No comments about Cairo: Destination Map (City Destination Maps) (City Destination Maps).

1 comments about Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa, The.

1. This is one of the most comprehensive books written onSub-Saharan Africa. It starts off with the spatial location of theregion and the physical aspects - Climate, Vegetation, Soils, and Drainage, that makes the region unique. The authors go on to discussing the human-environmental impacts, one of the most problematic of environmental activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. They discuss reasons for deforestation in Africa South of the Sahara, effects of forest degradation, and desertification a very real problem of desert encroachment that has turned productive lands in Sub-Saharan Africa into desert environments. One of the topics covered in this text that is absent in many textbooks is the Historical Background of Sub-Saharan Africa, especially when most of the old historical records are said to be "non-existent" because of the lack of a written language in the region. The authors have done a good job incorporating culture, conflict of culture and change in the face of cultural multiplicity of that exists in this region. Another important aspect of this book is the comprehensive coverage of gender and the roles of men and women in this part of the world. This book is interesting to read, it is informative and best of all, it is current.

1 comments about Namibia Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs).

1. This book has some pretty pictures, a decent foldout map, and a quick overview of the regions of Namibia. It is not a bad source for the early stages of planning a trip to this wonderful country and deciding which regions to visit. But it lacks the detail of some guides (e.g., Footprint Handbooks Namibia, Lonely Planet) and the larger and nicer photographs of other guides (e.g., Insight Guides Namibia) or the gorgeous coffee table books (e.g., Hoberman's Namibia).

5 comments about Vertical Ethiopia, Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa.

1. This is an amazing book. Both the writing and the photography are incredible - you get a real feel for the experience of climbing in a gorgeous and rugged landscape, and at the same time you learn a tremendous amount about Ethiopia and its people.



2. I am neither a rock climber nor an adventurer so when a friend sent it to me, I wasn't sure it was my kind of thing... but wow! Its a great read! The pictures alone are well worth the cover price, but it is
   Burkhardt's writing that is really fun and compelling, and often downright funny. Initially I wasn't aware that the intro was written by someone else and was a bit bored by mundane geography and geology facts, but within the first paragraph of Majka's writing she had me laughing out loud at her childhood impressions of Ethiopia via dinner table commands to finish her food due to African famines and singing all the verses of We are the World out loud with her friends. That was my first impression as well and I didn't know much else about the country today until I read this book. The rock climbing shots are amazing and the photos of the locals are truly beautiful. My favorite part of the story was a hair- raising tale of the climbers ascending some gnarly vertical spire only to get to the top where a bunch of village kids met them after scrambling up the back. I learned alot about Ethiopia and rock climbing, but mostly I enjoyed Majka's stories and Rogel's photos. I read it in one long sitting and leave it out on my coffee table to thumb through the pictures over and over...!



3. The incredible photography is what first grabs you - and indeed, it's published as a beautiful coffee-table style book. But once you start reading the text, it's hard to stop. Burhardt is a gifted storyteller and a poetic wordsmith. She shines an insightful light on a country that is so rich and complex - and so misunderstood. You will feel as if you are living the adventure with her - which is the sign of any great read.



4. This book is cool! Burhardt's photos and text capture the collage-like qualities of true adventure. Along with Burhardt and her intrepid companions, we get to feel our way through the colors, textures, people, and, of course, rock of Ethiopia. What a place, what a journey, what a story.



5. Spellbinding. The introduction, written by a different author, presented a history of exploration in Ethiopia in relatively dry mountaineering terms -- typical "stiff upper lip" and all that. I was prepared to wade through a pedestrian account of a climber in a remote corner of the world. What I found, however, was the sheer joy and exuberance of a young climber rediscovering a forgotten gem. The climbing, though superbly photographed and described, takes a back seat to well-limned essays about Ethiopia itself, and the author's incredulity at the history, beauty and current state of the country and its people. Highly recommended for travelers and climbers alike.

1 comments about Africatrek: A Journey by Bicycle Through Africa.

1. Wonderful book on a simply amazing bicycle trek. Pictures were stunners. This man has biked from the polar regions to Tierra del Fuego, circumnavigated the globe, of which the journey across Russia was but a part, and biked the length of the African continent. Incredible feats, hardships and adventures.

1 comments about Barefoot over the Serengeti.

1. This is the autobiography of an English boy brought up by his farming family in Tanganyika (Tanzania), living in the middle of what is now the Serengeti National Park. The time of the story was the 1920s and 1930s, hard times in a very hard country, long before the arrival of any infrastructure to speak of; roughly contemporaneous with Karen Blixen of "Out of Africa" fame. David Read was mostly left to his own devices as a youngster and his best friend was a Masai boy. Together, they hunted and otherwise lived in the wilds of the East African savannah and lived together among the Masai.

