4 comments about First Footsteps in East Africa: Or an Exploration of Harar (Konemann Classics).

1. Sir Richard F Burton is one of the most famous of unread authors. Nearly everyone can tell you about his scandalous doings with native women, his marriage to an ultra-Catholic Englishwoman, and the latter's destruction of the author's private papers after his death.

   Ever since I read Fawn Brodie's excellent biography, THE DEVIL DRIVES, I have collected some 20 different Burton books and read most of them. If you make allowances for Burton's diabolical thoroughness (involved footnotes, appendices, foreign language quotes, tables, etc.) and his Victorian circumlocutions in dealing with taboo subjects, he is a truly wonderful read.

   Although FIRST FOOTSTEPS is not his most famous book, it is probably the best one to start with. The action is not only more focussed, but Burton did feel he needed quite so much of a scholarly carapace to report back to the scholarly organizations back in Britain. And it finishes up with a stirring postscript about an attack on Burton's camp by Somalis in which the author barely escaped with his life.

   Perhaps this is a book that Presidents Bush and Clinton should have read before committing U.S. troops to the region: Burton shows us that not much has changed in the region in 150 years. He was in constant danger, and survived only because his knowledge and guts were more than an a match for his enemies.

   This is an exciting book and deserves to be better known.




2. Perhaps it was my high expectations before starting, or Burton's unscrupulous and merciless exposition of topics dear to him, but while he seemed lost many times during his journey, he lost me every time he made some anecdotal observation on some obscure point, now lost in total oblivion, which is perhaps where Burton rescued it from in the 1850s. Perhaps he should have left it there.

   Perhaps this is too harsh. There were occasions leading to his visit to Harar, the forbidden city of Somali-land, where I indulged a hearty chuckle, but this only lasted long enough to bring me upright in my sleeping chair, formerly a reading chair. Not until he reached Harar did he seize my interest and full attention, yet as he was not permitted pen and paper while there, for 10 full days the description relies on his memory. In comparison to the journey there (the entire first volume, over 200 pages), he writes with exacting prose every time his wayfarers or guides resisted the mission, and every other sundry related to the journey.

   The descriptions of Harar, its culture, its people and Burton's condition are excellent, but unfortunately are too brief, almost marginal in a work that contends mainly with desert travels. I enjoyed hearing about the lions visiting camp, the difficulties on the route, and other jokes made against his guides, yet I thought I was about to absorb a more entertaining exposition on the forbidden city, rather than an exhausting diary of a mission that perpetuates in a cloud between the send-off and the return.

   Just to show that I paid attention, I noted with disapproval that Burton repeats twice the datum that "red pepper" is THE condiment of East Africa (I was satisfied on this particular the first time.) Prepare for a thick shell for a core subject Burton laid on too thinly.




3. The reviews of some of Richard Burton's books, as well as those of other 19th century explorers, strike me as hilarious. It's as if people expect that these books to be written in a style that would make for some blockbuster Hollywood movie. This is the REAL DEAL people! Burton didn't write this or other books with the idea in mind of entertaining 20th century couch potatoes starved for action. Apparently people's attention spans get seriously taxed when detailed observations about a country's people and culture are brought into play. When in fact, what could be more important in a first hand account of previously unexplored (at least by Europeans) regions? If you want action at every turn and tailor made story lines then stick with Tom Clancy novels or some such. Maybe faketion turns some would be adventurers on, but not me. This book is a truly incredible account of a larger than life adventure!



4. Richard Francis Burton is one of the great unknown figures in history. And what people do know unfortuantely are the scandals of his private life. This is an account of what should have been at the time an impossible trip. Burton should never have attempted it and the odds were against him surviving it.
   
   What you get in the book is an extraordinary document of travel into one of the blank areas on the map by a true renassanice man. Its a true adventure story about how far a man can go on a combination of intellect and raw courage. This book is Burton the adventurer and explorer at his best.

4 comments about Lonely Planet Malawi, Mozambique & Zambia (Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia).

1. This book, to use a cliche, was my Bible while I was in Malawi. The information is good and generally accurate. Except for Lilongwe, I found the summaries on the cities to be a little too short. Also, since the kwatcha (Malawian currency) has recently been floated, the prices are all quite a bit off.



2. LP is second to none in practical travel advice. This guide makes no exception. We were the first to actually use the guide book even a little before the publication date. We used it in all three countries. The only thing I might critisize is that Malawians are really not *that* friendly (Zambians are), but opinions differ about this. Prices in $ would be better.



