Vol. 19 No. 8 · 24 April 1997
pages 28-29 | 2863 words
Diary
Edward Luttwak
My son Joseph, his college room-mate Benjamin and I had come to the lowlands of the Beni in Bolivia to see the animal life. But the rains had caused plenty of problems for our 4x4 on the journey from the edge of the Andes towards Trinidad, the capital of the Beni. We had been marooned in flood water and beeen forced to negotiate a tow from a pair of surly cocaine-handlers at a remote estancia, but we had also acquired a local travelling companion and saviour, Oscar, who was with us now, as we took to the road again in our jeep.
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Letters
Vol. 19 No. 10 · 22 May 1997
From A.C. Hall
No surprise that with the Soviets gone, a hero of the Cold War might search for new adventure in the Bolivian jungle (LRB, 3 and 24 April). Less surprising still that such a paladin should find danger any place he looks, whether it exists or not Yet, let’s face it, there simply are no alligators in South America, neither are there any mambas. Many wildlife populations have shrunk due to hunting and loss of habitat, and large specimens of major species are rarer than they once were. As for those hostile ranch-eros, their reaction to the Luttwak party would seem to be natural behaviour for serious workers (coca cultivation is, after all, important to most Bolivians) who at the end of a long day find themselves rudely accosted by a gang of gringo greenhorns tricked out in Abercrombie and Fitch’s latest gear. Just what did the Luttwaks think they were going to do with that Leatherman knife? Or did they both have knives? Luttwak seems confused about this as well.
A.C. Hall
Dallas
