Book Recommendation:"The River of Doubt"

Have you ever been lost before? It doesn’t feel good, right? You scramble around every area trying to find your way back home but you can’t because you don’t really know where your house is. Fortunately for you, you can always ask for direction, and on top of that, there are many innovative gadgets you can use to show you the way. It may be easier for you to find your way back home, but for Theodore Roosevelt and his crew, it’s a nightmare finding their way back home.
Candice Millard’s The River of Doubt, written in 2005, is a 432-page nonfiction/psychological thriller novel. When I set my eyes on the texts, I know I will be in love with this book. I love this book because of many good reasons. First, I love how Millard’s skills in writing put me in Theodore Roosevelt’s shoes. Because of that, I am perfectly able to picture myself as the United States’ 26th president in my mind. Second, I really admire Millard’s hard work in writing this novel. After looking at the bibliography when I finish reading the novel, I am amaze at the long list of sources she includes. Therefore, it must have been very tedious to find all these sources in order to write about Theodore Roosevelt. With many sources, you know Millard’s portrayal of Roosevelt must be very accurate. Wanting to attract people to the story, I know she put her heart and soul into this novel; it’s noticeable because she is able to make me not put this novel down. Even though the novel is historical, many will think this novel may be boring, but it’s not. Millard’s novel is one of those historical novels that will not put readers to sleep. Furthermore, it helps readers understand the history of the United States during the early 1900s, which is a big plus for many students who are taking U.S History.
To ease his presidential election lost, Theodore Roosevelt decides to set up an expedition with a couple of men to the unexplored “tributary of the Amazon”. As they explore the tributary, Roosevelt and his men find themselves in a serious predicament. Not knowing where to head back home, they are left stranded in the lush rain forest of the Amazon without any food. And on top of that, they lose their canoes which are the only mode of transportation they have and deep in the rain forest lays belligerent Indians who are reluctant to kill them. Because of these problems, a huge possibility of dying causes tensions between Roosevelt and his men. They are stuck in a nightmare, and they must find a way out. Throughout the novel, some will live, and some will die as Roosevelt and his men fight their way back to civilization.
After reading this, I notices Candice Millard’s style is like Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet. The novel also relates to Discovery Channel’s television program, "I Shouldn’t be Alive", which talks about people who miraculously survive in the wilderness. And because of that, they share their experiences with the viewers. Readers 14 years old and up who love to search for an adventure will definitely love The River of Doubt; they will be never put this novel down.

The Unwanted Blog 15

Book Title: The Unwanted
pages read this week: 67
Pages read last week(s):978
Total pages:1045

weekly summary: Kien wants to leave Vietnam and go to the U.S.

weekly thought:In the book, Kien could no longer take it living in Vietnam after the communist had take over. That was why Kien want to go to the United States so badly. The reason people in Vietnam escape during the war, was because the government after the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, the communist won. Therefore, there were less freedom for many citizens which caused many Vietnamese to set their eyes on other countries like the United States to live. From what i heard from my parents, my uncles and aunts were one of those people who succesfully escape from the communist regimes. Though it was difficult for them to by-pass the Communist's government, they found a way and sneakily made their way to the United States. My uncle and aunts were those boat poeple. It was a long trek and because of that some people die of thirst and hunger. It's sad to hear stories about how they were on the boat and when a person die, people had to put the dead overboard. The communist had made a serious impact in many Vietnamese lives and its noticeable as many people during and after the Vietnam War had to find a way to escape the Communist. Fortunately my relatives were not caught. If they were caught escaping, it could only mean death for them. In the U.S some Americans were mad at the total number of Vietnamese immigrants entering the country, but some didnt know the reason why they left their homeland. They left behind their homeland because they want to live, and i think that is a good reason.