   In those days the Masai lived very much as they had done for the two hundred years or so since they arrived on the Serengeti, migrating down the Rift Valley from Ethiopia, conquering all the tribes they encountered along the way. This book is really a recounting of the traditional Masai way of life, much changed in these days when the Masai have been driven from the Serengeti to live exclusively in the Ngorongoro Crater, a lifestyle increasingly eroded by the inevitable encroachment of modernity.

   Both the recounting and the way of life are intriguing. The Masai, for a fierce warrior people, were remarkably hospitable both to the young white boy and to all of his kin. And yet the Masai retained their warlike ways and their other habits, including sexual abandon and the single-handed killing of lions with spears by the young warriors - the Moran - all recounted faithfully by Read as seen though his young eyes. The book provides a very interesting insight into a very unusual people.

4 comments about Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa.

1. Mungo Park (1771-1806?) was the first European to visit the Niger River basin in 1796. He resolved, once and for all, a debate that had European cartographers and geographers confused for centuries.

   His initial journey (1795-1797) was a tale of tremendous personal hardship and suffering, but triumph in the end. After returning to Scotland in 1798, he became acquainted with Sir Walter Scott. They became close friends, and it was Sir Walter Scott who convinced him to return to Africa to encover the secret of the mouth of the Niger River.

   In 1805 he convinced the British government, in the middlle of a war against Napoleon, to send another expedition to seek out the mouth of the Niger. With 100 officers and men he set out, retracing his earlier steps. The journey was filled with personal tragedy and heroism. After arriving on the Niger, he built a boat, named the Joliba, and travelled down the river. During the course of his journey he met and traded with the many kingdoms that lined the river. However, he also incurred the wrath of many local kings and chiefs who believed that he was cheating them.

   Near the town of Bussa (now covered by a huge dam), Mungo Park met his unexpected end. For many years it has been assumed that he was attacked by hostile natives seeking to rob him. In fact it may have been due to the fact that he just failed to navigate the river




2. This book is not too bad, but it would have been better if its author and editor were frank with their "facts".
   Mungo Park, an inquisitive Scottish doctor and explorer, displayed a lot of courage in his adventures. He was steadfast and result-oriented. However, it is wrong for anybody to assume that he discovered the 'Nile of the Negroes', (as the River Niger was then called). The indigenous Africans who lived by the river banks knew its course long before Mungo Park's forefathers were born. They showed the Scot the way!
   Thus, claiming that Dr. Park discovered River Niger is absurd. It is as ridiculous as claiming that the first African who sailed across River Thames discovered the English river.



3. Kate Ferguson Marsters' edition of Mungo Park's TRAVELS is an excellent example of the travel narrative - easily comparable with the Journals of Lewis & Clark or Francis Parkman's OREGON TRAIL. The book is broken into three parts: Park's travel narrative , Marsters' Introduction & Major Rennell's Geographical Illustrations Of Mr. Park's Journey (which is rather dry and dated).

   The main work is a narrative of Park's travels from Barra, on the West African coast, to the town of Silla, just west of Jenne and his return to the western coast. Park provides many interesting details and asides, including that of Mumbo Jumbo (also mentioned by Francis Moore) for disciplining wayward wives. Park also spends a fair amount of time explaining local governments and social norms. Throughout, the account attempts some degree of neutrality while noting acts of kindness and avarice by various individuals and rulers; although, not surprisingly, he explicitly criticizes the Moors who continually interfered with his progress and those who robbed and stripped him. Perhaps his most disturbing account is of the female slave who becomes too sick to continue traveling with the coffle. The entire work puts black slaves and their families in a very sympathetic light and shows the slave trade at its worst; although, due to the continuing conditions of slavery and internal conquest pre-dating major European involvement in the trade, Park stated that the termination of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade would not provide as great a benefit to the populace in Africa as many hoped.

   The Introduction is important in providing the history of Park's early years, the important role of the African Association and its leader, Sir Joseph Banks. More importantly the Introduction deals with the Bryan Edwards controversy. Richard Burton and Orlando Patterson's criticisms have held that internal African slavery and slave trading was not nearly so prevalent as suggested by Park. In light of this, Marsters' statement that Joseph Banks, a critic of slavery, had to approve every piece of Edward's editing becomes extremely important. In addition, it is made clear that the reason for the stylistic differences is that the original TRAVELS was a book derived from Park's notes whereas the published work of his second, ill-fated journey was merely a compilation of those notes retrieved from the dead man's party!

   All-in-all, an excellent and informative read!




4. I have just finished reading the Kindle version of this book, and found it fascinating reading. Mr. Park is an amazing explorer. The story of his initial adventures is amazing and humbling. He really was a persistent guy!
   
