Stranger in the Forest: On Foot Across Borneo

This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for a long before I finally picked it up. I read a lot of adventure travel, but am not particularly interested in Borneo. Nevertheless, I thought I would give it a try. I'm glad I did. From the first chapter on, I couldn't put the book down. By the way, the first chapter has got to be one of the funniest first chapters ever. It hooked me. Mr Hansen captures with vivid splendor the sights, sounds and dangers of traveling in the jungle. It's a book well worth reading about an adventure none of us would want to endure.

Stranger in the Forest (1988) is Eric Hansen's remarkable 5 month trip across Borneo in 1982. The book is something of a minor classic among adventure literature, being both modern in style and reminiscent of a Victorian explorer charting blank spots on the map. Hansen set off into the jungle with almost nothing except good heath, trade goods and the optimism that locals would help him through. Along the way he becomes increasingly native going from one improbable adventure after the next. We learn about the geography, flora and fauna and most of all the fun-loving people, former head-hunting nomadic hunter-gatherers known as the Penan. In 2014, Borneo is a darker story about the destruction of the forest and the Penan people, but show more Hansen was there just before the palm plantations and dams. He was able to record and celebrate some of the last of the ancient ecosystems and culture of Borneo, the book is a gateway to the world's third largest island as it existed not long ago. show less

You don't find many current travel writers heading off to the tropical rain forest of Borneo. I'm still not really sure why Hansen headed there. He seemed to like this place, despite deadly snakes, really inadequate toilet facilities, awful food (he mentions eating rotten fish many times), and scary tribal people. Maybe you gotta be there.

"Stranger in the Forest" tells the story of Hansen's walk across Borneo during the mid-1980's. It is a really fascinating look at a disappearing culture, mixed with tales about the forest itself. It's written in the vein of those British travelogues written by early explorers and makes for a compelling read.

I finished this book a while ago, and forget a lot of it now. It was not as good as the other books I have read by Hansen. It is the narrartive story of his journey across Borneo on foot. There are some interesting parts, but also some boring parts.

I hated when the author gave his rifle to a native so he could kill the rhinoceros near them.

Is this the real life? Amazing.