Autorentext
Robert F. Raffauf spent 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry concentrating on the search for novel medicinal agents from natural sources, which included several expeditions to Amazon with Dr. Schultes. He was a fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Research Associate of the Botanical Museum of Harvard University. Richard Evans Schultes is known as the father of contemporary ethnobotany, he carried out extensive field studies, particularly in the Amazon. He received numerous awards including the Cross of Boyaca, Colombia’s highest honor, and the annual Gold Medal of the World Wildlife Fund. In 1987 he received the prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and in 1992 he was awarded the Linnean Gold Medal, the highest award a botanist can receive. Dr. Schultes was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Linnean Society of London, three Latin American Academies, the Academy of India, and the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Klappentext
Vine of the Soul is an exceptional photographic essay accompanied by detailed descriptions of the Amazonians' use of medicinal and other sacred plant substances. Over 160 documentary photos, some of the most signifi cant ever taken on the subject, bring the reader along a journey to a world in which healing with plants, ritual and magic play an essential role in everyday life. Richard Evans Schultes, former Director of the Botanical Museum of Harvard University, led an extraordinary life that bridged the worlds of academia and tribal cultures. Carrying out extensive fi eld studies since 1939 as an ethnobotanist and conservationist, Schultes has received acclaim from many sources, including the Cross of Boyacáaacute;- Colombia’s highest honor, the Tyler Prize for environmental achievement, the Linnean Gold Medal, the highest prize a botanist can receive, and many more.

Zusammenfassung
This is the story of a time that was - a time when Amazon Indian was free to roam the forest and rivers. The story is told through over 160 photographs taken by renown Harvard ethnobotanist, Richard Evans Schultes during the '40s and '50s when he spent 14 years with the Indian tribes of the Amazon.