2 comments about The Africa That Never Was.

1. I was actually given this book as proof I lost a bet. I didn't believe that something so racially and ethnically ignorant could be still published and respected. There is one small hole in the authors line of reasoning though, during the 15th-19th centuries the social and political literature written by Europeans were used only to justify to brutality and savage behavior of their own (during the Trans-Atlantic African Slave Trade). While the Europeans were on their brutal conquests of a land not their own, their only motivation was to suck Africa dry of all her resources. Very similarly Hitler used the same tactics in justifying the extermination and the forced slave labor of the Jewish populatin in Germany. If anyone of respectful academia wrote this book, then to he or she it would be obvious that prior to European colonization and domination of Africa many writers referred to the vast civilizations with great respect and amazement. Starting with the Greeks and ending with the first European spies and travelers to the continent. Civilizations as Kemet, Nubia, Kush, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Benin, Timbuktu and many others (that existed before the Europeans knew whether the world was round). Very disappointing.



2. I was actually given this book as proof I lost a bet. I didn't believe that something so racially and ethnically ignorant could be still published and respected. There is one small hole in the authors line of reasoning though, during the 15th-19th centuries the social and political literature written by Europeans were used only to justify to brutality and savage behavior of their own (during the Trans-Atlantic African Slave Trade). While the Europeans were on their brutal conquests of a land not their own, their only motivation was to suck Africa dry of all her resources. Very similarly Hitler used the same tactics in justifying the extermination and the forced slave labor of the Jewish populatin in Germany. If anyone of respectful academia wrote this book, then to he or she it would be obvious that prior to European colonization and domination of Africa many writers referred to the vast civilizations with great respect and amazement. Starting with the Greeks and ending with the first European spies and travelers to the continent. Civilizations as Kemet, Nubia, Kush, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Benin, Timbuktu and many others (that existed before the Europeans knew whether the world was round). Very disappointing.

5 comments about Let's Go 2001: Spain & Portugal Incl Morocco: The World's Bestselling Budget Travel Series.

1. I used Let's Go Europe a couple years ago and am going back to Spain next year. I just bought this guide and it's great! I especially like how they rate the accommodations - very helpful. Let's Go guides are definitely the most helpful for students and low budget travel.



2. I am currently studying in Spain for the semester. Everywhere I go I bring my Let's Go guide; it is the most dog-earred book I own. My friend and fellow traveler owns both Let's Go Spain and the Lonely Planet Guide to Spain - the Lonely Planet guide sits on her shelf, unused and abandoned.

   The format of Let's Go is very logical - the book is organized into countries (Spain, Portugal, and Morrocco), and within countries there are regions, within regions provinces, within provinces cities, within cities the towns surrounding them. Many of the larger cities listed have basic maps as well. Each place listed has a brief introduction/history, and information on transportation, orientation and practical information, accomodations, food, sights, entertainment, and daytrips. The authors attempt to list schedules and such for attractions and buses and trains, but as one will find out, the Spanish are constantly changing their schedules due to some religious holiday or the siesta. It is best to check the schedule of each place yourself, which is suggested in the book. You must take into account that it was written in 2000 for 2001 - that also accounts for discrepencies in times and prices. Despite this unavoidable issue, I have found that Let's Go provides an honest, down to earth, mostly accurate, and cheap guide to getting around Spain. I would really be literally lost without it! The accommations info is particularily useful; there are only about a million pensiones in each pueblo in Spain. Let's Go helps narrow the list down, and guarantee that you get your money's worth. Even if you don't need to travel on a small budget, I would recommend this guide because of the wealth of information.

   One of my favorite features of the book is the part that lists daytrips. Sometimes you need to, and want to, get out of the city and explore things that are a little off the beaten track. The daytrip section is perfect for this! Sad to say, I didn't have a Let's Go book for my recent travels across eastern Europe (i had an old copy of a Lonely Planet Central Europe on a shoestring). My friends and I missed Let's Go's commentary and easy to use format. If the guide to Spain is anything to go by, I know I will buy Let's Go guides for my travels across the world!




