5 comments about The Shadow of Kilimanjaro.

1. Rick Ridgeway has written a very informative and entertaining account of his 300 mile hike West to East across southern Kenya in 1997. The walk was metaphorically in THE SHADOW OF KILIMANJARO beginning on the summit of that great mountain and spanning the different ecological zones of mountain moraine, foothills, savannah, scrub, desert, and finally tropical white sand beaches of the Indian Ocean coast near Malindi. More significantly Ridgeway writes about his journey in the shadow of others who have written famously on Kenya, most significantly Hemingway, Dinesen, and Blixen. At yet another level this story is set in the shadow of Kenya's colonial history and its current struggles as a developing nation trying to make its way in the modern world.

   Ridgeway deals with all the relevant issues - ecology and the environment, conservation, domestic politics, the economy, tourism, the romantic literary images, the colonial legacy, the Mau Mau uprisings, cultural, ethnic, and social issues. And he deals with them in the way good travel writing should. Simply present the facts as you get them and let others speak their truths. No moralizing and very little contextualizing and therefore very refreshing.

   The image of Kenya that emerges is that of a real country. Not too much of the fantasy and gloss of a romantic wilderness nor the equally unreal vision of warring tribes at THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. Just reality. Strengths, weaknesses, beauty, blemishes, issues, agendas, and concerns. All the things that face a people making their way on a rapidly globalizing planet. Although Ridgeway's Kenya is a very different place than the country I knew in the 1960's when I lived there in my youth, it's still as rich and as alive as I remember it and Ridgeway has done an excellent job of bringing it home.




2. Combining moments of danger with moments of profound introspection, mountaineer/explorer Ridgeway details his journey from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro through the Tsavo game reserves to Mombasa, a month-long journey on foot, which allows him to experience man's primal relationships with the environment. Traveling with an experienced guide, two members of the Kenya Park and Wildlife Service, and two sharpshooters (in case of life-threatening danger), Ridgeway follows dry riverbeds across the savanna, seeking "tactile knowledge of Africa's wildlands and wild animals."
   
   Far more than a search for thrills, the journey offers Ridgeway an opportunity to observe breath-taking vistas and the full panoply of wildlife, from the elephant to the tiniest of birds, paying equal attention to all. Mourning the absence of once-plentiful animals from the bushlands near Kilimanjaro, and the decline of species elsewhere, Ridgeway contemplates the long-term effects of colonialism, big game hunting, poaching, traditional tribal values, climatic changes, and tourism, as well as man's seemingly innate tendency to kill certain species into extinction.
   
   Ridgeway, long a hunter himself, is an engaging author, both observant and thoughtful. A great admirer of hunter-turned-game-park-adminstrator Bill Woodley, whose two sons from the Park and Wildlife Service are on the journey, he provides a sensitive and impartial treatment of conservation issues. Extolling the work of elephant researchers Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole, the latter of whom joins the group for part of the journey, he points out that they have acquired through study a kind of knowledge not available to hunters. Without preaching, he conveys "the big picture," making a compelling case for the fact that to preserve Africa's large mammals one must "fight fiercely not only to preserve, but even to expand, their wild habitat." Mary Whipple



3. I was so disappointed by this book I could not get through more than a couple of chapters. The author may know about mountaineering, but he seems to know very little about Kenya. Moreover, I found the writing to be ethnocentric and quite boring.



4. Author Ridgeway writes a well-paced narrative that smoothly ties together his personal adventure in eastern Africa with the area's history and culture, particularly in terms of its ecology, with focus on elephants as the defining megafauna of the area.
   
   Ridgeway provokes thought on the future of Africa's large animals, the past fate of those large mammals that have already disappeared, and how we humans tie into all of this. His primary sources are the people who have shaped and continue to shape Kenya's game and wildlife policies; these sources give his writing the distinct tinge of veracity.
   
   Recommended for any interested in travel, African history, or ecology.



