Into the Heart of Borneo, by Redmond O’Hanlon
Imagine two middle-aged Brits, armed with nothing but wit and a taste for local booze, stumbling through the untamed wilds of Borneo. That's the premise of Into the Heart of Borneo, Redmond O'Hanlon's side-splitting account of his journey with poet James Fenton into the island's uncharted interior.
Their mission? To seek out rare plants and animals, including the elusive (and possibly extinct) Borneo Rhinoceros. Their qualifications? Absolutely none. But what they lack in preparation, they make up for in sheer audacity and an uncanny ability to befriend locals over a drink or ten.
As they bumble their way through sweltering heat, treacherous rapids, and swarms of bloodthirsty insects, O'Hanlon and Fenton are constantly ribbed by their three guides for being "fat and old." Yet somehow, against all odds, these unlikely explorers not only survive but thrive in the face of nature's most daunting challenges.
O'Hanlon's writing is as wild and unpredictable as the jungle itself. His self-deprecating humor and genuine awe for the natural world shine through on every page, making you feel like you're right there in the boat with him, swatting mosquitoes and dodging leeches. While all of O'Hanlon's books are worth a read, Into the Heart of Borneo - his debut travel memoir - might just be his crowning achievement. It's a riotous, heartfelt tribute to the spirit of adventure and the enduring power of friendship in the face of absurd odds.
“Powerful as your scholarly interest may be, there is no matching that irrational to find a means of keeping your head on your shoulders, of retaining your frontal appendage in its accustomed place, of barring 1,700 different species of parasitic worms from your bloodstream and Wagler’s pit viper from just about anywhere; of removing small, black, wild-boar ticks from your crutch with minimum discomfort (you do it with Sellotape); of declining to wear a globulating necklace of leeches all day long; of sidestepping amoebic and bacillary dysentery, yellow and blackwater and dengue fevers, malaria, cholera, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis, tuberculosis and the crocodile (thumbs in its eyes, if you have time, they say).”
Interesting Facts & Links:
Redmond O'Hanlon is a British writer and explorer known for his vivid travel accounts of journeys to remote and dangerous parts of the world. He has undertaken expeditions to regions such as the Amazon rainforest, Borneo, and Congo, combining his passion for natural history with a keen eye for human nature and a wry sense of humor in his writings. O'Hanlon was educated at Marlborough College and later studied English at Merton College, Oxford, where he also completed his D.Phil. He currently resides in Oxfordshire, England, where he continues his writing and occasionally plans new adventures. Learn more about Redmond O'Hanlon by clicking here.
While O'Hanlon is most famous for Into the Heart of Borneo , his two books on adventures through the Amazon and the Congo are just as crazy and just as funny. We also highly recommend Trawler, his 2003 tour with a commercial fishing crew in the North Atlantic.
We like Spike Magazine's review of Into the Heart of Borneo, published in 2005.
This book is absolutely one of the first we will recommend to those who like stories about adventure and exploration. Click here to see all of our selections on the best adventure books.
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