Alfred Boeldeke

Mr. Boeldeke opens this account of his family’s sojourn to Argentina after World War II with these words: “For Aenne, the wife I married in Germany in 1942, it was like being a bride again…she was following her husband to a new and happy life.” It sounds wonderful: a relocation from war-ravaged Europe to sunny South America, until you read on, and discover that the family, including 5 year old daughter Graciela, was actually going on an expedition into the jungle to look for headhunters. Mrs. B. spent her “second honeymoon” traveling the Amazon river in a homemade houseboat tacked together from a car chassis, balsa reeds, and planks, fending off horrific tropical diseases, starvation, and natives who were at that time still actively taking and shrinking heads. In fact, Mr. B. proudly posed little Graciela for a portrait holding her first shrunken head, given as a hospitality gift by one of the friendlier tribes (see cover photo for a cropped version). Amazingly, the family survived their adventure and Mr. B. went on to write this weird, yet compelling, work.

As an aside, I've also found this book handy for keeping neighbors on airplanes from talking to you, as most people tend to take a glance at the cover and then edge as far away as possible...… (more)