are a full thirty-some others along - white riberinhos Paulo Welker and Soldado, the nightmare-suffering cook Mauro, the facially-adorned Kanamari and the quiet Matis.

In other words, his task is no small feat, undermined by the very anti-climactic purpose of the very trip itself. The flecheiros have retreated in the face of ongoing incursion and remained unconquered as a result. The book covers the story of the trip, end to end. At the beginning, there is a greater number of "bubble stories," in which Wallace briefly diverts on a tangent to address relevant historical details. The deeper into the trip, the fewer these become. While this helps the pacing of the writing, the actual relationships between the members of the expedition receive short shrift, which complicates some of the raising-of-stakes. It doesn't stop the work from being a real page-turner, especially in its 3rd act (of 4, I'd say), but it cheats some of the emotional storytelling in the end.

Wallace is careful to include all of the inherent contradictions and tensions of the trip, beyond not contacting the flecheiros. He has a porter, which he needs, but he loathes the relationship into which both of them are immediately bound. Possuelo's vision and charisma are critical to the success of this mission, but he is also arrogant and alienating. For all that the journey requires general cooperation, everyone is constantly stealing and hoarding supplies.

If this book does not achieve the status it deserves because the writing is not flawless all the way through, it is not because Wallace failed at a simple task. He succeeded largely at a complex and unlikely task. Fortunately, the topic alone helps to carry along the improbable weight of the narrative, so that even when Wallace's prose is not at its best, you'll still find yourself engaged, if not gripped, by the quixotic mission.

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Full disclosure: I met Scott Wallace at an artist retreat in the fall of 2008 when he was working on this manuscript. I think highly of him. It might show.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4. the book is about the journey to find / locate and NOT contact one particular tribe to protect against contact.

[Danny Tyran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looove Sydney Possuelo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_...). I like even his grumpy and obsessive side. He dedicated all his life to the protection of the uncontacted Indians and the amazonian rainforest, earning a miserable wage and with even more pitiful human, material and financial resources. Indians and rainforest are Possuelo's two only real interests in life. Based on what the author says, it's clear that he loves and respects a lot the amazonian Indians. He even ended up being fired because he said bad things about the new head of the FUNAI (National Indian Fundation). This department of the Brazilian government was founded by Marshall Cândido Rondon and Sydney Possuelo, as a result of witnessing death and disease provoked by government missions which sought to make contact with previously isolated tribes. But, when it happened, the new Director had just said on TV that the government dedicated too much money and forest to Indians and not enough to industry, which went against the vocation of the FUNAI. Possuelo even said once that if the Amazonian Indians waged war against the Whites, he would fight on the Indians's side, for that is where his heart is. How not to love such a man ?!

This narrative of the expedition's adventures is based on the author's travelogue and describes the events in chronological order. Some reviewers complained about the lack of originality of this linear narrative. Others complained as well as there are a lot of characters. Indeed, the team participating in the expedition includes more than thirty people. But I would like to know in which order they would have wanted that the author tells what was going on during these two months and how he could not have talked about participants who had risked pointlessly their life and that of all the others by going against the orders of the expedition leader (Possuelo), how the author could have neglected to mention all the times when one or another of these expeditionaries saved the life of the author or somebody else, how not to mention the inventiveness of this one, the skill of another one, the extraordinary knowledge of the jungle which a third possessed, etc. These facts did not disrupt me at all, on the contrary! The narrative flowed without a hitch in spite of the presence of so many people. And if other reviewers did not appreciate the fact that the author sometimes lingered over trivialities, small details of the everyday life, even describing the unappetizing smell of boiled monkeys, in my opinion, these details help the readers to feel as if they were there, waiting to eat monkey's meat with the other members of the expedition team. I even took note of many of these small details for a story which I could write in the future.

Sadly, “FUNAI is dead,” leading Brazilian ethnographer and former FUNAI employee Sydney Possuelo is quoted as saying. “But nobody told it, and nobody held a funeral.”

"If deforestation continues at its current rate, the entire Amazon Rainforest will be depleted by the end of the 21st century."
Quote from : http://www.brazil.org.za/rainforests-...

