Throwim Way Leg: An Adventure Book

Mammologist Tim Flannery assumed the age of exploration had died with Darwin. Upon arrival in New Guinea, though, he realises just how wrong he's been. Hilarious and riveting, Thowim Way Leg chronicles Flannery's adventures among the mountain people of New Guinea while in hot pursuit of giant rats, tree-kangaroos, bats, possums and bandicoots. In the local pidgin, "throwim way leg" describes the first decisive step in a journey. Flannery takes that step--and soon he's clambering up steep peaks; braving jungle critters like sweat bees, hairy spiders, pythons and the occasional crocodile; and perilously close to ending up in hot water more than once. Cannibalism, he assures us, is a thing of the past, but when he comes into contact with the Miyanmin--a people who refer to a neighbouring tribe as "bokis es bilong mipela" (literally, "our refrigerator")--we're left wondering how he got out alive. Flannery's exuberance over the wildlife he encounters is interesting enough, but it's his ability to capture the indigenous perspective that makes this book worth reading. When his new-found friends learn, for instance, of the widespread custom of circumcision, they fall about in paroxysms of laughter. Equally perplexing (to an elderly gentlemen who has never seen rice) is how Flannery and his cronies could chance upon so many delectable ant-eggs. With 14 pages of colourful, enticing, "wish-I-could-go-there-right-now" photos. --Martha SilanoRead More