The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon by Michael Goulding, Ronaldo Barthem and Efrem Ferreira, Smithsonian Institution Press, £30.50/$39.95, ISBN 1588341356 Reviewed by Adrian Barnett
AMAZONIA is a place of superlatives: the world’s largest river running through the greatest single expanse of rainforest, containing the most diverse freshwater fish communities and some of the most species-rich lowland forests. As the hydraulic system of the region, it drains about 40 per cent of South America. But the problem with superlatives is that their power wears off with repetition: people’s eyes soon glaze rather than shine.
This is the book to revive even…