I read somewhere on the Web that since Possuelo was fired by the FUNAI director, the deforestation increased fourfold. If I had the means and enough money, I'd make a movie about Possuelo's life. He deserves it entirely and it would make a wonderful movie.

Whoever is interested even a little bit in ecology, unconquered and untamed Indians, wildlife and anything to do with nature, and in exceptional men who fight for protecting on behalf of mankind what we have left of the "lungs of the planet" will find a lot of interest in this memoir.

I thus give it 5 beautiful big stars.

[Lisa Eirene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love adventure stories. The Indiana Jones movies were my favorites as a kid. I've read some books by and about explorers--historical accounts and more "modern" stories. Somehow they usually fall short for me. This book did not. It was a long book and it took me a long time to read (for me) and there were definitely parts of the book that could have been edited down to move quicker...but the story was told in an interesting way.

The author was a National Geographic writer who go the opportunity to join a team of 34 men lead by the Brazilian explorer Sydney Possuelo that was going deep into the Amazon rainforest to search for a tribe of Indians they called the "Arrow People." It was a harrowing journey, not meant to make contact with this tribe that has never been seen by outsiders, but to figure out how to protect them from whites, loggers, etc. Possuelo was a larger than life character who's life mission was to protect the land and lives of isolated tribes from invasion. He later became the director of the Department of Unknown Tribes at the FUNAI (National Indian Foundation of Brazil).

"Once you make contact, you begin the process of destroying their universe. [pg 250]"

The first half of the book was the story of their journey into the Amazon. Most interesting was ALL THE THINGS THAT CAN KILL YOU. Seriously terrifying people. There's the "trucandeira", or bullet ant, furry caterpillars with poisonous hair that has no cure. There's a tree frog that can cripple and kill you. There's bushmaster snakes, jararacuçu snakes that are "hyper-aggressive", fer-de-lance snakes (pit vipers that can extend 6 FEET with inch-long fangs OH MY GOD). There was a story about a native Brazilian who climbed a ladder into a rubber tree to harvest it and a JAGUAR climbed up into the tree, grabbed him, pulled him down and ate him. They fished for catfish to use as bait for giant piranhas to eat. The rivers were full of Caimans. But there were also really amazing things there too, like an endangered pink Amazon River Dolphin.

So yeah, I won't be going to the Amazon anytime soon. But the book was fascinating to read. I learned a lot and I googled A LOT of stuff while I was reading it. I mean, who knew that dolphins could live in freshwater rivers? I sure didn't. The group planned on spending 3 months in the Amazon looking for the Arrow People. Around the half-way mark of the book they find them.

"Our exotic fact-finding mission suddenly had become a run for our lives, the hunters now the hunted. We stumbled over roots, ripped through overhanging branches, anything to dodge the potential line of sight of an Indian taking aim with an arrow--poison-tipped or otherwise. [pg 263]"

The book is really, really good and it was exciting in so many places. If you are interested in anthropology I definitely recommend this book! The last few chapters could have been taken out, but other than that it was a good book.

[Joanne Clarke Gunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I always enjoy books about the Amazon and its indigenous people, but this one is an exciting travel expedition in which you are almost on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. Will they encounter hostile tribes intent on killing them? Will the oppressive heat and the unusual food lay them low with dysentery or worse? Will an anaconda grab one of them for his lunch as they bathe in the river? Any journey to the Amazon is fraught with danger, but this is a journey to the deepest areas of the Amazon jungle in order to try and determine if the Arrow People, a tribe seldom-seen and known to repulse intruders with deadly poisonous arrows, are alive and well and do so without actually contacting them.

Scott Wallace is an excellent travel/adventure writer and his personal experiences with the many Amazon Indians (from various Amazonian tribes that have been, in white people's lingo, "tamed") who accompany him on the trip as cooks, hunters, and guides, are vividly described and add much to the personal feeling of the book. The pictures of them with their native face ornaments and saucer earrings are so interesting and such exciting images to our western eyes. And, to me, it was endearing that they pronounced his name "Scott" as "Scotch" or "Scotchie". As in, "Scotchie, come here and see the monkeys we have killed for our dinner!"