5. Let me first of all say that Rick Ridgeway is one of my favorite adventure writers. This book is focused on the area around Kilimanjaro and the current state of the conservation movement. Rick does a wonderful job of describing the area as he makes his way on foot from Kilimanjaro to the East coast of Africa.
   
   One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Rick includes all the books he has used in his research to gain a better understanding of the history of East Africa.
   
   If you love a well written adventure, with enough meat to make you want to dig deeper in understanding Africa - this is your book.

2 comments about Insight City Guide Cape Town.

1. I got this guide as a gift. My friends have the Lonely Planet one and I have seen other brands for Cape Town. The Insight guide is 10 million times better than most of the competition. More detailed and useful photographs, all in color, at least one on each page. Short text but crammed with information for those who would rather spend time on adventures than reading a guide book. It was very entertaining to read as well. If you're going to Cape Town, get this book and you will know what I mean. Their warning about Long Street is hilarious. Their description of the people who hang out at the Clifton Beaches is unbelievable coming from a guide book. There are little interesting stories/facts throughout the book such as the one about the first female doctor to perform a C-section. She was pretending to be a man in order to be a doctor and the truth was only discovered when she died. Again, this book is such a great deal for the price and beats almost all other guidebooks out there at under $10.



2. I ordered 3 different books for my trip to Cape Town and this was by far the best, and the one I constantly came back to.

5 comments about The African Adventurers: A Return to the Silent Places.

1. Capstick has an ability to write as few others have ever mastered and those that did are also revered. His stories are addictive and captivating! A must read for those who love to hunt.



2. I know Peter personaly and have hunted with him. I am in his book Sands of Silence. I highly recommend all of his books. They draw from real experiences and actively bring the reader into the wild. He loved the outdoors and his work helps preserve memories and times of people and activity that is passing away. Each book is a treasure of adventure. BL Melrose, MD



3. I could not put this book down. What a sad world we live in today when there is no dark continent to explore the way that the professional hunters and wardens described in this book had to experience around the year 1900. What a sad world and what a bunch of counterfeits the Croc Hunter and Croc Dundee are. Author Capstick puts you there a hundred years ago, where prides of lions manage to devour 450 villagers before being shot, or where 30,000 elephants are shot in one country alone just to limit crop damage! These examples give you an idea of the world the hunters profiled by Capstick in this anthology of sorts walked into circa 1900 to 1940. Lions walking into huts populated with 100 sleeping people, only to leave without molesting a soul, only leaving their footprints around the myriads of sleeping African tribesman. Big cats jumping through windows to snatch infants in bassonets, toddlers grabbed off porches, the head being found a day later in the grass, Cheetahs killing humans just for the fun of it. Guns jamming and cartridges failing in the face of wounded lions. Deadly snakes, Puff adders, Black Mambas, no antidote, one example of these snakes even dropping out of trees to bite a human victim.

   Make no mistake about it, Africa was all the danger you ever dreamed about and more at the turn of the last century. ANy game animal in North America is tame in comparison to the African beasts described so vividly by Capstick. Get this book and dream of an Africa unspoiled, full of game more cunning and ferocious than you, and dream about the original tribes, and the Englishmen that first made contact with them.

   I will work my way through all of Capstick's books. I am hooked. This book is fanstastic.




4. I've loved all the Capstick books and own and have loaned the ones I own many times, mostly to husbands of friends. But I must admit that I can only read one or two and then I have to stop for a while. Times were different then and there were lots of animals. No talk of endangered species. Today when I read about macho men slaughtering beautiful animals for sport it can get to be sickening. But, again, he is an excellent author and the books keep you on the edge of your chair. When you see the movie based on the Lions of Tsavo and have read the book - the book is soooo much more exciting. And - no love interest.



5. Excelent recount of great african hunters and adventurers, very well written and documented.

5 comments about Green Hills of Africa (Scribner Classics).

