5 comments about Facing the Congo.

1. Part travelogue, part memoir, Jeffrey Tayler's Facing The Congo takes the reader on a memorable and fascinating journey into sub-Saharan Africa's crocodile waters and lush jungles, lush jungles, and a spectacular variety of merchants, deckhands, prostitutes, mothers, spiritual followers, fishermen, children, and many other assorted charecters. From lively marketplace banter to cramped, mosquito infested sleeping spaces, Facing The Congo is the story of Tayler's trip up and down the legendary Congo River complete with fog covered backwaters, hostile tribes, and true-life high adventure. Facing The Congo is thoroughly satisfying, enthusiastically recommended reading for the armchair traveler.



2. A great read for anyone interested in adventure travel or Central Africa. Tayler chronicles his travels along the 1,100 plus mile Congo river in Zaire, and his personal journey to find meaning in his existence.

   Demonstrating laudatory courage, Tayler navigates the dangers of the Congo (e.g., weather, disease, beasts, banditry, corruption, etc.), first up-river as passenger on a barge, and then down-river along with two Zairean companions in his pirogue (a small wooden canoe) - a trip no mondele (i.e., white man) may have completed since the explorer Stanley (many of the several who have tried did not survive). The result is a compelling tale that provides a glimpse into Tayler's inner soul and the people of Central Africa, while also indirectly shedding light on political, economic and social issues regarding the developed and undeveloped world.

   An eminently enjoyable read that you are not likely to be able to put down, and one which may cause you to contemplate planning your own existential journey.




3. Tayler's ability to capture the full flavor of Africa while giving the reader room to make an assesment of this often violent culture attests to his flare and careful attention to the human experience. Tayler never forgets that he is traveling this river looking at its inhabitants with Western lenses. For the reader looking for adventure, this book is full-flavored. For a fellow and perhaps struggling writer, Tayler's words speak a priceless and empathetic language. But what makes the book most successful is that it speaks to anyone who has lived, loved, and searched for that missing piece, realizing it can always be found in the journey. It is travel writing at its best, full of observations and rhetorical questions presented to the reader as writing's greatest gift.



4. This is perhaps the best travel log I've ever read. It makes those in the western world appreciate more what they have compared to the desolation that wreaks havoc in this area of the world (in particular).

   It is the journey of an American living in Moscow who wants to retrace Henry Stanley's trek down the Congo River in modern day Zaïre. It chronicles his planning; the trip to Brazzaville, Congo; the ferry to Kinsasha, Zaïre; the barge up to Kisangani; and the trek back town towards Kinsasha. It chronicles the folks he met (those who helped and those who hurt), personal fears and human tragedy.

   There are even a few incidents of humor interjected (for those who have read the book: When Desi uses the toothpaste, the use of the shotgun, the TV show playing at the Kinsasha diner, among others).

   It is, as Bill Bryson describes it, an "immensely gripping tale." I never found myself bored with it and was able to tackle its reading quite quickly (for me). I was actually near tears right at the end because I had become so involved with the book and its characters and I almost felt as if the tragedy was my own.

   I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in either Zaïre (or Dem. Rep. Congo as it is today), Africa, or just likes to read a well written and intensely interesting novel.




5. I looked up 'foolhardy' in the dictionary, and Jeffrey Tayler's picture was there for illustration. Even Tayler admits at the end, in a brief but moving epilogue, that his initial motivations for the trip were absurd: "I had pictured (Zaire's) wilderness as a bourn where I could rejuvenate myself through suffering and achievement and the conquest of my fear. But my drama of self-actualization proved obscenely trivial beside the suffering of Zaireans and the injustices of their past. That it should have seems obvious to me now, but I learned this only by buying a pirogue and attempting the descent."
   
   It's that type of personal insight - not the trip itself - that makes "Facing the Congo" such a great read. In fact, the blurbs for this book are misleading and fail to capture the best parts of the book. For example, the back cover says "But once his tiny boat pushed off the banks of the mysterious river...".
   
   Hey, I'm here to tell you (and I think Tayler would agree) that the *least* compelling part of the book is the pirogue trip itself. It's what leads *up to* the first step in the pirogue and what happens after the trip that makes the book stand out from the average travelogue. Tayler travels upriver in a barge owned and operated by the book's standout character: Zairean Colonel Ekoondo. And, luckily, Tayler is obviously as fascinated with the guy as he figures his readers will be. In fact, when Tayler departs the barge and the Colonel leaves the picture, Tayler deflates...and so does the energy of the book. The paragraph where he takes leave of the Colonel is spine-tingling:
   
   "There was another knock on the door. It was the Colonel. He looked grave. 'Don't play games with your safety. Hire a soldier.' He fixed me with his eyes. He stepped forward and hugged me hard, then wished me bon voyage and walked out...I closed the door and leaned back against the wall, feeling my heart pounding. In fact I was trembling. Whether he was in league with Mobutu or not, the Colonel had helped and protected me. He had treated me like a son; he had been straightforward with me; he hard asked nothing of me, nothing at all. During the long trip upriver I found only he dealt with me without pretense, without discernable ulterior motive; and only he perceived the risks of my venture and thought in practical terms about how to surmount them. Now I would go on without him."
   
   Well done, Mr. Tayler. That's brilliant stuff.
   
