Overview

Nothing obsessed explorers of the mid-nineteenth century more than the quest to discover the source of the White Nile. It was the planet's most elusive secret, the prize coveted above all others. Between 1856 and 1876, six larger-than-life men and one extraordinary woman accepted the challenge. Showing extreme courage and resilience, Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, James Augustus Grant, Samuel Baker, Florence von Sass, David Livingstone, and Henry Morton Stanley risked their lives and reputations in the fierce competition. Award-winning author Tim Jeal deploys fascinating new research to provide a vivid tableau of the unmapped ""Dark Continent,"" its jungle deprivations, and the courage as well as malicious tactics of the explorers. On multiple forays launched into east and central Africa, the travelers passed through almost impenetrable terrain and suffered the ravages of flesh-eating ulcers, paralysis, malaria, deep spear wounds, and even death. They discovered Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria and became the first white people to encounter the kingdoms of Buganda and Bunyoro. Jeal weaves the story with authentic new detail and examines the tragic unintended legacy of the Nile search that still casts a long shadow over the people of Uganda and Sudan.""

Full Product Details

9780300149357

Table of Contents

Reviews

Superb narrative . . . Jeal's judicious account is a must-read for anyone hoping to understand the internal dynamics of modern state-building in central Africa. --Brian Odom, Booklist --Brian Odom Booklist

If there is one book about the search for the sources of the Nile to read and keep on the shelf, this is it. --Tim Severin, Irish Examiner --Tim Severin Irish Examiner

Tim Jeal''s gripping book pulls the whole astonishing story together. . . . It''s as intricate and unexpected as the source of the river itself. . . All the main players were. . . examples of grit, resourcefulness and courage on a heroic scale. . . . How intimately Tim Jeal knows them all, and brings them back to life for us. --Tom Stacey, The Spectator --Tom Stacey The Spectator

Author Information

Tim Jeal is also the biographer of Henry Morton Stanley (National Book Critics' Circle Award in Biography and Sunday Times Biography of the Year 2007), and Robert Baden-Powell, which (like Livingstone) was chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times and the Washington Post. In 2011 his Explorers of the Nile was a New York Times Editor's Choice and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.

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