1. Hemingway would have been better served by including more narratives than the ramblings of his characters. He seems to believe that it is important to capture what they actually said since they are real characters and not imaginary, but how realistic is that? Obviously, he couldn't write while hunting so undoubtedly he paraphrased their conversations when he was able to write - possibly days or weeks later. So if he's going to paraphrase then he should polish up the dialogue. And, perhaps exclude much of the pointless dribble. Some of which might not have been pointless if he had done a better job of developing the characters.
   
   I do not recommend this book. Instead, I would rather point a potential reader of African safari stories to the works of Peter Capstick.



2. Hemingway once said that a writer needs a built-in- B.S. detector. He forgot to take it along on this safari, though he is willing to stand corrected occasionally by his then- wife Pauline for errors of 'diarrhea of the mouth'. In any case the old Hem style is truly at work here, and it supplies us with some truly beautiful and moving passages. It also supplies us with a capsule survey of American Literature as provided by the great Hem in which he finds Emerson, Thoreau and Whittier all mind and no body, Melville all rhetoric and and an imagined mystery not really there, and only Crane, Twain and James worth keeping. His most famous riff is of course the one in which he says all American Literature derives from a book called Huckleberry Finn which he then says is great to a certain point only. Old Hem in a wonderfully snobbish way tells us that America really has no literature and that we need someone with the discipline of Flaubert and the something else of Stendhal if we are to have one. No doubt he is the one who intends to supply the product.
   With all the posturing and the big - game hunting shtantz and the bull which accompanies it( And with it too the morally objectionable chest- beating at cutting down unarmed rhinos, lions, kudu etc. Hemingway is at times here at the top of his game. He was young and strong and relatively happy and had already made it as a writer though perhaps not in the way he ultimately wanted to.
   The dialogue between him and the other hunters is to my mind over-mannered stylized pretentious crap.
   But there are passages in the book which remind you that this is one of the truly great American writers, and one of , in my judgment, the best short story writers of them all.
   I want to cite a passage just to give the feeling of how good old Hem could be when he was good.
   
   " What I had to do was work. I did not care, particularly , how it all came out. I did not take my own life seriously anymore, any one else's life , yes, but not mine. They all wanted something that I did not want and I would get it without wanting it, if I worked. To work was the only thing , it was the one thing that always made you feel good , and in the meantime it was my own damned life and I would lead it where and how I pleased. And where I led it now pleased me very much. This was a better sky than Italy. The hell, it was. The best sky was in Italy and Spain and Northern Michigan and in the fall in the Gulf off Cuba. You could beat this sky; but not the country."



3. I found this writing less interesting than Rossevelt or Rourk work purchased at the same time. Perhaps the critics opinions are not always the best way to judge a work.



4. this book is annoying. hemmingway's ego is out of control as he tries to make a big man of himself by shooting his way through an array of animals that of course mean him no harm at all. though i love much of his early work, this book makes him seem a truly horrible person. no wonder he had a long string of failed relationships and ultimatley killed himself. who could live with a jackass like this. in the end, he couldn't even stand to live with himself. this is an almost worthless book.



5. some highlights: the swahili word "m'uzuri" meaning good or well reminds hemingway of missouri. such classical hemingway wry humor. also, "simba" is another swahili word that i had the pleasure of learning in this book, which reminds ME of the disney beloved character, of course. (and jason raize, who played the adult simba on broadway who died tragically too young--look him up, people!)
   
   the few pages in chapter one where hemingway met a guy in africa who has heard of hemingway from a lit magazine were excellent. it's hemingway pointing to the sources of great american writings. mark twain's huck topped this chart. moby-dick was mentioned, of course. and henry james (the "two most beautiful words in the english language" as the great--yet not really well known--american poet jim crenner says).
   
   having stated all this, i think this is one of hemingway's weakest books i've ever read. his occasional incredibly long sentences that he does so breathtakingly, magnificently well in other books don't seem to live up to the golden standard that i've seen. the details of the hunt are bloody. bloody boring, that is, at some points.
   
   this is hemingway's second attempt at non-fiction so i'd be interested in checking out his tome of a book on bull-fighting. tho, as any lover of hemingway's writings would know, my lukewarm reaction to "green hills" doesn't even put a tiny dent on my great admiration for this remarkable american writer.
   
   p.s: i finished this book on friday the 13th, june 2008. and how many chapters are there? i love coincidences like this.