3. The 1993 and 1999 editions have gotten me though Spain with maximum fun and minimal money. The 2001 edition is helping me plan my third trip. Sure, there are other good guides out there, but Let's Go is written by real travelers, passing on their knowledge and experience to the reader. Each section also comes with a brief, yet detailed history and list of suggested stops along your way. Even if you are not going anywhere, Let's Go is a great read. After you are done, you will want to travel.



4. It was my first time alone in a foreign land. My Spanish was rough, and my brain was working about half as fast as my tongue. The street names were barely visible on the sides of buildings. When I thought all was lost, I reached in my backpack and pulled out my Let's Go. I'll tell you, from that point on, I always knew where I was going, where to sleep and eat, and finally, what to expect at all times. Let's Go Spain and Portugal helped me get around both countries with ease and delight. With handy maps of cities of all sizes and helpful commentaries on popular tourist sites, I had a most splendid vacation on the Iberian Peninsula. I highly recommend it. It's accurate and a breeze to follow.



5. This book made traveling very easy and inexpensive. The restaurants they mentioned were the best ones that we tried and really helped us find vegetarian cuisine in such a pork-obsessed country. The maps and information were accurate. The writing style was witty and to the point. I recommend this book to any student or budget traveler who is thinking about going to Spain. They (the book and the country) are an adventurer's delight!

No comments about Richard Halliburton's Second Book of Marvels: The Orient.

5 comments about Okavango: Africa's Last Eden.

1. This book makes me suspect that Frans Lanting is not only the worlds greatest wildlife photographer but also the greatest bird photographers, crocodile photographer, elephant photographer etc. As usual, his photography is far from the species type of photography often seen. Lanting connects with the subject and transform the experience into art. In addition, he is not afraid to break the rules and make it work. The book is a must in any nature photographers library.



2. As other Lanting books, attitude is all, from cover to cover



3. Mr. Lanting is a unique and wonderful photographer who is a great help to all of us. His photos capture the wildlife of the Okavango as they are -- not postcard photos. He has a respect and reverence of this fragile ecosystem (unlike none other in the world) and all that lives and dies there that is captured in this book. Botswana is a special country with a unique ecosystem in the Delta that you should travel to. I've had the good fortune to experience Africa eight times, Botswana twice. I will return many times to the Delta as there is so much there to experience and each time its fresh. Let Mr. Lantings photos pursuade you to go.



4. This is a terrific book to learn more about this region. I can't recommend the book enough. The photography is stunning and the narrative is just right. I only wish it didn't end.



5. Frans Lanting had created marvelous book. His pictures portray the unique beauty of the region, convey the wildness of a place, and force a viewer to visit the place immediately. The photographs and text also urge the people to save this unique ecosystem. We realize the impact of water on the unique environment of the delta that supports the greatest variety of the flora and fauna in the world. At the same time these photographs make us realize what will be lost if the water will be gone. This book has inspired me even more after I visited the Okavango delta. It made me to relive my own experiences once again. After more than 5 years of its publication, this book is still the best pictorial work on Okavango delta. Simply, the greatest!

No comments about Eyes over Africa XXL Collector's Edition 1-300.

5 comments about On Foot Through Africa.

1. i found it very beautiful. it was liked that she showed the things that go on around a walk as well, even tho a previous reviewer didn't. i thought her perceptions on africa were great. and her perceptions on how such things she acomplished and the life that went with it. it helped me fall even more deeply in love with africa and people and that unnamable peace that is so nice.

   i'd like to do something similar oneday and i don't think that she should feel bad about the missing miles, espescialy when she's gone back and put them in. i was very surprised to see what nasty things some press had written about her, but then those people are more mad because they're mad more than anything elese, and they often say nasty, stupid things. reading her book has made her something of a personal hero to me, and will go with my other imagended (not physically kickable) statues of people i honour and remember, which may sound sappy, but it's a pantheon, very big one, and i'm more than happy to have her in it ^_________^




2. Ffyona is an confident, self absorbed, bordering on arrogant, adventurer and explorer. While it is much about her ordeals, its is at its best in giving an outsider a good idea of how to approach different cultures as in africa.

