Rating: 
Summary: Spell-binding
Review: Hansen's greatness lies in his humble attitude. Too often the travel writer can sound like the great explorer accompanied by a multitude of porters, but not Hansen. A beautifully sculpted story. Funny and frightening, always wonderfully detailed. I read this book in one sitting and then immediately read it again. Get the copy with the photograph of the young Penan woman in the front - it is the most striking, enigmatic portrait I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Little More Than Sensationalist Fiction
Review: I read this book when I was actually in Borneo where I spent over a year, visiting many of the places described in the book.
I found it plainly ridiculous!
The real Borneo is nothing like the mystical "deepest-darkest" fantasy-world described in this story, nor was it even when those travels were supposedly taking place...
It is amazing that this book got such good marks from other readers and probably the best example of how many high tales a writer can get away with about far-away places where most readers haven't been. :-)
A more realistic description of the same places on a similar trip could be read in "A Stroll Through Borneo" by James Barclay.
Rating:
Summary: Little More Than Sensationalist Fiction
Review: I read this book when I was actually in Borneo where I spent over a year, visiting many of the places described in the book.
I found it plainly ridiculous!
The real Borneo is nothing like the "deepest- darkest" fantasy described in this book, nor was it even when those travels were supposedly taking place...
It is amazing that this book got such good marks from other readers and probably the best proof of how many lies one can get away with about places where most readers haven't been. :-)
A more realistic description of the same places on a similar trip could be read in "A Stroll Through Borneo" by James Barclay.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful story telling
Review: I read this unforgettable book several years ago and recommended it to one of the reviewers in your home page! I remember the unusually captivating style that transports you right there in the seething rainforest with Eric, Bok and Weng. His descriptions of the language and culture are accurate and helped me see the linguistic and cultural connections between Borneo and a certain Filipino tribal group (Pampangos) I never realized before. Truly an adventurous experience that I have rarely enjoyed with other books. Eric Hansen is one of very few present day writers that I enjoy. A must read for those who enjoy a break from this concrete jungle and sometimes mean-spirited world we call civilization. That jungle will seem more civilized than some places you've been to in times past.
Rating:
Summary: Anyone who likes this topic should read Panjamon!
Review: Panjamon is an older story of a similar journey told by an incredible storyteller,Jean Yves Domalain.
Rating:
Summary: Best travelogue book I read
Review: Pretty good sense of humour; Brilliant descriptions of the way of life of locals and first hand views of the life in a rain forest. ¡Exquisite! I recommend this book to anyone interested in travelling or antropology, or simply good literature.
Rating:
Summary: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
Review: Walking across Borneo? I mean, what?? Eric Hansen truly travels where few others would even want to. My favorite of his several very wonderful books will always be Motoring with Mohamed, but this one is a close followup.
An epic adventure through a world of extraordinary people, going about what they consider ordinary lives, Stranger in the Forest takes us step by step through the portals into an unimaginable world. Thank all the travel gods that Eric Hansen was the first white man that many of those living in these remote and inaccessible villages had ever seen. I can't imagine a better ambassador for a much-maligned America.
Excellent on all levels.
Rating:
Summary: The Gentle Man of Borneo
Review: What a little beauty this is!Nearly 20 years ago, a gangling, footloose American gets boozed with a bunch of Borneo river-dwellers, and finds himself bound in a gentle obsession. Soon after, he takes off across the island of Borneo on foot armed with a quick schooling in tribal bartering systems and not much else. He has no visa, no valid passport, an unreliable map, and a few sentences of Bahasa Indonesian. He can survive in the rainforest only as long as he maintains the trust of the people he meets, as guides, tutors, friends. He does far more than survive, and it is clear from the modesty, resilience and humor that comes through in his writing, that he was made for just this journey. For months on end he immerses himself in a world of exquisite natural richness, among a people who are white-skinned in the permanent shade of the forest canopy, who have no tradition of stories of the moon or stars because they are almost never seen. For weeks at a time he and his hunter guides are - in a Western sense - utterly "lost", moving apparently aimlessly through trackless bush. When Hansen asks one of his companions how they will find their way to their destination, the Penan hunter says simply: "We will follow our feelings." Without ever labouring it, Hansen has written a travel book that is deeply satisfying to the spirit, full of wonder and rich in humor. He also captures the moment at which an ancient, closed culture hears the first troubling thunder of global economics. When finally he reaches the coast, Hansen is so depressed by "civilisation" that he does the sane thing - slipping back into the jungle to retrace his steps, all the way back to Sarawak. So truly does he tell his story, I find myself missing him - wondering what he got up to when he finally returned to the US, what travels he might have done since. As I was finishing this book, I saw a travel brochure extolling Kuching, the Sarawak trading town that was Hansen's first step-off point. The glossy explained how easy it was nowadays to travel inland, with the interior "opened up by good logging roads". Eric Hansen, lead the weeping.
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