   The other thing worth noting: this is no ordinary traveler. Tayler's sojourns are backed by his astounding linguistic skills. This is a guy who speaks fluent French, Arabic and Russian for starters. And he picks up some Lingala for the journey. This guy is incredible. Thanks for the ride, Mr. Tayler (although staying at home with Tatyana in Moscow sounded like a far better option to me).

No comments about Lonely Planet Zimbabwe.

2 comments about Inside Sahara.

1. This is a very beautiful coffee-table-style book containing almost 200 pages of pictures taken by photographer Basil Pao. It is large format (31 x 25 cm) and hardcover and printed on glossy paper. A pleasure for anyone with an eye for beautiful pictures and/or an interest in the Sahara area of northern Africa.
   
   This book should not be confused with the book "Sahara" by Michael Palin. That book also contains a lot of pictures by Basil Pao, but in that book the pictures are secondary to the text written by Michael Palin.
   
   "Inside Sahara", on the other hand, is exclusively Basil Pao's book. Michael Palin's name is featured on the cover, but his contribution consists only of a 2-page introduction.
   
   Both books are, of course, based on the trip that Michael Palin and a film crew did, traveling around the Sahara Desert in 2001 making a television program for the BBC.
   
   Most of the pictures in "Inside Sahara" feature people in one way or another. This may seem surprising - I had expected more pictures of landscapes and edifices and statues, etc. But on reflection aren't people what we people really find the most interesting, wherever we go?
   
   The best pictures are featured as stunning two-page spreads. All of the pictures have captions explaining what is happening in the picture and where it was taken.
   
   My only criticism is that there are 12 pages that feature 75 "behind the scenes" photos of the filming crew that accompanied Michael Palin on the trip. These pictures are so small (6 x 4 cm) that it's difficult to see what they are supposed to show. These 12 pages could have been omitted, or used for better purposes.
   
   Highly recommended for anyone who loves beautiful photographs, especially photographs of interesting people in a largely unknown part of the world.
   
   Rennie Petersen
   
   PS. For those who might be interested, I've written an Amazon "So You'd Like To" guide about Basil Pao and his participation in the Michael Palin trips and the books that have been produced by Basil Pao and Michael Palin. You can find it by clicking on my name and then finding the link to my "So You'd Like To" guides a little ways down on the left of my profile page.



2. Superb pictures, illustrating the reality of desert life, and the people of the desert in their many ways of life. Great book!

No comments about Back to the Bush.

No comments about Dateline Soweto: Travels with Black South African Reporters.

1 comments about One Hundred Years of Darkness.

1. Fifth longest river in the world and second only to the Nile on the African continent, the Congo river is 2720 miles long. It is also sub-Saharan Africa's greatest thoroughfare: a living roadway up which, even at the driest times of the year, barges in excess of 1000 tons are able to penetrate more than 650 miles. But the heart of darkness referred to in the title of Conrad's famous story didn't originate in the unexplored far reaches of the river. Instead it slid against the flow towards the interior during the vast region's exploitation by nineteenth century colonialists. Conrad witnessed this rape first hand in 1890, was horrified by it, and Heart of Darkness was the parable by which he described its effect upon him.

   One hundred years on from first publication of Conrad's classic story the photographer Marcus Bleasdale found himself sitting on the banks of the river reflecting on the manner in which the inheritors of the colonial past have so easily adopted the manner of their European predecessors. In his introduction to One Hundred years of Darkness he talks of witnessing through Conrad's lens the "anonymous lives" of today's Congolese: "as desperate and as dire today" as in the time of Conrad's fictional creation Kurtz.

   Bleasdale describes his journey in monochrome. Colour is cheaper to print today but Pirogue Press have spared no expense, reproducing Bleasdale's imagery in delicate tri-tone. And the words of Conrad's story intertwine themselves with Bleasdale's contemporary captions. Bleasdale's own journeys on the river do not however adopt the traditional photojournalistic narrative, the images instead revealing their layered secrets slowly and in details often placed at the edges of the frame. Captions describe the subject of individual pictures as we learn of child soldiers, millions displaced by wars rarely mentioned in Europe, salaried employees of the UN sunning themselves beside hotel swimming pools, children born with Malaria and abandoned by parents, ferryboats that remain the region's lifeblood and pygmies: the original inhabitants of the Congo, apparently still renowned as trackers. But taken as a whole the photographs combine to bear witness to the greater truth: the darkness first witnessed by Conrad remains to this day.

   A fascinating book and far from the last I imagine we will see from the camera of Mr Bleasdale.

No comments about Gabon (Country & Cities of the World) (Country & Cities of the World).

1 comments about CANARY ISLANDS POCKET GUIDE (Pocket Guides).

1. This book makes me want to travel to the Canary Islands after cancelling one trip for lack of interest, and even venture off Tenerife to try a couple of the other islands. This is a winner. From Accomodations to Youth Hostels (there aren't any at present) and point by point, this is the book to buy. Each island is detailed for you to decide if it's worth a separate trip. Where to go - what to do - eating out - travel tips - and Berlitz"s language aids.

No comments about Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Giovanni Finati, Native of Ferrara: Volume 2.

No comments about Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Giovanni Finati, Native of Ferrara: Volume 1.