   Where the Ffyona fails is that she has a history of lying about her travels. She admitted lieing about accepting rided in her trip across America and many people believe that she accepted rides or failed to complete parts of her trip in the congo and central africa area.

   Still a worthy read excepting that caviot and her arrogance...




3. Having read this book; almost without putting it down, I had the tremendous good fortune to sit in an empty Waterstones with Ffoyona and talked about her experiences. This was before all the fuss about whether she actually completed her round the world walk (and I'm happy that she did though maybe not in strict 'chronological' order). The Dark Continent draws you in, whether you've been there or not, and this book is 100% Africa. It also illustrates how (in a world that from a developed country point of view we see as getting ever smaller) when you're actually there the world can seem very big and unfriendly. To my mind, 'On Foot Through Africa' rates right up there besides 'First Overland' by Tim Slessor as one of the top 10 journeyman books of the 20th centuary.



4. This book was filled with an energy which made it impossible to put down. This was not only about a walk but fills the reader with an understanding and appreciation for Africa and its people and an awareness of the harms done by the arrogance with which the West has imposed on African people. Obviously Ffyona is a person with tremendous fearlessness and determination and like everyone else on the planet, not without flaws. Whether she completed the walk or not, I do not really care - her insights, perspectives and experiences of Africa are enriching to the spirit and encourage a deeper understanding of this tremendous place!



5. I was torn about how many stars to give this book (1 star, 5 stars...I went for the middle). On one level, it is a compelling story about a strong, woman who walks across Africa. She endures all sorts of hassles (natural and human), yet also develops a great respect for African cultures. Her travels are amazing, and this book makes me wish I could just hang it all up and go for an adventure like hers. Yet at the same time, Ffyona is a very unlikable character. She demeans all westerners who travel into Africa as ruining Africa, without any sort of self-knowledge that she falls into the exact same category (littering, doing culturally inappropriate things, etc.). She portrays herself in the book as rude and arrogant, frequently fighting with her European support staff. Therefore, I both admired her while reading the story, and was almost disgusted by her. One aspect of her "walk" that she hammers repeatedly was her integrity for the walk. She would religiously go back and make sure she hadn't missed a step. After reading this book (while in Africa myself), I was intrigued with her and curious to find out whatever happened with her. I have to say, I was not surprised to hear that she came clean about lying about one of her previous walks. In her walk across the USA, she admitted to taking rides from her support staff for almost 1,000 miles to make her deadlines due to an unplanned pregnancy. While she publicly apologized and went back and retraced her steps later, I think that I would have enjoyed the book more if I'd known this part of her story before reading the book. She's a complicated character, that Ffyona.

No comments about Frommer's Adventure Guides: Southern Africa.

No comments about Potholes, Padlocks & Poverty.

No comments about Three Boy Scouts in Africa: On Safari with Martin Johnson [Illustrated].

2 comments about Livingstone's Tribe: A Journey from Zanzibar to the Cape.

1. Livingston's Tribe is a superbly written, armchair travel guide of a journey from Zanzibar to the Cape recounts the experiences of an anti-apartheid liberal who flees the old South Africa and welcomes independence for Zimbabwe. His experiences and encounters with tribes and individuals makes for an involving and revealing travel diary which any with an affection for Africa will relish.



2. This book seemed a little pessimistic about the whites living in Zimbabwe and Kenya, however that is understandable given that he was there right before the violent seizure of white land in Zimbabwe and under the rather oppressive rule of President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya, and so things would have looked a bit bleak at that time. He should go back and write one about the same communities now, although the going to Zimbabwe would be difficult. This book was a very fun read, and I would guess that it will be a primary document for the historians and sociologists of future generations. It was a very compelling read.