Tale of A Shaman'S Apprentice

An ethnobotanist recounts his experiences in the rain forests tracking the shamans whose knowledge of the curative powers of plants and herbs could hold the key to the cure for AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. 20,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

YA-Plotkin is a scientist who lived with indigenous tribes in the Amazon areas of Guyana and Suriname in order to learn about their native plants and how they use them medicinally. This book covers the 10 years during which he visited isolated villages and recorded their plant lore. Amid tales of adventure and descriptions of exotic wildlife and scenery, the author emphasizes how the coming of modern society has unalterably changed these societies. Young people have lost interest in the traditional way of life and the shamans have no one to whom they can pass on their valuable knowledge. He discusses companies and organizations that are working to return some drug-sale profits to the Indians, establish shaman apprentice programs among the tribes, and preserve this valuable habitat. An absorbing book that goes miles beyond the mass market "save the rain forest" campaign to explain this important issue to teens.
Penny Stevens, Fairfax Public Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The thrilling account of the 13 years Plotkin, vice-president of Ethnobotany at Conservation International in Washington, spent in the northeastern Amazon's primeval rain forest is a first-rate travel and adventure tale in which scientific lore, passionate advocacy of conservation and literary gifts are combined. Thanks to the trust and friendship the author inspired among the declining number of powerful shamans ("witch doctors") and other Indians who considered him a "harmless oddball," they welcomed him at tribal rituals and assisted him in identifying plants (60,000 yet unknown species, used to treat ills from testicular cancer to earache). They even shared secrets for making curare poison and other hallucinogens (which he tried). The author has also succeeded in having the indigenous people share in the profits from their plant-derived wonder drugs, and encouraged them to preserve their heritage of botanic lore and customs.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a captivating plea for more effective management of the rain forest's botanical, medicinal, and cultural resources, the chief ethnobotanist at Conservation International vividly recalls his apprenticeships to the tribal shamanic healers of the northeast Amazon. ``There exists no shortage of `wonder drugs' waiting to be found in the rain forests,'' says Plotkin, yet ``we know little or nothing about the chemical composition of 98.6% of the Brazilian flora''--and this despite the fact that, even now, the value of medicines derived from tropical plants is more than $6 billion a year. Inspired by a 1974 Harvard night-school lecture by famed ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, Plotkin first traveled to the rain forest in 1979. There, he was shocked to discover that local Indians' priceless botanical knowledge, developed over thousands of years, was threatened with eradication because no younger tribal members would volunteer as apprentice healers. Plotkin presented himself as an unlikely student to the Tirio and Wayana shamans, offering in exchange to write down what he was taught, thereby preserving the shamanic lore. When not following his elderly instructors through the forest, collecting plant samples and scribbling notes on native cures for arthritis, skin funguses, colds, and other ailments, Plotkin benefited personally from a successful shamanic healing; learned a secret formula for curare poison; and otherwise became deeply enmeshed in tribal life. In the States, he contractually assigned a percentage of any future profits from development of his research to the tribes that had disclosed the plants' healing powers, as well as to the countries in which the plants grow. Meanwhile, his book of botanical lore, presented as promised to the tribes, has helped restore a self- respect battered during years of interaction with the West. ``Every time a shaman dies, it is as if a library burned down,'' Plotkin reminds us. No one could convey the potential tragedy of this statement more convincingly than this author, who has done something to remedy it. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

While living in the tropical rain forest with several Amazonian Indian tribes, Plotkin, currently a vice president of ethnobotany at Conservation International, observed and recorded the use of plants by the villagers and their shamans for food, medicines, poison arrows, and ritualistic hallucinogens. The result is a compelling, insightful narrative that whisks the reader into a time and place where plants, animals, and indigenous societies coexist. The encroachment of Western civilization threatens this existence, adding urgency to the author's contention that we must conserve tropical species, preserve the tribal knowledge of plants, and fund medical research on tropical plants that may yield new disease-fighting compounds. A skillful blend of travel adventure, botanical and cultural history, and Amazonian research. For all libraries.
- Teresa Elberson, Lafayette P.L., La.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.