Blood River: The Terrifying Journey Through the World's Most Dangerous CountryTim Butcher (2007) |
|
  image links to Amazon
|
THE A5 BOOK REVIEWIn 1874, legendary explorer H.M. Stanley set off on an expedition to one of the most remote corners of the earth to map the mighty Congo River. In 2000, with the Congo perhaps even more inaccessible and dangerous than ever, Daily Telegraph correspondent Tim Butcher decided to recreate Stanley’s journey, but traveling alone. Despite warnings that the trip was suicidal, he started off on this 3,000 mile trip with a backpack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots. Most of the logistics were made on the fly, traveling mainly by motorbike or by dugout canoe and getting directions, food and water from UN aid workers and the local people he met along the way. Blood River is a truly an captivating story of survival, both for Butcher himself but also for the Congo, a country that has survived years of horrible corruption and abuse.
Click here to see reviews and prices for this book on Amazon.
|
|
ABOUT TIM BUTCHERTim Butcher is an English journalist and the best-selling author of several travel books, including Chasing the Devil. He worked for almost twenty years for The Daily Telegraph, including roles as a war correspondent and as the Africa Bureau Chief. There is a litany of talented English travel writers famous for venturing into the most remote places in the world: Graham Greene, V.S. Naipul, Eric Newby, Freya Stark, Bruce Chatwin, William Dalrymple, Jan Morris, and Redmond O’Hanlon, to name a few. Tim Butcher in our opinion belongs as a worthy modern addition to this group.
|
GREAT QUOTES FROM BLOOD RIVER“I stirred in the pre-dawn chill, my legs pedaling for bedclothes kicked away earlier when the tropical night was at its clammiest. I could hear African voices singing to a drum beat coming from somewhere outside the room, but my view was fogged by the mosquito net, and all I could make out around me were formless shadows. Slowly and carefully, so as not to anger them, I reached for the sheet balled next to my knees. It stank of old me and insect-repellent as I drew it over my shoulders. I was not just looking for warmth. I wanted protection. Outside was the Congo and I was terrified."
My journey through the Congo had its ow unique category. It did not quite do it justice to call it adventure travel, and it certainly wasn't pleasure travel. My Congo journey deserved its own category: ordeal travel. At every turn I faced challenges, difficulties and threats when in the Congo. The challenge was to assess and choose the option best suited to making progress. But there were moments when there were no alternatives, or shortcuts or clever ideas. At these times, ordeal travel became really no ordeal at all.” INTERESTING LINKS:
LEAVE YOUR OWN REVIEW HERETHE STORY OF SIR HENRY MORTON STANLEY
Sir Henry Morton Stanley was a Welsh-American journalist famous for several expeditions exploring central Africa in the 1870s, and most notably for his search for missionary David Livingstone. He is the one reportedly who upon finding Livingstone greeted him with “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” He is also known for discovering the true source of the Nile. Learn more about this legendary explorer and the original trip made through central Africa with his biography through Wikipedia.
AN INTERVIEW WITH TIM BUTCHER ON BLOOD RIVER |
|
