Brazilian Adventure

This is contemporary American adventure: buy an SUV, watch game shows based on Lord of the Flies, try the risotto recipe Martha Stewart used on her ascent in the Himilayas. Please! Brazilian Adventure is the real thing for those who don't own their own snowshoes. Sure, the author and his companions set off with pith helmets worthy of Ralph Lauren and more elaborate gear than they'll ever use; true, Fleming is something of a good old boy circa 1932 Oxford style. Skin to be shed. When reality hits, which it does early in the adventure and continues to the bedraggled end, he rises to the occasion. The narrative is suffused with clear-eyed wit, honesty and optimism. I hope there are other Peter Fleming books out there.

Imagine a book co-written by Redmond O'Hanlon and Noel Coward: Funny, exciting, literate, a period piece that still works. Flemming, a young corespondant for the London Times, goes on a half-baked expidition to the heart of Brazil with a group of men both over- and underprepared for the adventure. I enjoyed the book immensely, although his light tone occasionally got to me.