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Acknowledgments
There are many people to thank for their contributions to the life of River of Darkness. I owe gratitude to editor John Flicker, who had the good sense to wave off another proposal of mine and send me back to the idea trenches, and there I discovered Orellana and his Amazonian journey. A tip of my conquistador’s helmet goes to my editor, Tracy Devine at Ballantine Bantam Dell. I have been impressed by her strong-armed line-editing skill, her perceptive queries, her great ear and attention to pacing, and her playful sense of imagination and adventure. Thanks, too, go to assistant editor Angela Polidoro for her careful and thoughtful editorial contributions.
My agent, Scott Waxman, has been there for me since circa 2003, and it is hard to believe that soon we will reach a decade of collaboration. We have shared the wide gamut of emotions that the book-writing and publishing trade doles out, and it has been a tremendously fulfilling and educational experience to work with him. From the beginning, his belief in me seems never to have wavered. Scott involves himself deeply from the earliest idea stages of a book, bringing his considerable experience and wisdom and his profound understanding of what makes a good story to bear on every project. Scott—here’s to another random early-May meeting in New York and another Yankees–Red Sox game with Schaapy! Pretty amazing.
I must give a nod to three scholars who generously took time out of their very busy careers to talk with me, listen to me, and share their knowledge and sagacity about the Amazon Basin with me—all of which was instrumental in my understanding of the people and the region and in my writing of River of Darkness. First of all, thanks to Anna Roosevelt, with whom I spent a lovely, fascinating, and mind-expanding evening at Russian Tea Time in Chicago in February 2008. Anna’s archaeological and anthropological work in the Amazon Basin is legendary, and I was humbled that she would take the time to meet with me and discuss my project and then follow that up with multiple email correspondences and a nearly two-hour phone interview. Here’s to the Blinchik s Lososinoi I s Ikroisalmon—Anna—and to matriarchal and matrilineal societies (and Amazonian women) the world over.
Thanks, too, to Robert Carneiro, another scholar of the highest magnitude who met personally with me. On a rainy day in early May 2009, Bob Carneiro invited me to his office above the American Museum of Natural History, an office in which he has been producing remarkable scholarship for more than five decades. We spent more than three hours talking about everything from his theory of circumscription and the role of chiefdoms to his personal experiences doing fieldwork in the Amazon Basin, and I was bowled over and humbled by the scope of his learning and the sharpness of his wit. Poring over his large and detailed nautical charts of the Amazon River on the tables in the conference room was absolutely engaging. I also wish to extend my deepest appreciation to Professor Carneiro for his generous reading of my manuscript and his tremendous insight, observations, and opinions on the text. His notes were remarkably detailed and discerning. I learned a great deal from him, and the text benefited in numerous ways from his erudition, depth of knowledge, and decades of experience traveling on the Amazon and living among its people. Thanks so much, Bob. I owe you a pisco sour.
Finally, I must thank the illustrious historian John Hemming, former director and secretary of the Royal Geographical Society in London and the Amazon’s greatest historian. Though I have yet to have the pleasure and privilege of a personal meeting with Dr. Hemming, he has been swift and forthright in written correspondence, answering multiple email questions and directing me toward avenues of further study and inquiry. His breadth of scholarship on the Amazon spans some forty years, and his writings have contributed considerably to my understanding of the history of South America and the Amazon. I hope, the next time I am in London, to pay him a proper visit.
My Amazon excursion culminated in the remarkable city of Iquitos, Peru, and there I had the great fortune of staying at the lovely and historic Casa Fitzcarraldo. The house is a jungle oasis of sublime calm amid the Iquitos chaos (think thirty thousand whining motocarros). Owned by Micaela McPhale (daughter of Walter Saxer, producer of the Werner Herzog films Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre: The Wrath of God) and run by Micaela and her husband, David McPhale, La Casa Fitzcarraldo was a perfect end to my river journey, the walls rich with images depicting the history of Iquitos as well as the Herzog films. Micaela and David’s hospitality, local knowledge, and quiet graciousness (and excellent cooking!) made me vow to return to sleep on the top floor of the five-story tree house.