2 comments about Botswana - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!).

1. We have recently returned from Botswana and had the very good fortune of spending three days in the Kalahari with Michael Main. He is extremely knowledgeable, entertaining and most importantly very well informed - just as he is in his book about the culture in Botswana.
   
   For those travelers who are going to Botswana and are interested in more than just seeing the "Big Five" this book is for you. After all, the people are just as much, if not more, a part of the travel experience and Michael Main knows the people of Botswana.



2. Mike Main provides a complete snapshot of the people and cultures of Botswana. It is not the usual tourist guidebook of only places to visit. This small book packs a large amount of essential information for a traveler who wishes to understand the people, their history and avoid embarrassing moments. I would highly recommend this book as an essential read before a visit to Botswana. Its small size means that you can also take it with you!

2 comments about Mozambique (Country Guide).

1. Mozambique has only recently re-opened to tourism, after years of war and bloodshed. Fortunately the hard times are now over, and the country is once again a thriving, wonderful African nation. I loved it all - the people, the food, the music... With this Lonely Planet guide, I was really able to get the most out of my stay. It contains plenty of advice on visiting places, hotels, restaurants, etc. And also great advice on how to save money - indeed, Mozambique can be very expensive ! A country and a book I won't forget.



2. Lonely Planet books are always interesting to browse through. Most of the time they do stick to giving you the facts about a country and I do appreciate it. However, Lonely Planet's editors often like to mix their left wing politics with travel. The result are sections like "Responsible Tourism" that at best are paternalistic to the reader and at worst wrong. In this section it is suggested that the tourist seek out "locally run and owned" establishments and patronize them instead of foreign owned businesses. First of all if you can tell a foreign owned from a local owned perhaps it's because the standards are different. Secondly, why would you choose a lessor value (weighing in price and quality of the product together) when picking a hotel for instance? Where you stay is part of the experience and it may not be worth residing in some dank crummy hotel for the sake of patronizing a local business. The reason why countries like Mozambique never worked out economically in the past (and now are trying to change) is because their leaders applied the same kind of dim ignorant thinking displayed by Lonely Planet writers.

   I have traveled to many People's Republics and the idea of a business supplying a valued product to a customer was often lacking. Businesses were simply suppose to provide jobs and no attention to efficiency or quality was made. This is exactly why these economies floundered in the past; they could not make things to market standards, their use of material resources and labor was so poor that they could only pay workers a pittance and could only pawn off their wares to captive populations. A successful economy has businesses that typically concentrate on providing value to the customer first - that is you the traveler. By doing so a business will insure that it employs local people and contributes to the local economy. Demanding that local enterprises match the value of foreign firms will help the country. Local entrepreneurs and workers will adopt the right business standards and work ethics to economically succeed.

5 comments about The Traveler's Key to Ancient Egypt, Revised: A Guide to the Sacred Places of Ancient Egypt.

1. This book is essential for any traveller to Egypt with a mind that is even slightly ajar, let alone open.

   West gives an alternative account of the meaning of the monuments and antiquities to be seen in Egypt, more esoteric (though certainly not more difficult to understand) than that which is usually presented in guide books. He points out the details which brought him to the conclusion that the Giza Sphinx is in fact closer to 13,000 years old than the 4,500 years old that has been traditionally believed, and has a different viewpoint to the orthodox school in many cases. He presents both sides of the argument, and gives the information necessary to make up one's own mind based on observation of what is actually there to be seen.