If you are looking for an exciting and absorbing travel/adventure book, this is it. I highly recommend it.

[David Flaugher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some works nourish the reader and some entertain. This book can change you in a way that can forever alter your interpretation of others. Maybe there is a rearrangement of synapse that becomes permanent that allows connections to be made that did not exist before. Before, is key in this book.

There is just too much to cover in a brief review, so a hearty endorsement is forthcoming. However expect examination both internal and external, of societal norms, history, religion, technology and the self superiority of each generation over the last. Perhaps the most critical and troubling question is that of contact, or First Contact. Should we insert ourselves into the lives of those tribes who have remained "untouched" by modern society? Bringing them our diseases, paranoia along with our religions and medicines? Christian missionaries believe it is their duty. Even tho the subsequent assimilation will result in the loss of identity for those that they "save". Scott Wallace's book will fill you with questions of which you have no answers. But in our remote disconnection, questioning is good enough.

The book is fast paced, often with the feel of a novel. An action adventure with real lives in the balance it is an actual page turner.

Do yourself the favor.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Wallace enters a crowded field with his book about exploring the Amazon, but undoubtedly this is one of the best from the last few years. It is part travel book and part history of various uncontacted tribes, which converge in the search for (while attempting not to actually have contact with) the obscure 'arrow people' whose isolation is threatened by loggers, gold miners and even unwitting contacts by other tribes. Wallace brilliantly conveys the hardship of the months-long journey, while also writing sympathetically about the indians and white settlers that they encounter. He is honest about his own weaknesses and mistakes, and manages an admiring yet frank appraisal of the great protector of the Indians, Sydney Possuelo. The book left me feeling cautiously optimistic about the future of the Amazon, although Wallace leaves us in no doubt about the range and seriousness of the dangers which it faces. And by the way, anyone who enjoys this book should support Survival International and its work in protecting uncontacted tribes.

[Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author joins an expedition deep into the Amazon in search of an uncontacted tribe of "wild Indians." The ultimate goal, under the auspices of the Brazilian government, is to protect them and their land while avoiding contact. This book provokes thought about the best way to deal with isolated tribes who have maintained the same way of life for thousands of years but who are now under siege by various economic and development interests, lawful and unlawful. It is not only a fast-paced, interesting read, but it provokes thought about whether the "civilized" world is really preferable to the "uncivilized" world. It also sheds light on man's inseparable connection to his natural environment.

[Julie McSorley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This true account of a trek into the Amazon wilderness in search of previously un-contacted tribes needs to be critiqued within the genre of other biographical first person accounts. With that in mind, Scott Wallace's intriguing book thoroughly deserves the praise it has had thus far. If you're looking for an easy entertaining read, this probably isn't the one. The first hand descriptions are heavy on background facts, a necessary part of understanding the historical and political context of the expedition. The style of the reportage is academic, and the shape of the narrative puts one in mind of an ethnographic field study. Just as well the lost field notes were recovered, as it would have been a hard task to recount such a rich display or characters and events from memory.

[Jim Godemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking to give a book as a gift, or for your own enjoyment, grab my friend Scott Wallace's "The Unconquered," just published last month. This work of nonfiction is as riveting as a fast-paced, heart-pounding action novel, with a good dose of history, culture, environment and insight into human interactions under extreme conditions, in a place where the slightest relaxation of vigilance, or bad luck, can get you killed. I'm not just praising this book because Scott's my friend. This really is a great book! See the trailer here:
http://youtu.be/t7nsFUv18_w
www.youtube.com

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s all here in this book. Anacondas. Alligators. Poisonous plants. Stinging insects. Heat. Rain. And, best of all, a tribe of natives known only for their skill at shooting to kill with poison arrows and their ability to disappear into the rainforest.

Scott Wallace stepped out of modern life for a few months and headed off into the deepest, darkest parts of the Amazon rainforest with a half-mad guide, in search of the mysterious flecheiros, “People of the Arrow.”

Give this book a read. Fantastic.