Throwim Way Leg: Tree-Kangaroos, Possums, and Penis Gourds

by Tim Flannery

Book Overview

In New Guinea pidgin, "throwim way leg" means to kick out your leg on the first step of a long journey. Full of adventure, wit, and natural wonders, Flannery's narrative is just such a spectacular trip--a tour de force of travel, anthropology, and natural history.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871137313
• ISBN13: 9780871137319
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.6" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Throwim Way Leg more than an Adventure book

Throwim Way Leg is far more than an adventure book. It is an insight into the ecosystem of New Guinea and the lives of the people and cultures that live there. An incredibly difficult region to exploe due to the terrain of the country for many the only way they would ever be able to imagine how people live there is through a book like this. Not only isolated from the world but also isolated from communities within the region these people have survived. Papua New Guinea is one of those places where new dicoveries are still waiting to be found and books like this spark the imagination for those willing to make the effort. I highly suggest this book for anyone interested in the cultures, flora and fauna of New Guinea. Lonnie McCaskill Expedition Cargo

Breathtaking, humorous and poignant

Flannery is one of a kind. He is to New Guinea what Perry and Amundson are to the poles, a first-comer .... one of the first to explore and document the stone age peoples of the mysterious island wilderness in the last days of its age of innocence. Yes, there are cannibals, with bones in their noses and gourds worn on their penis, yet Flannery somehow manages to get the reader to empathize with these people, to understand their foibles and traditions, and to feel regret that their ancient ways are going, going, gone ... forever. Take the chapter where he goes in pursuit of the Bulmer's Fruit Fly Bat -- you suffer with him the agonies of failure and the desperations of the search, and the exhilaration of success. Or follow along with his learning experiences among the native tribes and come to actually understand the hows and whys of the way the led their lives, even to discovering there were (to the natives) valid reasons for their rare acts of cannibalism. Although he describes some of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world, the reader comes to know that Papua New Guinea will never rate very highly as a tourist destination, but you'll have to read this book to appreciate the reasons why. Think you couldn't possibly be interested in such things? Try twenty pages of this charming book; the images will lived in your memory forever. Hooroo, Tim! Bonzer yarn, mate!

Exciting and sometimes hilarous natural history book

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful book! In it, mammalogist Tim Flannery regales us with tales from his many years in New Guinea, searching for new species of mammals on the island, the second largest in the world. A difficult island to work in - highly mountainous; extremely few roads, most villages so isolated that they can only be reached by small planes flying to landing strips hacked out of the jungle; parts of it some of the rainiest spots on earth, some areas receiving 11 meters or more of rain a year; possessing many dangerous animals ranging from crocodiles to snakes to huge spiders; tropical diseases and parasites a real problem in many areas (including malaria and scrub typhus, from which Flannery almost died from when bit by an infected tick) ? Flannery had his work cut out for them as he spent over two decades on the island, both in the eastern half, the independent nation of Papua New Guinea, and the western section, Irian Jaya, part of Indonesia. Flannery is a highly accomplished scientist, having discovered 16 new species of mammals in Melanesia, many of them in New Guinea. Many of these and others are described in the book, and make for fascinating reading. We meet the Black-tailed Giant-rat, the bite from its two centimeter long razor sharp incisors much feared by the inhabitants of the island. The Three-striped Dasyure, a vividly marked rat-sized marsupial predator, one of New Guinea's few mammals active during daylight hours. The Snow Mountains Robin, one of the rarest birds in the world, found in the high alpine regions of the Meren Glacier in Irian Jaya, one of the very few equatorial glaciers in the world. _Antechinus, a small carnivorous marsupial notable in that the male only lives for 11 months, existing only to breed. The diminutive, dingo-like New Guinea singing dog, which arrived in the islands some 2,000 years ago. The six o'clock cicada, a tremendously loud insect that received its name from its trill it emits roughly 6am and 6pm daily. The famous Birds of Paradise, breathtaking in their beauty, several species of which are extremely rare. He also describes the Long-fingered Triok, a black and white skunk smelling possum with the fourth finger of each hand a great elongated probe for finding insect larvae; you never know what he is going to find next lurking in the barely explored misty peaks and dripping jungles of the island. Three of the most remarkable animals are ones that Flannery discovered or in one case rediscovered. One is _Maokopia ronaldi_, an extinct marsupial herbivore that once dwelt in the high mountain forests. Panda-like in appearance, size, and probably habits, Flannery named this new genus and species from fossils he found in Irian Jaya. Bulmer's Fruit-bat, a bat though extinct for 12,000 years, the largest cave dwelling bat in the world, Flannery was elated to have found them alive in extremely rugged western Papua New Guinea. The one though that Flannery is the most proud of discoverin

A facinating journey through a facinating land!

One of my friends gave me this book and KNEW that I was going to love it. Well, he was right on target. This book is an anthropological delight! I prided myself in my knowledge of the animal kingdom...till I read this book.Tim Flannery has a humble way about him and it reflects in this book for sure. The journeys and adventures that he undertook are not for the faint of heart. He is a true scientist that earns my kudos!Anyone interested in broadening their horizons and is open to concepts that would shake your core beliefs (unless you have already read Dr. Flannery's books) should read it.

great book with absolutely no previous interest

I thought this was a great book. I am on airplanes all the time and could not put it down even for dinner. I really did not have any particular interest in tree kangaroos or bats or penis gourds but thought this book was well written and presented a variety of information very well. I particulary enjoyed the last part of the book with the very explicit commentary on Indonesia. The information shed brighter light on why the US is so "gentle" to quote Clinton with the oppressive Indonesian military. No more items made in Indonesia for me.