   On my first visit to Egypt, my companions and I felt rather sorry for tourists in groups with official guides, because they seemed to be missing out on at least half of the story, and in many cases the whole point.

   I was particularly impressed with West's analysis of the architecture of the Temple of Luxor, based on the work of Schwaller de Lubicz, and once it was pointed out how the whole building maps onto a plan of the human skeleton, I found it very difficult to refute.

   Whilst I did not always agree with his conclusions on every occasion, it cannot be disputed that West has raised thoroughly pertinent questions which conventional Egyptology has either glibly brushed under the carpet or failed to address at all.




2. Now in a updated and expanded new edition, John West's The Traveler's Key To Ancient Egypt continues to be the definitive guide to all of the sacred places of ancient Egypt. The ideal traveler's guidebook is enhanced with maps, diagrams, and photos to accompany the history and spiritual significance of Egypt's art, architecture, mythology, religion, and ritual practices. From the Pyramids of Giza to the Valley of the Kings, this traveler's guide reveals the hidden meaning of monuments, ancient city sites, as well as new research on the dating of the Sphinx. Travel tips include tour information, Nile cruises, what to bring and what to wear, shopping advice, as well as information on money, hotels, and restaurants. If you are planning a trip to the Land of the Pharaohs, beginning with a thorough perusal of John West's The Traveler's Key To Ancient Egypt!



3. If you want a guide book with more than the basic superficial run of the mill tourist info this book is for you.

   Lots of maps, tips and explanations of the deeper meaning behind the sites you're visiting.

   I'm bringing this book with me on my trip!




4. I used this guide when I travelled to Egypt in '87 and it served me well. I would have missed so many interesting sites if I had to relie on most travel books and tour guides for information on what I could and should see. I continue to use the book for info in my continuing studies on Ancient Egypt. Thank you Anthony West for your tireless efforts to bring to new light the many wonders of this astonishing place.



5. I ordered this book with some skepticism as i did not want to be drawm into another dreary account of the significance of the temples. I was pleasantly surprised to find this book very readable and throught provoking. Granted that throughout the book you are subject to the author's bias in interpretation (which he is forthright about) but it is an excellent way to add depth to a visit to the temples and as a starting point for further research if one so desires. Personally for me being a hindu, it was fascinating to discover the similarities between ancient egypt and our own vedic past which I am ashamed to admit I was rather clueless about!!

5 comments about Blood River.

1. For a man who constantly reminds us how 'obsessed' he has been by the story of Stanley and the Congo, Butcher makes an awful lot of mistakes. They begin on the first page when he compares his efforts at packing little more than a 'penknife' with Stanley's need to bring a small army to carry medicine against ebola and other fatal diseases. Butcher seems to be unaware that ebola didn't emerge until the 1970's. You get the feeling that he just hasn't read enough, certainly about Stanley, his supposed mirror image. He seems to accept wholeheartedly the concept of colonialist Stanley, shill to King Leopold rather than the more complex character, documented by biographers like Jeal, that Stanley's hopes for the Congo were benign. At least then, we can admire Butcher's efforts to force his way west through the jungle. Well, sort of. It's hard to think of a single leg of his journey that isn't aided by either an NGO (on the back of a bike) or else by the UN (in a boat or a helicopter). Compared to other Congo journeys such as Redmond O'Hanlon, this is Congo light. Butcher doesn't come across as a bad man, just unprepared. He may ask hard questions along the way, but there are few signs that the Congo and Stanley are true obsessions of his. His knowledge seems thin. No wonder when you read his slim bibliography, devoid of both Jeal and Meredith, two of the better historians who've dealt with central Africa.



2. This is a bad book. Journalist Tim Butcher decides to retrace Stanley's journey across the Congo. Butcher is no expert in the region and his ignorance of both history and the Congo is constantly on display. Contrary to the impressions given, its safer to travel in Congo now than has been since the 1950s. And the route taken by Butcher is one of the safest routes. He talks about the remoteness of the Congo but throughout the book NGOs and the UN are shown to be operating almost everywhere. This book is ok as an exaggerated third-rate adventure story but you will not learn anything useful about the Congo. As alternatives I would suggest Lieve Joris' "Back to the Congo" which was written about a trip during a very dangerous time and "No Mercy" by Remond O'Hanlon.



