Amazon Stranger: A Rainforest Chief Battles Big Oil

A naturalist's paradise, the Cuyabeno wildlife reserve in eastern Ecuador was set aside for tourists, scientists and indigenous Indians. Then oil reserves were discovered near the Aguarico River. One band of natives, the Cofan, moved deeper into the forest and has been fighting the petrochemical companies under the leadership of an American, Randy Borman. Tidwell (The Ponds of Kalambayi) spent several months with the Cofan observing the degradation of the environment wrought by the oil companies. He tells an engrossing story of a primitive people and their remarkable leader. Born in the jungle to missionary parents, Borman chose to stay; he married a Cofan and has fathered two sons. Tidwell paints a vivid picture of the rain forest and its people, of the battle between conservation and exploitation. Author tour. (May)