This reconstruction of events is much more than a sensational search and rescue drama with a happy ending. Zooming out from the crash that gripped the nation, Mat Youkee takes in the broader social and political landscape for what it tells about the harsh reality of life for indigenous peoples of the Colombian Amazon. -- Fiona Capp * The Sydney Morning Herald/The Age * Gripping, forensic, powerful and moving, Forty Days in the Jungle is a modern Colombian epic A veteran foreign correspondent in Colombia, Youkee lays bare how a complex interplay of factors (guerrilla violence, domestic abuse, Indigenous poverty, mechanical failures, split-second decisions) led to disaster. But he also writes with deep sensitivity and respect for the countrys Amazonian cultures, and the vanishing knowledge that enabled the children to survive for so long in an apparently inhospitable environment. Forty Days in the Jungle has all the pace and tension of a real-life thriller, conveying the mystery and allure of the Amazon while being clear-eyed about the social and political challenges facing the region. -- Laurence Blair, author of Patria: lost countries of South America Forty Days in the Jungle penetrates the mysteries and secrets of the Amazon jungle. Far more than the death-defying saga of four children who hid for weeks in the forests after surviving a deadly plane crash, this gripping tale is a path into the rugged day-to-day life of those who live in the Amazon. The mythological Hollywood stereotypes of the Amazon are exposed in this gripping true story that shows those living inside the famed forests to be as socially complex as its biodiversity Forty Days in the Jungle is a tale of hope and injustice written with a deep respect for all we have yet to learn from this ecosystem known globally as The Lungs of the Planet. -- Jonathan Franklin, author of 438 Days Forty Days in the Jungle achieves that rare feat of taking a headline news story and revealing it to be twice as jaw-dropping as we could ever have imagined. Deploying his extensive journalistic talent and intimate knowledge of Colombia, Youkee deftly takes us beneath the surface of the most famous rescue mission for years. In doing so, he unveils not only a tale of human perseverance and courage, but also the searing fault lines that continue to divide and destabilise this beautiful yet fragile country. A triumph of storytelling reportage. -- Oliver Balch, author of Viva South America! and Out of Amazonia
