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The deeds of early explorers in Africa are some of the most adventurous and heroic exploits in human history. With wild animals, geographical hazards and widespread disease to contend with, it was a risky game.
Such an exploration begins with African figures including Mansa Musa and the legendary Prester John, whose rich kingdom was penetrated by the Portuguese in the early 1500s. Later we meet Mungo Park, Ledyard, the American, James Bruce and Rene Caillie, the humble baker's son who discovered Timbuktu, all of whom journeyed inland to avoid the Barbary coastal traders. Speke, Grant, Burton, Stanley, Livingstone, and Baker - the resourceful but feuding 'Victorian lions' - conclude the age of exploration, competing to unveil and evangelize Central Africa and find the source of the Nile.
Skilfully matching four hundred years of history with perceptive assessments of the leading European players on the African stage, Tim Severin offers an engrossing chronicle that will take its place alongside the most distinguished writings in the field of travel and exploration.
Tim Severin, author of Explorers of the Mississippi and The Golden Antilles, was educated at Oxford. He has collaborated on BBC TV programs on exploration and is a regular reviewer for the Washington Post. Born in India, he has travelled extensively throughout the world to research his books.
Such an exploration begins with African figures including Mansa Musa and the legendary Prester John, whose rich kingdom was penetrated by the Portuguese in the early 1500s. Later we meet Mungo Park, Ledyard, the American, James Bruce and Rene Caillie, the humble baker's son who discovered Timbuktu, all of whom journeyed inland to avoid the Barbary coastal traders. Speke, Grant, Burton, Stanley, Livingstone, and Baker - the resourceful but feuding 'Victorian lions' - conclude the age of exploration, competing to unveil and evangelize Central Africa and find the source of the Nile.
Skilfully matching four hundred years of history with perceptive assessments of the leading European players on the African stage, Tim Severin offers an engrossing chronicle that will take its place alongside the most distinguished writings in the field of travel and exploration.
Tim Severin, author of Explorers of the Mississippi and The Golden Antilles, was educated at Oxford. He has collaborated on BBC TV programs on exploration and is a regular reviewer for the Washington Post. Born in India, he has travelled extensively throughout the world to research his books.
Used availability for Tim Severin's The African Adventure