Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia

I was greatly impressed with Wade Davis' The Wayfinders so I chose to read Magdalena as well. What I discovered is that, unlike The Wayfinders, there is very little anthropology in Magdalena. Instead we have a sort of travelogue/history of Colombia, with an assortment of anecdotes and personages. The best part of the book is the story of Simon Bolivar, his world travels, his meeting with Alexander von Humboldt and Napoleon, and his subsequent campaign to free his country. However, there were times during the reading when I completely lost interest and felt like skim reading. Some brutal descriptions of the atrocities of drug cartels and the civil war are also eye-opening, but the stories heap up like cordwood and make for tough reading. show more It is a great book if you are looking for a history of Colombia, and I must judge it on that basis, rather than the lack of what was in his other book, I suppose, but I was disappointed. show less

WADE DAVIS, enriquece nuestro ser y mirada como ciudadanos colombianos; entra en contacto con nuestra historias,cultura,lugares,municipios,logros y metas alcanzadas,como igualmente con los CONFLICTOS ,VIOLENCIA Y PROBLEMATICAS. Su ensayo invita al cambio, a la mesura y a la paz, a sentirnos plenos y orgullosos por nuestro SER de colombianos,seres unicos,hospitalarios,alegres, que convivimos con la mas esplendorosa naturaleza ,nuestra vena fluvial : el Rio Magdalena.