Paul Rosolie

Mother of God is about a young man from the suburbs of New Jersey who follows his dream to be a naturalist and conservationist. Steve Irwin was his childhood hero. Most of the book takes place in the Western Amazon, in Peru, where he works at a eco-lodge as a guide. His dream is to work to preserve the forests from development and poachers and to communicate to the world the beauty of life in the Amazon. To this end he wrote this book, helps run an institute in the jungle, and is working on show more a film.

Rosolie has a lot of adventures and really at times I found him to be romantic in his descriptions, as well as reckless in the way Steve Irwin would jump on the backs of whatever mega-fauna he saw, including anaconda as big around as an oil barrel. But he does impart a sense of the jungle in a way that is accessible and vivid. Rosolie is no Irwin, he is still discovering his voice, but I feel as strongly as he does about preserving the wild places of the world. We will be hearing more from Rosolie in the future, if he lives, I will be following what he does. show less

This was such a moving story. Isha’s passion for helping animals and determination to save the Bengal tiger she’s discovered are moving. You can feel her emotion pouring off the page as she faces down the villagers who want to kill it. There’s an almost poetic lilt to the story, and it will easily draw you in. Definitely recommend.

Incredibly interesting non fiction. Well organized and paced, often very gripping. The personal adventures narrated here are really insightful, and the book is informative but never dry.

How humans love plundering a forest, like spoiled children with their parents' ATM cards and no concept of moderation

I can't stress enough how much this book means to me. It's a depiction of a life I've dreamed of for so long. I really think I should become a Paul Rosolie, a jungle keeper.