Save the Planet: An Amazonian Tribal Leader Fights for His People, the Rainforest, and the Earth

Amazonian tribal leader Suruí pairs up with environmental journalist Sombrun to tell his story in this important but sometimes less-than-gripping volume. Suruí offers a first-person account of life in the state of Rondônia in northwestern Brazil, hit hard by deforestation in recent decades—it has lost approximately 40% of its native forest to agriculture and timber production. He details conflicts with land grabbers such as the Itaporanga company, which “illegally appropriated a section of territory bordering the Ji-Parana River” and sold counterfeit deeds to scores of settler families, who moved in and started cutting down trees. His personal endeavors include studying applied biology at the University of Goaiania and getting elected clan chief shortly after receiving his degree. Surui’s initial goals for his group were to encourage them to “reconnect with our traditions,” to develop an effective bilingual educational program for the children, and to improve the overall health of the population. He writes almost nonchalantly of the $100,000 bounty that has been put on his head by timber poachers upset with his conservation efforts, and of the bodyguards tasked to protect him. Though his story is undeniably fascinating, Surui’s matter-of-fact narrative style can be rather dull, limiting the memoir’s general appeal. (July)