Book Review: The Man Who Swam The Amazon

Martin Strel is by no means a vegan. For the most part he seems to be a total carnivore. However, he has consistently pushed his body to the limits and beyond and for that, I admire him.

The book, The Man Who Swam The Amazon, is a narration of Martin's journey from the headwaters of the Amazon in Peru to its gaping mouth 3274 miles later at the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil. The narrator is Matthew Mohlke, himself a world class long-distance paddler, who joins Strel's support team for the 3rd time (the 2 others being his swim of the Paraná and the Mississippi).

Mohlke presents the journey in a day to day diary format. It's not just about the swimming, though. Mohlke offers raw insight into life pressed together with dozens of strangers in a boat for two months in the lawless, wild, hot, sticky, strange and disease ridden area of the world called the Amazon. From Strel's gruff, no bullshit attitude to raging cases of diarrhea to a lawless world ruled by pirates, Mohlke leaves all of Strel's record breaking swim on the 208 pages.

If you've ever craved adventure and have dreamed of pushing your body to it's limits, just to see if you can, this is a must-read book. You can find more information at the official website or get the book at the usual suspects (Amazon, Chapters, etc...).

If you would like the book for free -be the first to comment on this post and I will ship you my one and only copy absolutely free! I don't believe in throwing away books and the 10 cents it would fetch at a yard sale just isn't worth my while.