Junglekeeper - by Paul Rosolie (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Junglekeeper is for any reader yearning to be led on an expedition into the wild of life in that strange world on which all life on Earth depends-and in that wild, into discovering the deepest truths of human existence, calling, purpose, connectedness, and hope. When we're tucked away in the safety and comfort of modern living, is there still an adventure available to us? The answer, Paul Rosolie shows, is a resounding "yes." A kid from Brooklyn who obeyed an undeniable sense of calling to the outdoors, Rosolie found himself immersed in the drama of an entirely different world, the Amazon--and joining with indigenous people and organizations across the globe in an existential struggle to protect it from the encroaching threat of industrial society. Readers will meet unimaginably large snakes that Rosolie must wrangle, jaguars pushed out of their territory by deforestation, monkeys whose home is a canopy humans have yet to understand, a near-miraculous Amazonian water system, and previously uncontacted indigenous people struggling to protect their homes from industrialism. While taking readers on this adventure of how he and some of the unlikeliest people on Earth have successfully protected over 80,000 acres of Amazon forest, Rosolie invites readers to reflect on the profound power of saying "yes": yes to one's calling, yes to the sacrifices and dangers and love we can encounter if we just step outside. Rosolie shows that the vitality we long for is found when we discover who we are between dirt and sky, among the creatures out there who are far more mysterious and alive than we can imagine"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Most people assume that the world has been explored and true adventure is dead: This book is one man's rebuttal. Explorer and conservationist Paul Rosolie shares his incredible life in the Amazon rainforest--and what we can learn from the people fighting to protect it.

"On behalf of the forests that I love, thank you, Paul, for writing this book."--Jane Goodall

Deep in the Peruvian jungle, there exists a corner of the world that remains untouched--one teeming with giant anacondas, where the haunting cries of howler monkeys send brightly colored macaws shooting across the canopy. It's an ecosystem of stupendous biodiversity, uncontacted tribes, and adventures that most people don't even dare to dream of.

When he first set foot in the jungle, Rosolie was a dyslexic kid from Brooklyn who struggled to graduate from high school but had an undeniable calling to the outdoors. He was lucky enough to meet the indigenous naturalist Juan Julio Durand, and together, over two decades, they have created Junglekeepers, an organization that has found a way to halt deforestation and protect more than 110,000 acres--inspiring millions along the way by documenting their progress online. But this work takes grit, and years in, Rosolie and Durand are past their "barefoot machete days," grappling with chain saws, massive fires, illegal miners, and the worst of humanity. Here, Rosolie brings you up close and personal with one of the wildest places on the planet and tells the incredible story of "first contact" with one of the most mysterious uncontacted tribes on Earth: the Mashco Piro.

This book is about the profound power of saying yes: yes to one's calling, yes to sticking with your dream when it comes at a high cost, and yes to taking a stand to save what might otherwise be gone in a generation. It's a story of calling, connectedness, and hope.

Review Quotes

Praise for Junglekeeper

"[Paul] Rosolie profoundly understands the necessity of seeing a place if one is to be
moved to protect it, and he enlists his language powerfully in this mission with rich,
poetic passages capturing the light of treetops at dawn, the darkness of untouched jungle
at night, and the magnificence of confronting rarely seen species up close. . . . A call
to confront today's acute environmental threats with a combination of persistence,
adventure, and awe."--Kirkus Reviews

"Refreshingly optimistic about the future, rejecting 'antihuman'n narratives . . . Honest yet hopeful, this will provide plenty of inspiration for budding conservationists."--Publishers Weekly

Praise for Paul Rosolie

"Rosolie writes with intrepid curiosity and a passion for ecological preservation."--Booklist

"Rosolie is a gripping storyteller. . . . [His] enthusiasm for the wilderness and his ability
to convey it poetically makes him an exceedingly persuasive advocate for conserving
what's left of the natural world."--BookPage

"His dedication to preserving one of the earth's last wildernesses is where he really sets
himself apart."--Bear Grylls

About the Author

Paul Rosolie is a naturalist, explorer, author, and award-winning wildlife filmmaker. For the last twenty years, he has specialized in protecting threatened ecosystems and species in countries ranging from Brazil and Peru to India and Indonesia. He is the founder of Junglekeepers, an organization that focuses on protecting threatened habitats in western Amazonia. To date, Junglekeepers has protected more than 100,000 acres of primary forest.