People of the Rainforest The Villas Boas Brothers, Explorers and Humanitarians of the Amazon

In 1945, three young brothers joined and eventually led Brazil's first government-sponsored expedition into its Amazonian rainforests. After more expeditions into unknown terrain, they became South America's most famous explorers, spending the rest of their lives with the resilient tribal communities they found there.

People of the Rainforest recounts the Villas Boas brothers' four thrilling and dangerous 'first contacts' with isolated indigenous people, and their lifelong mission to learn about their societies and, above all, help them adapt to modern Brazil without losing their cultural heritage, identity and pride.

Author and explorer John Hemming vividly traces the unique adventures of these extraordinary brothers, who used their fame to change attitudes to native peoples and to help protect the world's surviving tropical rainforests, under threat again today.

John Hemming is a former director of the Royal Geographical Society and the author of many books, including The Conquest of the Incas. He is a renowned explorer of Amazonia and the leading authority on the history of Brazil's indigenous peoples.