For a third consecutive book I owe deep appreciation to my intrepid first readers, my dear and trusted friends John Larkin and Kim Barnes. John, here’s to many more adventures and thousands of cycling miles together. Kim: a clink of the wineglass to the elusive and illusory narrative arc, with deep appreciation for your ability to help tell the story that’s trying to be told. As always, a group hug to the Free Range Writers—Kim Barnes, Collin Hughes, Lisa Norris, and Jane Varley. Write onward! And a special mention to Melissa Rockwood of Rdesign for her help with the map and other design problems over the years—Missy rocks!
Finally and forever, my deepest gratitude to my lovely wife, Camie, and my beautiful children, Logan and Hunter, who give me the latitude to pursue these wild adventures.
Illustration Credits
1 Francisco Pizarro (litho) by Spanish School Private Collection/Bildarchiv Steffens/Henri Stierlin/The Bridgeman Art Library
2 Francisco de Orellana (litho) by Spanish School Private Collection/Index/The Bridgeman Art Library
3 The Battle of Cajamarca, 1532 (engraving) (b/w photo) by Theodore de Bry (1528–98) Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library
4 El Dorado: akg-images
5 The dogs of Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1475–1571) attacking the Indians (engraving) (b/w photo) by Theodore de Bry (1528–98) Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library
6 Crossing the Cordillera on 1st June, from “Travels in South America” by Alexander Caldcleugh, 1825 (litho) (b/w photo) by English School (19th century) Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library
7 Our First Interview with Caripuna Indians, from “The Amazon and Madeira River” by Franz Keller, 1874 (engraving) by American School (19th century) Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library
8 The Heart of the Andes (engraving) by Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900) © Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, USA/The Bridgeman Art Library
9 Jaguar Hunt, from “Bresil, Columbie et Guyanes” by Ferdinand Denis and César Famin 1837 (engraving) (b/w photo) by French School (19th century) Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library
10 Scene in a Brazilian Forest engraved by J. Bishop (engraving) (b/w photo) by Henry George Hine (1811–95) (after) Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library
11 Bridge of Ropes, near Penipe, from Vol. II of “Researches concerning the Institutions and Monuments of the Ancient Inhabitants of America with Descriptions and views of some of the most Striking Scenes in the Cordilleras,” pub. 1814 (lithograph) by Friedrich Alexander Humboldt, Baron von (1769–1859) (after) © Royal Geographical Society, London, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library
12 Crossing a Stream along a Fallen Tree, engraved by C. Laplante, page 79 from “Voyages in South America” by J. Crevaux, 1883 (engraving) by Edouard Riou (1833–1900) (after) Natural History Museum, London, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library
13 Caripuna Indians with tapir, from “The Amazon and Madeira Rivers,” by Franz Keller, 1874 (engraving) by American School (19th century) Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library
14 Cannibalism, engraved by Theodor de Bry (1528–98) (engraving) by John White (fl. 1570–93) Private Collection/The Stapleton Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library
15 Moonlight Effect on the Lake Juteca, page 457 from Vol. 2 of “Journey Across South America” by P. Marcoy, 1873 (engraving) by Edouard Riou (1833–1900) (after) Natural History Museum, London, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library
16 Meandering river (aerial), Tambopata National Reserve, Peru © Frans Lanting/www.lanting.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BUDDY LEVY is the author of Conquistador: Hernán Cortés, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs and American Legend: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett. His first book was Echoes on Rimrock: In Pursuit of the Chukar Partridge. As a journalist, Levy has covered adventure sports and lifestyle around the world. In 2010–11, he co-hosted the ten-episode series Decoded on the History Channel. He is a clinical associate professor at Washington State University and lives in Moscow, Idaho, with his wife and two children.