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Title: The Lake Regions of Central Africa: From Zanzibar to Lake Tanganyika (Volume 1) by Richard Francis Burton ISBN: 1-58976-062-X Publisher: The Narrative Press, Inc. Pub. Date: August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Well worth the effort
Comment: The book is a detailed chronological account of nearly three years of difficult travel between Zanzibar and Lake Tanganyika, circa the late 1850's. Nothing escapes Burton's observation. He writes of everything from the local hairstyles to the price of pombe (African beer). He gives detailed descriptions of the landscape, geography, flora, and fauna. He writes of Arabs and the Eastern slave trade. He depicts safari life in the days of human porters and mules. He tells of the people he encounters, though his descriptions of Africans may be offensive to some. There is a wealth of information here, something for everyone with an interest in Eastern Africa, or exploration, or imperialism. The place names have sometimes changed from Burton's time to ours, as have the English spelling conventions of Swahili words. Anyone with any interest in Eastern Africa, especially the precolonial period, should arm themselves with a good atlas and reference book and read Burton.
Burton led an amazing life of exploration and scholarship [he wrote "The Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah" after disguising himself as an Arab to travel to the sacred city; he visited Salt Lake City and wrote "City of the Saints"; after exploring in South America he wrote "Explorations of the Highlands of Brazil"; and he translated the "Arabian Nights" and poetry of Luís de Camões], still he may not be an easy writer to come to terms with for many contemporary readers. He is far from what we would call "politically correct". But he wrote so much and so well, and is practically the only writer to travel in Eastern Africa in the 1850's that is in print today (except for John Hanning Speke who was with him on this trip, and who wrote "Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile").
To put this book in context it is wise to read something about Burton, particulary Burton and Speke in Africa; know why in "Lake Regions" Burton never refers to Speke by name. (There are a few Burton biographies, and books about Burton and Speke; or see the movie: "Mountains of the Moon")
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Title: First Footsteps in East Africa; Or, an Exploration of Harar by Richard F. Burton ISBN: 0486254755 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 October, 1987 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca (Volume 1) by Richard Burton ISBN: 0486212173 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 June, 1964 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Wanderings in West Africa by Richard F. Burton ISBN: 048626890X Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 07 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: A Biography by Edward Rice ISBN: 030681028X Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 05 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: The Devil Drives: A Life of Sir Richard Burton by Fawn McKay Brodie ISBN: 0393301664 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: July, 1984 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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