They just don't make 'em like they used to

Question: Can you imagine the current President of the United States leaving office, and then at some later date joining an expedition - without protection - to help map an uncharted river through the Brazilian rainforest? Quit laughing, it's a serious question!

Okay, what about the previous one then? Seriously, you're gonna hurt yourself if you keep laughing like that!

How about the one before him? Of course not! None of these modern cream puffs would ever go anywhere sans Secret Service, or engage in any sort of activity that would provide them very few, to no, modern amenities. Knowing this, how far back do you think you'd have to go to find an ex-President who would undertake such an adventure?

Hint: You'd need to go back over a hundred years. Like the title says, they just don't make 'em like they used to.

Teddy Roosevelt was definitely one of our better Presidents, and in my mind, certainly led the most interesting life. Adventure might as well have been his middle name (which would've worked since he didn't have one). I can imagine a few Presidents prior to him partaking in an adventure through the South American wilds prior to office, but have a hard time believing that any of them would have ever done so after leaving office.

Earlier this year, Greg, the creative genius behind, Nine Pockets, did a post about a Roosevelt card that he had gotten. In it, he mentioned Teddy's book "Through the Brazilian Wilderness", which covers the famous 1914 Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition, whose goal it was to chart the previously unmapped, and ominously named, 'River of Doubt' (now the Roosevelt River). It was a very good post, go seek it out if you missed it. I mentioned in the comments section that I had read the book back in my late teens, and that I was probably due for a re-read. Of course, that would require me to find a copy first, as I had originally read it through the library (the library in Gresham, OR - just in case you were curious). I wrote it down after reading the post, as reminder, but as is often the case with me, even that didn't help me to ever remember to look for it.

This is one of the few times where forgetting something might actually have been a good thing, because unbeknownst to me at the time, Greg just so happened to have an extra copy laying around, and was kind enough to surprise me with it some months later. And this wasn't just any old copy either, no, this was a real fancy-pants edition.

It had been a long time since I last got a book in plastic. I feel obligated to mention too that the book is a really pretty dark green, which for some reason came out looking bluish in the phtots.

The folks over The Lakeside Press really went all out with this edition, which included gilded page tops, and a number of color plates; allegedly this being the first printing to include said color plates.

Despite the book having been first published over a hundred years ago now, I'm still reluctant to give away too much, as not to spoil it for those who have yet to read it. I will say though that it's amazing how much of it came back to me while reading it after all of these years, and how most of my adoration came from the actions of Teddy's son, Kermit, who was every bit the adventurer that his father was.

This book has lot going for it, history, adventure, wildlife, philosophy, and so much more. My only complaint is that it feels like it should've been a couple of hundred pages longer. I can only imagine what didn't make it into the manuscript.

I've always loved books about early explorations/discoveries. Despite the obvious hardships that came from explorations in the pre-modern era, there's just something that strikes different when reading about them. There's a romance to those early adventures that has long since been lost, and unless we as humans ever start all over, it's not one that'll ever be recaptured. 

I've been a blogger for a little over seven years now, and in that time, this the third book that I've been sent. I've been fortunate enough to have received a number of other things during that time as well, but somehow books just feel more thoughtful, it's like the sender is saying "Hey, here's a gift for your brain". And since I'm pretty sure that my brain is fighting a losing battle, it can use all the help it can get.

Many thanks (again) to Greg for the wonderful gift, it's not one that I'm likely to forget anytime soon.