How I Found Livingstone

I thought it was dated but that would be expected but I enjoyed it. I thought the choice of words at times was interesting.

How can one complain about a work so classic that all these years later it is still part of the public lexicon? And I can hardly complain about the price, can I ? It is a great budget stretcher for those of us who like Kindle reading.

Just a note: This IS a very nice compact edition. Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.8 x 1.6 inches. Dont worry about the font size, as it is large enough to read easily. The pictures are quite well done, including engravings from Stanleys original edition and color prints and maps. The margins are one-half inch, so if you are one to write notes, this will be a little cramped for you. This is a straight-forward tale that reads like the adventure story it is.

The story is awash with mind-numbing details using un-explained and un-familiar names/terms which sometimes leaves ones head spinning. I stuck with it because of the actual history it relates.

How I Found Livingstone; travels, adventures, and discoveries in Central Africa, including an account of… By Henry M. (Henry Morton) Stanley The book starts when Mr. Stanley (for short) was sent by the manager of the “New York Herald”, Mr. Bennett James Gordon, on a journey to get news and perhaps bring back Dr. Livingstone , circa 1870-1871. Preparation for such a journey began in Zanzibar and had to be thought out and planned. The trip seems to go through endless country with interesting views and experiences, Such as one would encounter in the vastness of Africa .They paid tariffs to the tribal chiefs along the way by taking portions from rolls of cloth and beads they had brought with them to give to the chiefs. The caravan could go no further than Unyanyembe because of an impending war brought on by Mirambo a renegade chieftain. It was heard that Livingston had traveled that way and it was hoped that he may have passed that way before the hostilities began. A band of Arabs was sent out to war against the renegade tribe but were unsuccessful and had to retreat. After traveling West they had to go West via a Southern route and arrived at Ujiji where Dr. Livingston was reported to be. Travel was accomplished by caravan hiking maybe 10 or 15 miles per day and then camping by night. Although Dr. Livingstone made missionary travels, his later ambition was to find the head waters of the Nile . Dr. Livingston discovered that the Chambezi river what the most southern tributary of the Nile. The book gives account of Dr. Livingston’s explorations as far back as 1866. Lake Tanganika being the Southern most reservoir of the Nile was explored by Mr. Stanley and Dr. Livingstone before Mr. Stanley returned to Zanzibar. When in Zanzibar Mr. Stanley was to gather up men and arms for Livingston’s continued exploration as he was in need of porters. Dr. Livingston had ambition of searching out the source of the Nile before he considered returning to civilization. The description of the country side leaves one in awe as to the beauty and vistas that Africa offers. The different obsticles they encountered and overcoming them keeps one riveted to the book.

Great reading. What a lot of dangers and deprivations Mr. Stanley went through in those early stages of Africa,

Sir Stanleys account of his trek through east Africa in the late 1860s has the potential to be both historically relevant and a real-life adventure story. He accurately records the travels over more than a year and notes both successes and failures, weather, terrain, peoples met, battles fought, and all sorts of administration problems a troop lead can encounter. Having siad that, this is not an illustrated book (despite the words in the title). I dont know if the printed copy contains drawings, photos, maps etc. but none of that shows up in the Kindle version and the story suffers greatly for that. In trying to locate some of the places identified in the book with any of the online mapping tools was practically impossible as place names have been significantly changed in the intervening 140+ years. This seriously degrades the book and cost 2 stars to the rating.

The book is the exerts of Sir Henry Stanley, a journalist who was presented with the task of finding Dr. Livingstone, an explorer who had been missing for two years and presumed dead. Stanleys travels were documented by his newspaper, to much fanfare. Stanley had no clue about central Africa, what to pack, what to expect, and ends up facing what youd expect in Africa: harsh conditions, diseases, natives who dont appreciate him being on their land, and jungles that he was no equipped for. It is a tale of lively tale of struggles and intrigue, a very good read.

good

good book