   Worth reading for the insights to slavery as it existed in those days, as well as traveling both as a priveleged white man and later as a fugitive.
   
   The Kindle version works well and was cheap. I doubt I could have found this book readable or affordable in its initial form.

No comments about King of the Wa-Kikuyu: A True Story of Travel and Adventure in Africa (The Resnick Library of African Adventure, No. 7).

5 comments about Robert Ruark's Africa.

1. Between June of 1951, and his death on July 1,1965, Robert Ruark spent some time each year in Africa, both hunting and reporting on the changing scene on a continent he fell in love with at first sight, and this book covers those years using magazine articles Ruark wrote. It is more, far more, than a report on "today I shot this and yesterday I shot that" type of writing one so often sees in books of this nature. Some of Ruark's articles on the Mau-Mau uprising in Kenya are included, as fine a piece of straight reporting as was ever done on the terror of that period, along with a short story with (of course) an African/ Mau-Mau theme included as well. Some may complain about Ruark's apparent racism, but the best answer to that is to remind those critcs that both the English colonial government of Kenya AND its first "native" (black African) government both wound up banning Ruark from entering the country. When a reporter gets both sides mad at him its usually a sign that he is doing a fairly rounded job. Robert Ruark loved Africa as he loved no place (and few people), and the articles in this book show that. Those who disapprove of the sport of hunting will want to skip this book, since safaris make up the biggest part of it, but anyone interested in a view of Africa during the turbulent times of the '50's and early '60's would not want to miss it, and anyone interested the fine writing of the driven, self destructive genius that was Robert Ruark MUST have this book.....



2. I loved this book because it shows Ruark as he actually was through many of his magazine articles. We see Africa through his eyes and it comes to life for us. In retrospect, we see that he was seeing the end of the glorious hunting age and the beginning of the photographic safaris. As we know, he was not much of a photographer but he did love to photograph the animals as well. This book fulfilled my need of another fix of "Robert Ruark and his love of Africa."



3. This book is a compilation of short or condensed Ruark stories.It offers an inside look at what Ruark loved best in this world; Africa. Some stories are better than others, but it is all great reading.(It is no "Horn of the Hunter!)
   Ruark wrote with an eloquence seldom seen in the literary world today. He understood the power of the written word and had the ability to string together sentences and thoughts which are a pure pleasure to read. He should be a "Must Read" for every journalism student.



4. This is a good collection of Ruark's African articles. Those familiar with his work as well as those with an interest in the glory days of Safari hunting will enjoy it. New readers and those without an interest will find it dated, but the timely accounts of Mau Mau are worthwhile for anyone. There are some "natural history" mistakes by modern standards but in historical perspective it is still excellent work. Michael MacIntosh's commentary is enlightening without infringing on the original text.



5. This book is a collection of magazine articles written by Robert Ruark in the 1950s. For those who don't know who Ruark was, he was a journalist and novelist of the 40s and 50s. In the post-war era, he became known as one of the most acerbic journalists and developed a national reputation. He went on a safari in the early 1950s that changed his life. He spent much of the next decade or more traveling to East Africa to hunt big game and birds, and writing about his experiences. He was a profilic author and wrote thousands of magazine articles and several novels of widely varying quality.
   
   There are twenty articles in this collection divided up into three sections. The first section is a selection of articles (written mostly for Field and Stream) just after Ruark went on his first safari. He describes his thoughts and impressions of the hunt, of life in the wilds of East Africa, and some of his companions. He also discusses the complexities and dangers of hunting various types of big game including lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and cape buffalo. All I can say is that a safari in the 50s must have been an unbelievable experience. The second section is devoted primarily to Ruark's impression of the Mau-Mau uprising in the mid-50s. These section is more of a recounting of various tales of people caught up in the Mau-Mau violence than discussions about hunting. The third section returns to discussions on hunting, but now we see a more mature Ruark who takes more pleasuring in facilitating the hunting of others rather than his own shooting. He still retains a keen interest in bird hunting though throughout this later period.
   
   I was inspired to buy this book after having read Hemingway's `Green Hills of Africa' and was not disappointed. Ruark certainly was not the writer that Hemingway was, but this collection of Ruark's articles contains far more information on the details and experiences of big game hunting, even if it lacks Hemingway's literary flourish. I am no expert on African hunting/safari literature, but I feel that Ruark's article bring me as close to the experience without actually doing it myself. The editor, Michael McIntosh, has written a nice introduction that is part a biography of Ruark (a conflicted man at best) and part a literary criticism of Ruark. There are also some very nice line drawings interspersed through the text. Overall this work lies somewhere below a `classic', but it is definitely worth a look if you have any interest in hunting, East Africa, or safari in an era now gone forever.

No comments about The ROUGH GUIDE TO MARRAKESH MAP (Rough Guide City Maps).