Into the Heart of Borneo

by Redmond O'Hanlon

Book Overview

'We've left a lot of men in Borneo - know what I mean?' With their SAS trainer's warnings ringing in their ears, the naturalist, Redmond O'Hanlon, and the poet, James Fenton, set out to rediscover the lost rhinoceros of Borneo. They were loaded with enough back-breaking kit to survive two months in a steaming 95 (in the shade) jungle of creeping, crawling, biting things. O'Hanlon could also rely on his encyclopaedic knowledge of the region's flora...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140073973
• ISBN13: 9780140073973
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Penguin UK
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

All Around Great Reading

If a book has Redmond O'Hanlon's name on it, buy it. While reading this book, when I wasn't laughing out loud (and I never laugh out loud) I was enthralled with the subject matter. I hate to compare writers, but think Paul Theroux (but not mean), David Quammen and throw in a little Tim Cahill for good measure and you come close to Redmond O'Hanlon. I've read a quite a few travelogues and Redmond O'Hanlon represents the very best of the genre.

My favorite travel book

Naturalist and adventurer Redmond O'Hanlon's first travel tome is a timeless classic. His well-observed descriptions of nature are charmingly lyrical and his dry wit (and that of fellow traveller, reknowned poet James Fenton) will leave you laughing on every page. Think Bill Bryson meets Charles Darwin and you might approximate O'Hanlon's writing style.I have read all three of his travel books - this one twice - and though "No Mercy" - his Congo odyssey, is the most breathtakingly ambitious and epic in scope, "Borneo", a lighthearted romp, remains my sentimental favorite.The reader should have a healthy taste for nature and anthropology to fully appreciate any of O'Hanlons works. Birds, insects and trees share equal billing with the human cast. But O'Hanlon's infectious enthusiasm for flora and fauna, his deprecating humor, his gift of hyberbole and capacity for capturing the nuances of character are enough to keep anyone glued to the page.Also in this book (and even more so in the ribald "No Mercy"), there is a surprising amount of sexuality, as the libidinous habits of the Ibans are often as frankly observed as the mating habits of the Hornbills,Kingfishers and rhinos, adding voyeur to O'Hanlon's talents as naturalist and humorist.

At times screamingly funny!

This the fifth book I've read on traveling in Borneo, and in certain ways it rivals my favorite (Eric Hansen's "A Stranger in the Forest"). O'Hanlon is not only literate and well-informed on the subject (Borneo), but he's one of those highly-educated writers who doesn't take himself (or his elderly, unathletic) traveling companion (a famous poet) too seriously. The screamingly funny parts are when O'Hanlon is either making fun of himself sweating like a pig, covered with flies and falling down or up one muddy trail or another while his Borneo native guides are laughing themselves silly at his ineptness. O'Hanlon is fat and out-of-shape and his small, powerfully strong, local guides never let him forget it for a minute! O'Hanlon is able to describe characters so well, one feels as if you are on the boat with them; the three guides are lovingly drawn (unlike other travel writers who don't view their local guides as complete people). For those with an interest in the ecology of Borneo, birds, or river journeys, there is much to learn through this engrossing read. I recently saw a documentary that filmed the "remote" areas where O'Hanlon's journey took place and I am sad to say it has been totally deforested by the Indonesian timber industry; huge corporations that are destroying the Borneo rainforest due to graft and a lack of enforcement by the Indonesian goverment... Subjects that O'Hanlon writes about in this book. Think twice about buying teak furniture, much of it comes from poached wood that is illegally cut from Borneo's rainforest, a sad coda to this funny book.

This book is a treasure

There are three things you should know about Redmond O'Hanlon's Into the Heart of Borneo: it's very educational, it's very funny, and it's a heckuva good adventure. The premise is that two middle-aged British academics, poet James Fenton and naturalist Redmond O'Hanlon, are dispatched to Borneo in search of the rare mountain Rhinoceros. Whatever their ultimate goal, after two pages you're hooked by O'Hanlon's clever writing and self-deprecating wit as he describes the preparations for their epic journey.You can learn a lot from this book. For example, did you realize that Borneo is the world's third largest island? that over 1,700 different species of parasitic worm can infest your bloodstream? that a bite from a Wagler's Pit Viper will lead to nothing worse than near-death? On the more substantive side, you will also learn about Borneo's history, native cultures, geography, flora, and fauna-especially its amazing birds! And funny? the education you'll receive about Borneo is a bonus because the book could carry itself quite successfully on O'Hanlon's hilarious writing. Imagine two English intellectuals travelling by foot and canoe through remote rainforest with three Iban tribesman; one of whom, Leon, could host the Letterman Show. I giggled continually throughout this book. One passage describing how Redmond and the Iban planned to "take Jam's head" upon returning to camp where a nervous but unsuspecting James was waiting had me laughing with glee. As a fellow middle-aged, balding, and slightly pudgy man, this book gave me great hope that I too could travel to Borneo and survive such an adventure. Read it to learn about Borneo. Read it to laugh. Just read it! You won't be disappointed.

A true adventure.

I lived in Borneo during the same period that this trip was made. O'hanlon has done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of this magnificent land. I traveled the Baram river and found the experiences very similar. The Iban and Dayak are true party animals.