3. 'Blood River' is a nonfiction account of journalist Tim Butcher's attempt to recreate Victorian explorer Stanley's trip along the Congo river. Btucher describes his experiences as 'ordeal travel' as opposed to adventure travel due to the arduous nature of his trip.
   
   Butcher's style is crisp and economical, as you would expect from a seasoned journalist. The book combines travel writing and history as he tells the story of his own journey alongside the history of the Congo.
   
   It is certainly an eye-opening account - the conflict in the Congo kills more than a thousand people a day and has done so for years. It is home to the largest UN peace keeping mission in the world. The country used to possess an extensive transport network and infrastructure, but this has totally deteriorated after years of war. Yet it rarely gets mentioned in the news and the outside world seems largely indifferent to and ignorant of the Congo's plight.
   
   Whilst I admired Butcher for his courage in attempting such a dangerous trip, throughout the story I kept wondering why he did it. He never really seems to offer a satisfactory explanation for why he undertook a trip that was extremely dangerous to the point of being foolhardy. If it was to tell the story of the Congo to the world, it would be have been more understandable, but he never claims this was his motivation. Indeed, he could probably have told the Congo's story without undertaking such a journey. He clearly took no pleasure in the journey whatsoever, which he describes as unrelentingly grim, uncomfortable and frightening.
   
   It's also less of a travel book than a history book. I was expecting more colour and detail about the actual country, the places he passed through and the sights, sounds and smells. But he actually saw relatively little, spending most of his trip travelling through dense jungle or moping around in chronically underdeveloped towns. I did find it rather depressing and monotonous after a while, even though I'm sure it was an accurate description.
   
   'Blood River' does a good job of raising awareness of a forgotten conflict and presenting what seems to me a reasonably objective view of issues affecting developing countries in general; the rights and wrongs of colonialism and its after effects, the role of the UN and aid organisations, and the way that developed nations often hinder progress rather than help it. However, due to the arduousness of the journey and deprivation of the country it describes, I wouldn't exactly say it was an enjoyable read.
   
   However, Butcher decided on a different course. He would journey into the heart of the Congo to find the truth that could come only from first-hand experience. Ignoring warnings of anarchy and violence along his chosen route, Butcher plunged into the jungle and, via motorbike and canoe, made his way across this vast country from east to west.
   
   The resulting book is a revelation. All the talk we hear in the western media about 'African development' is revealed as a sham. The Congo is a country regressing to a condition more primitive than was the case before colonisation. At least then, tribal politices ensured that its people could live in a state of relative order, if not much prosperity. Now, many Congolese are in fear of the armed factions that prey on them, while their resources continue to be plundered by outsiders.
   
   Geo-political considerations aside, it is in its portrayal of the human dimension that Blood River really scores. The book is populated with a cast of characters that reflects the Congolese people's differing responses to the tragedy which has overwhelmed their country. Although this may be the result of authorial selectivity, one has the sense that the level of grubby venality Butcher sometimes encounters among the population is not representative. More often, he meets decent people of stamina and stoicism, struggling with a day-to-day existence so basic as to strain credulity.



4. Greetings
   
   This is a great read because of the back-drop. Tim Butcher has impeccable good taste and it is a very funny and moving account of his travels through the DRC Congo. The country acts as a prism for Tims character and judgement to really shine through -the worse the back-drop the more it resonates with his soul as he wrestles wih the moral/ethical, geo-political and logistical issues.
   
   Key question -what does a basicaly decent guy do in a country gone to hell. Answer: Outrun the cannibals (and threaten to pee in their soup if put on the menu to be boiled and eaten). The answers are not as easy and the travel is a lot harder. The sins of the Fathers are visited upon the childen unto the 3rd and 4th generation, or something to that effect.
   
