Up the Creek

'During recent years a sinister shadow has fallen across the world of travel and travel-writing. It's name is Sponsorship' writes Dervla Murphy in her foreword to John Harrison's unsponsored Amazon adventure, an extremely hazardous canoe trip taken just for the hell of it up one of the more obscure tributaries of the Amazon. Harrison's tale is compelling, full of suspense, humour and wonderful descriptions of Amazon wildlife, all told in down-to-earth unpretentious language with disarming honesty. His quest to reach the upper limit of the Jari river in Brazil and portage his canoe across the border into French Guiana is ambitious, exciting and, ultimately, flawed, but it's the trip itself, full of unexpected encounters, crippling bouts of malaria, moments of intense emotion mixed with just a tinge of madness, which is as inspiring as the tales of even the earliest adventurers. John Harrison uses vigorous, unpretentious language combined with stunning descriptions of Amazonian wildlife. "Up the Creek" was originally published by Bradt in 1986 and remains as relevant to the spirit of exploration and real, raw travel writing today as it was then. Reviews at that time hailed Harrison's adventure as epic.