Prologue : Henry's dream -- The need -- The fortunate son -- Nature belongs to man -- The new world -- The mortal river -- Instruments of the elastic god -- The source -- The return of the planter -- The jungle -- The seeds -- The voyage of the Amazonas -- The world -- The edge of the world -- The talking cross -- Rubber madness -- The vindicated man -- Epilogue : the monument of need -- Appendices -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Endnotes -- Acknowledgments.