3. I bought this book before I went for a four month stay in Zambia. I soon realized that 'Zambia' on the cover was in small type for a reason. The bulk of the book is on Malawi, and the author gives very little detail to the Zambia section. I was quite disappointed, as I was glad simply to FIND something with 'Zambia' written on it! There was useful information in the Zambia section, but the Kwacha amounts were far off the mark, due to high inflation rates. I found myself constantly having to flip back to the Malawi section of the book to see if relevant information could be found there.

   This is a good book - I've found most Lonely Planet books to be excellent, though - but if you're looking for a great deal of information on Zambia itself, this is not the book for you.




4. "Lonely Planet: Southern Africa" is more complete (it covers the entire area from Zambia and Malawi to South Africa) and more recent (September 2000).

1 comments about Insight Guide Namibia (Insight Guides).

1. This guide has beautiful pictures of Namibia and gives you a good visual tour. However, it does not compare with other guides that give much more detailed information. This is a good introduction and almost a good memento because of the wonderful photographs. However, this would not be a book that I would bring along on a trip as a guide.

No comments about Uganda Map by ITMB.

2 comments about Inside Africa South & West.

1. This book and the companion North and East volume are extraordinarily beautiful and offer images of a rich array of African homes -- traditional, contemporary and intermingled. The photography is excellent and offers images of architecture, art, landscapes and lives. Highly recommended.



2. Having visited South Africa, I have become interested in all things African. This book covers a lot of regions in pictures, and I am pleased with its presence on my coffee table. It makes me want to see even more of Africa.

No comments about East African Wildlife (Bradt Travel Guide).

No comments about Mali Map by ITMB.

No comments about Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart.

No comments about Niger Map by ITMB (Travel Reference Map) (Travel Reference Map).

3 comments about A Field Guide to Birds of The Gambia and Senegal.

1. I recently returned from one month in Mali, where I took the 1977 Collins guide to the birds of West Africa by Serle and Morel. That book could fit in my pocket, this book by Barlow is too wide.

   I am new to birdwatching and am used to the Peterson guides with big pictures and pointers to fieldmarks and many illustrations for each species . This book crams 20 or so birds on each page, and puts all the illustrations up at front. It does give a few examples of male/female/immature differences, and it does show raptors overhead. In this it is better than the Collins guide. The pictures seem cartoonish though.

   The text is quite helpful and I guess the names of the birds are more up to date. I did not buy this book because I was going to Mali, not Senegal or Gambia. But all of the 60 or so birds that I identified in Mali are also found in this book. The Collins guide did not give me enough help identifying the many small weavers I saw, so I used this Barlow book and my field notes when I returned to the US, and this Barlow book is clearly superior in this case at least.

   The Collins book covers all the birds of West Africa, even though nearly half get less than 10 words and no picture. Still, it has to be my first choice for countries other than Gambia and Senegal, especially since it is more portable.




2. The authors and illustrators do a wonderful job on a field guide of the birds of two countries that are not visited very often by birders. Clive Barlow lives in The Gambia and has been the moving force behind the creation of birding conservation efforts in that country. He is the acknowledged living expert of birds of Western Africa. He is also a first-rate field birder. Shortly after the book was published in 1998, my son and I had occasion to visit both Senegal and The Gambia. In Banjul we were most fortunate to meet Clive Barlow and go birding with him for four days. He is one of those rare individuals who has both wonderful identification skills combined with the uncanny ability to locate hard-to-find birds. His obvious love for birds is clearly evident in his handy field guide.

   The book is well organized and very tastefully presented. The illustrations are superbly drawn and handy maps let you see the bird's expected range. Mr. Barlow is at his peak in the birds of The Gambia and only slightly less knowledgeable about Senegalese birding--perhaps because The Gambia is generally a much better place to observe birds.

   The book is one of my favorite field guides. It is, of course, a must for anyone birding in those two countries or neighboring regions. I wish every area of the world were covered by a guide of this quality. Its creators are to be commended for a very solid, readable, useful and enjoyable field guide.




3. I live in Senegal and this is a fabulous book for someone who is living in Senegal or the Gambia. I travel some and have been using the Princeton Illustrated Checklist for Birds of Western & Central Africa - but it is nice to have a more limited list of birds that actually live here. (Makes it easier to identify them!) The illustrations are clear and I appreciated the raptors perched and in flight illustrations. What I also have enjoyed is the detailed info. about each bird in the back of the book - mating habits, flight patterns, breeding, etc. so that I really can learn more about the bird than just its name.