readlovegrow's review against another edition
4.0
Lacandon Rainforest (Guatemala/Mexico) --Latin America-- (1973-2010)
"You can never go back to a place and expect it to be the same. (185)"
Format: The chapters were pretty episodic, so there was always a catalyst to start and an "ending" to each. And the first and last chapters also take place in the same setting, thirty-seven years apart, to "close the circle". The middle chapters seem to vacillate between visiting a Mayan site and bringing someone's war story to light. The epilogue tacked onto the end is almost entirely devoted to blaming the US for the drug cartels (earning $40 billion a year) being able to afford to intimidate the government officals, ruin the rainforest, and force "young indigenous men emigrating to look for work in the United States" to end up working in gangs running drugs.
I was expecting it to be more of a travelogue (it won a couple awards related to traveling), but it definitely ended with more of a "save the rainforest and indigenous peoples" vibe. I enjoyed the parts where she explored the ancient sites and wondered what life was like for the ancient Mayans; and I learned a lot about the Mexican and Guatemalan "hidden war" (counterinsurgency) again the Indians.
So, it wasn't what I was expecting, but I did enjoy her writing. I wish she would have spent more time talking about the history of the Maya and their way of life, but it is apparent that she is more focused on the oppression/modernization of the currently living Mayan Indians.
--------------Quotes from the book ---------------
How remote from civilization these forest people lived! How entwined with the nature around them. They honored ancient gods, drank sacred substances to achieve heightened states of mind. Fewer than four hundred survived in remotes jungle. They were said to be the last of the Maya, whose ancestors had built the great Mesoamerican rainforest cities more than a thousand years ago. (4)
I knew Naha did not exist for my benefit, that lamenting change for others was romanticizing men and women, which takes their humanity away and can only lead to trouble. (185) [Although she does it frequently throughout the book]
Revolution in Mesoamerica was a wheel...In each place, suffering led to rebellion, which brought on counterinsurgency, including civilian massacres and [dislocated communities]. The US role in each conflict [was] aimed to repress genuine change, to maintain an antebellum status quo. (200)
[The Zapatistas] purpose was to draw attention to the death in the life of Maya, existing in worse conditions in the twentieth century than in the sixteenth. (200)
The United States had sent Mexico helicopters and other weapons for the "drug war." The Mexican army used them against Zapatista combatants and civilians. (221)
In the years I have been coming to Peten... I have watched the rainforest of Gran Peten reduced by half. At ancient Mayan sites, I no longer automatically expect to [be able to] return. (243)
Peasant farmers looking for land continue to arrive in the forest while Guatemala and Mexico lay out "development" plans. (245)
A government tourism and development project called Cuarto Balam...maintains Peten should be protected for its biodiversity yet must shoulder its weight in a poor country by producing revenue. (246)
"You can never go back to a place and expect it to be the same. (185)"
Format: The chapters were pretty episodic, so there was always a catalyst to start and an "ending" to each. And the first and last chapters also take place in the same setting, thirty-seven years apart, to "close the circle". The middle chapters seem to vacillate between visiting a Mayan site and bringing someone's war story to light. The epilogue tacked onto the end is almost entirely devoted to blaming the US for the drug cartels (earning $40 billion a year) being able to afford to intimidate the government officals, ruin the rainforest, and force "young indigenous men emigrating to look for work in the United States" to end up working in gangs running drugs.
I was expecting it to be more of a travelogue (it won a couple awards related to traveling), but it definitely ended with more of a "save the rainforest and indigenous peoples" vibe. I enjoyed the parts where she explored the ancient sites and wondered what life was like for the ancient Mayans; and I learned a lot about the Mexican and Guatemalan "hidden war" (counterinsurgency) again the Indians.
So, it wasn't what I was expecting, but I did enjoy her writing. I wish she would have spent more time talking about the history of the Maya and their way of life, but it is apparent that she is more focused on the oppression/modernization of the currently living Mayan Indians.
--------------Quotes from the book ---------------
How remote from civilization these forest people lived! How entwined with the nature around them. They honored ancient gods, drank sacred substances to achieve heightened states of mind. Fewer than four hundred survived in remotes jungle. They were said to be the last of the Maya, whose ancestors had built the great Mesoamerican rainforest cities more than a thousand years ago. (4)
I knew Naha did not exist for my benefit, that lamenting change for others was romanticizing men and women, which takes their humanity away and can only lead to trouble. (185) [Although she does it frequently throughout the book]
Revolution in Mesoamerica was a wheel...In each place, suffering led to rebellion, which brought on counterinsurgency, including civilian massacres and [dislocated communities]. The US role in each conflict [was] aimed to repress genuine change, to maintain an antebellum status quo. (200)
[The Zapatistas] purpose was to draw attention to the death in the life of Maya, existing in worse conditions in the twentieth century than in the sixteenth. (200)
The United States had sent Mexico helicopters and other weapons for the "drug war." The Mexican army used them against Zapatista combatants and civilians. (221)
In the years I have been coming to Peten... I have watched the rainforest of Gran Peten reduced by half. At ancient Mayan sites, I no longer automatically expect to [be able to] return. (243)
Peasant farmers looking for land continue to arrive in the forest while Guatemala and Mexico lay out "development" plans. (245)
A government tourism and development project called Cuarto Balam...maintains Peten should be protected for its biodiversity yet must shoulder its weight in a poor country by producing revenue. (246)
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