This book was a really good book. At first I thought it was going to be a missionary story, but it is not. Mark Richie (who I actually met last year before I even knew this book existed) is retelling the story of the life of a Yanomamo shaman, and it is biographical based on recorded interviews. The shaman tells the story of his people as missionaries, priests, and anthropologists arrive in their remote jungle villages and begin to influence the Yanomamo with their various worldviews, opinions, and cultures.

The book is fascinating for several reasons. First of all, it is a middle ground between two competing sides. We hear missionary stories and we hear anthropological scholarly perspectives about tribal life. In fact, one of the main characters in the story is the anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon who wrote the most well-read anthropology book of all time about the Yanomamo. This book shows you what the Yanomamo think about all sides - it identifies the hypocrisy of some missionaries, the cultural bias of the anthropologists, and the caught-between cultures Yanomamo, who neither want to give up their identity or be forced to remain in what they consider to be lives filled with suffering.

It IS the perspective of a shaman turned Christian. He only joins the followers of "Yai Pada" in his old age, and hearing about his spiritual perspective as a shaman is shocking for me - the supernatural world he interacts with is very nearly unbelievable to a western materialist mindset. At the same time, hearing how the Shamen perceives the message of Christianity from a spirit-filled perspective is really really interesting.

It was a good book. It made me mad and it made me think and it made me pray.

This book deserves 5 stars not because of the way it was written, but because of its earth-shattering implications, and how it reminds us all of the reformation adage "ad fontes" or "[back] to the sources." Anyone who has read it knows what I'm talking about. Even as a Christian, growing up in the West forces you to down-play the existence and role of spirits in day-to-day life. This book reminds us that the materialist outlook on life widely misses the mark.

What I'm not saying is that everything Jungleman articulates should be attributed to spiritual activity as he claims--I'm sure there are psychological, physiological (esp. from drugs), and cultural influences on how events were perceived by the Yanomamo. But to me, the overall picture of spiritual forces at work in the Yanomamo is hard to escape. While some may view this as "Christian propaganda," I think it is simply worth noting that any evidence to the contrary of someone's beliefs tends to be viewed as propaganda, so that claim in itself bares no weight; the facts themselves need to be weighed (an argument Ritchie persistently makes in the second half of his book). And the facts seem to be clear: Honey Village is far better off following Jesus (the spirit who be came a man) than they were when they weren't following him.

Wow. What a wild ride of a book. It is very raw and heartbreaking at points. It is unique in that it gives an inside look at an indigenous culture from the perspective of someone who is actually born and raised in that culture. The voice and the narrative do an effective job of immersing the reader into the reality of another culture and of critiquing some of the dehumanizing elements of postmodernism.

This is a fascinating book for readers with western eyes. The virtues that the Yanomamo people hold are the complete opposite of modern Americans. Obviously, the typical missions question will arise that make the Christian reader ask, what exactly needs to be articulated in a foreign missions context for a person to be saved? There is major life change in the village of Honey amongst the Yanomamo people that sets them apart from all other villages. Also, people are living vastly different lives compared to others in the area. This is a book that many western Christians should read especially on the topics of anthropology and demonology.

Riveting story about the Yanomamo people, their spirit world, and some were set free by the "Spirit" of the rainforest.

An absolutely incredible book. I so appreciated the blunt writing of this author and the willingness to share this story. Of course, as readers, we're at the mercy of the authenticity of authors, but after being exposed to multiple credible sources from which these same stories came, I fully believe this tale to be true. A tough read for anyone of any age. It would be more appropriate for mature readers due to some of the graphic nature of daily life for the tribesmen. Would recommend to anyone wanting to see the supernatural power of God still at work in the world through the Holy Spirit.

A modern day Iliad. The kingdom of God is conquering anger, spirits, and the hearts of man all over the world. It is amazing to see the life of this tribe from the inside after reading the ironically pagan accounts of their life from the anthropologists. It is amazing to see a story by a new convert that gives the inside story of the first contact with the savage white "nabas" and how God broke through a culture of violence and transformed a people whom the anthropologists considered "noble savages", into a beloved people of saints.

Incredible true life story about shamans converting to Christianity and how the many spirits that inhabited them were terrified of the spirit of God. I couldn't put it down. A word of caution... It contains very graphic accounts of violence, but it's not written in a gratuitous way, which made all the difference for me.

In belief that this book is translated at least 90% accurate and that it's at least 90% as honest as it claims to truth.

I really like this book. I like it for its raw content and reality.
The best thing about reading this is learning about these people in their primitive (civilized) uninfluenced state. At least until near the ending of the book anyway.

Through learning about these people, I learnt a bit about us, or humans, in general: Culture, sexuality, priorities.. etc. Even as they are savages, they saw the dark side of our world and deemed it more savage than theirs.

How our religion has changed. The spiritual and historicity of the book is also quite important to take note of. Who/what taught them their ways since the beginning and how they've been held captive by the teachings. You learn a lot about fear and the necessity to overcome it, in order to find the truth.

This book is difficult to rate. On the one hand, the senseless, cruel brutality (especially to women and children) is hard to stomach – and I’m somebody who has read many tomes on ethics and human rights abuses. Some of the recounts of Spirit of the Rainforest I can’t un-read nor images un-see in my mind and I wish that I could. On the other hand, this book is a “no bones” description of the days in the lives of the fierce Yanomamo Indians living in the deep jungle of southern Venezuelan’s Amazon basin; how they exist, think, and behave, told by a shaman. The shaman referred to as “Jungleman” (since they culturally do not speak their names) candidly tells of their spirit world, the deceptions of the spirits, and how they grew up fearing the one enemy spirit, the unfriendly spirit, whom Jungleman and other shamans eventually came to know as Yai Pada. The shamans’ perspectives here begin to recognize Yai Pada as not an enemy, after all, but the one Great Spirit, greatest of all, the Creator, God, who is the real source of love and peace. One by one, they end up casting all their other spirits, who had been guiding them down evil and violent paths, to seek only Yai Pada. Daily life begins to change for them as a result. The book certainly is not propaganda for missionaries or anthropologists, for a handful of them in those particular fields were not portrayed at all in a good manner, in fact, some were downright unlikable and nasty. Overall, I think I’m glad to have read this book. It really lent profound insight into a fascinating culture believed to be the most primitive. God is there, reaching into the hearts of man with strings of truth before and against outside influences, according to the words of a powerful and respected shaman. Spirit of the Rainforest is a vicious yet distinctive story.

This is my second time reading this book and I can once again affirm my strong belief that this book is ABSOLUTELY worth reading.
The first four chapters are incredibly violent. Read them anyway. Stick it out. Let our fellow brother tell the story of his people in his own way, which will include many, many acts and truths that make you uncomfortable.
While the setting and lifestyle can be hard to imagine for someone growing up in the Midwest like me, the truth of the Powerful God who makes himself one of us to free us from the power of evil is not hard to imagine at all. We need the reminder of the gospel from those who are so different from us and yet in the same desperate need for a Savior.

Intense story about how God can transform cultures through individuals. Also, it describes the complexities when the good and bad from different cultures collide.