   Here is what I enjoy about Tims great style in this book:
   
   Discretion and diplomacy -he is the opitome of good taste (figuratively speaking)
   Non judgemental
   Sensitive spirit
   Dream centered
   Real life execution
   Well researched
   Factually correct
   Accountable
   Tell it like it is
   Human
   Funny
   Sad and heart breaking
   Spading the truth, calls a spade a spade "in the nicest possible way".
   
   The moral of the story is that you do the best that you can with the options you have. In the DRC, that means that you dont outrun the cannibals, you just outrun the fat guy behind you, which, on a personal level, amounts to nearly the same thing.
   
   Some thoughts that come to mind:
   
   "Are there any nuns that have been raped recently that speak English?"
   
   "In Congo, Put your trust in God, but keep your gunpowder dry".
   
   A great read, highly recommended, at a medium heat, lightly salted.
   
   Justice Malanot
   South Africa



5. Initially, Tim Butcher's account of his "insanely dangerous" trip through the Congo raises the question why? Why put yourself through the very real risks of being captured or killed by the numerous rebel groups that infest the country? Why endure the mind-numbing boredom of hundreds and hundreds of kilometres on the back of motorcycles negotiating stiflingly hot jungle tracks? Why bother to retrace Stanley's already well documented expedition down the Congo river? Is this man mad?... certainly most of those he meets on this very strange journey think so.
   
   But, mad or not, what he discovers makes for fascinating reading as he and we are taken into the heart of what has become an unbelievably shocking world... one that has degenerated in 50 years from ruthlessly harsh colonial discipline & order to complete and apparently irreversible anarchy. The roads are gone, the railways are gone, the buildings have been consumed by the jungle; there is no law and little or no administrative structure; towns have no electricity, clean water or medicine; bribery, theft and casual violence are rampant; people live in constant fear of raids from rebel groups, and hundreds of thousands are killed each year simply because they are in the wrong tribe or the wrong place. Sure, there are other third world countries in such a terrible condition but few with the huge natural resources and riches of the Congo, few where this state of affairs has existed for so long, and few that receive so little attention from the rest of the world.
   
   Critics of the book suggest that the picture he paints is over-stated and that his grasp of the Congo's history is flawed - unless you or they are mad enough to emulate his trip who knows? But he's been around in enough of the world's trouble-spots to draw a measure over what he sees and, while his writing is less than tight in places and his understandable desire to "keep in the background" means that his discussions with the people he meets on the way are often cursory, the snapshots of life he returns with are vivid enough to make you question much more than his sanity in what is, in the end, a revealing and harrowingly thought-provoking account of one man's gruelling trek through a totally lost country.

2 comments about The Rough Guide to Kenya 8 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Last April, together with my son I went on a 10 days' self-drive safari in a small Maruti jeep from Nairobi to South Nyanza in Western Kenya, exploring Kenya's western highlands, the Lake Victoria coast and islands, and also the Ruma National park, bringing the Rough Guide to Kenya 8 with us. We found the book very helpful. The guidebook probably has the best coverage of this area. The safari was great!



2. I recently spent two months in Kenya, and I read a lot of guide books both before I left the U.S. and once I was in Africa. This was definitely the most useful and informative....it was far superior to Lonely Planet in both coverage and accuracy. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is going to be spending a substantial amount of time in Kenya.

2 comments about Tunisia (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. This is the best travel guide I've ever found. Full of full color photographs and information that is relevant and sectioned in a logical manner. Well worth the money.



2. I find the guide useful in my recent travel to Tunisia but many places need updating, particularly the "where to stay" and "where to eat" sections the comments in which I find run-of-the-mill and, in some cases, outdated, e.g. one hotel was closed down more than a year ago despite its mentioning in the guide. I find these two sections disappointing.