The last thing we wanted was for the Machiguenga to be sad again. Sadness appeared to bring out their violence.

Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.

If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of pleasure.

The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.

There comes a stage at which a man would rather die cleanly by a bullet than by the unknown terror of the phantom in the forest.

I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains.

Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.

The inertia of a jungle village is a dangerous thing. Before you know it your whole life has slipped by and you are still waiting there.

The rain of Madre de Dios is similar to that of the Amazon, but there is a petrifying aspect to it, as if it seeks to wound rather than to nurture.

On a hard jungle journey nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.

On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.

There's no place for someone who can't decide between being one or the other.

Sectarian thinking is contagious and rapidly spread.

Being good is easy, what is difficult is being just.

The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success.

Like a satellite in orbit, Apple is perpetually falling. It just happens to miss Earth every time.

I believe we have a profound fundamental need for areas of the earth where we stand without our mechanisms that make us immediate masters over our environment.

I don't know that the Libertarian Party has an official position on the separation of church and state.

Buddhism resonated very powerfully with a lot of my preoccupations.

It was hard to get guys to notice me, period, because I was so skinny and all my friends were curvy. Plus, I used to be very nervous in front of guys.

The journalist should be on his guard against publishing what is false in taste or exceptionable in morals.