How I Found Livingstone

I really liked this book but I gave 4 stars because he often seem to ramble into other stories. It was not hard to follow but I thought is had to many hmmmmmm asides I guess. But the look into Africa and the their way of life and especially the way they were thought of at the time and most especially the way they treated. I know that today it is still often thought that way and about our African-Americans here in the USA. It was hard to read because of the frankness in the truth. I do whole heartedly recommend this book to everyone. It should be required reading.

How often have we heard this quote of Stanleys! This book gives us the story and context in Stanleys own words. I love it!

This is Henry Stanleys first hand account of the expedition to find Dr. David Livingstone who went missing in Africa. The book is both an account of his search and a travelogue of Africa during the Victorian period.

My favorite nonfiction read of 2013. It is indelibly imprinted on my mind. First person narrative of firsthand accounts from the British Colonial Period are absolutely fascinating.

I would have given this intriguing book five stars if it had been abridged and if it werent for errors in formatting that required adjusting the fonts from chapter to chapter. Henry M. Stanley (1841-1904) was retained by George Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald to travel to Africa to determine the fate of missionary and explorer Dr. David Livingstone. This book is an autobiographical account of Stanleys expedition. It is detailed and told with 19th Century verbosity, yet still manages to retain the readers interest until the very end. It would be still more interesting the casual reader if it were abridged by 30 percent. Stanley describes the plants and animals he encounters in great detail, as well as the topography and geology. These details lend a certain authenticity to the account, but quickly become boring. However, his accounts of the trials he faced from disease, weather, swamps, insects and nefarious tribal chieftains and Arab traders brings the toils of 19th Century African travel to life. I found his accounts of the brutalities and complexities of pre-modern Africa to be intriguing and educational. Stanley is often criticized for his occasional brutality, but this book makes clear that central Africa at the time was, itself, a brutal and unforgiving place. Inured to force and intimidation, the native peoples and Arab traders were unlikely to respond to much less. Part of the evidence of this is Livingstones own experiences; Livingstone was loved by the natives, but at the same time was the victim of thievery and cowardice. Stanley managed to overcome these problems, and was (in the end) respected by his followers. His methods (in alternating kind behavior with strict punishment) might have been the only way to accomplish his goal. I often found Stanleys account brutally believable. Central Africa had been intimidated by Arab ivory and slave traders for centuries, and a complex form of interaction between the Arabs and the natives had developed. It is noteworthy that whenever Stanley entered areas in which the Arabs had not intervened, the native Africans were more friendly and, usually, more well off. Stanley happened to enter this part of the world while it was just beginning its transition to modern times, accompanied by even greater brutality and exploitation. Another complaint one hears is that Stanley used racist language and wrote in terms of racial stereo types. If one applies modern standards to 19th Century writers, one would not read very much. In fact, people such as Stanley were conforming to the standards of their time. Those who make such criticisms are conforming to our times; if born in Stanleys time they most likely would have written much as he did. I should point out that this Kindle edition is not illustrated, nor are there any maps. I happen to have books on African exploration (including accounts of Stanleys travels) that do have maps. The reader will find this edition confusing without acquiring maps before starting the book. I assume they can be Googled as well.

Slightly tedious read, but I enjoyed it. Im a bit of a geek and found doing satellite maps & research on the other expeditions of both men to be fascinating.

Not as good as I expected but still an interesting.

many interesting details of the trip into central africa. real documentation of what was required and the thinking of an explorer of the time. would have been a 5 rating if there was a map to follow along with the progress of the journey.

Excellent adventure and writing.

Even though Stanley was a journalist, his writing style left much to be desired. Still, its good to get the words from the horses mouth. And it was an epic journey for the time and place.