Into Africa

February 17, 2003
It is rare when a historical narrative keeps readers up late into the night, especially when the story is as well known as Henry Morgan Stanley's search for the missionary and explorer David Livingstone. But author and adventurer Dugard, who's written a biography of Capt. James Cook among other works, makes a suspenseful tale out of journalist Stanley's successful trek through the African interior to find and rescue a stranded Livingstone. Dugan has read extensively in unpublished diaries, newspapers of the time and the archives of Britain's Royal Geographical Society; he also visited the African locations central to the story. Together these sources enable him to re-create with immediacy the astounding hardships, both natural and manmade, that Africa put in the path of the two central characters. Dugard also presents thoughtful insights into the psychology of both Stanley and Livingstone, whose respective responses to Africa could not have differed more. Stanley was bent on beating Africa with sheer force of will, matching it brutality for brutality, while Livingstone, possessed of spirituality and a preternatural absence of any fear of death, responded to the continent's harshness with patience and humility. Descriptions of the African landscape are vivid, as are the descriptions of malaria, dysentery, sleeping sickness, insect infestations, monsoons and tribal wars, all of which Stanley and Livingstone faced. More disturbing, however is Dugard's depiction of the prosperous Arab slave trade, which creates a sense of menace that often reaches Conradian intensity. This is a well-researched, always engrossing book. Agent, Eric Simonoff.

December 1, 2002
An adventurer himself (he's coauthor of the best-selling Survivor), Dugard tells the greatest adventure story of them all.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2003
Adult/High School-A superb tale of adventure, heroism, and suffering. Dugard provides essential background information between generous servings of heart-pounding excitement. The story begins in the spring of 1866 as David Livingstone was leaving Zanzibar for Mikindary to begin his search for the source of the Nile. Meanwhile, Henry Stanley, an unremarkable freelance writer, embarked on his own adventure, a journey east from Colorado that began by rafting the South Platte River. He hoped for a career as a newspaper reporter in New York. The activities of each man are described in alternate chapters. Rich biographical detail contributes to readers' understanding of the men's backgrounds and characters. This is not a tale for the squeamish: exhausted men slogging through fetid swamps succumb to horrifying diseases; roving bandits mutilate and devour their captives. Using the men's detailed journals, the archives of the Royal Geographic Society, newspaper reports, an impressive collection of secondary sources, and a few black-and-white photographs, the author provides readers with a picture of the time that is as compelling as the story of the search. Details about the role of newspapers, the management of ships, the debates about slavery, and many other topics enrich this book. The volume ends with the burial of Livingstone in Westminster Abbey, but an epilogue provides brief notes on the remainder of the lives of the other major figures in the story.-Kathy Tewell, Chantilly Regional Library, VA

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2003
David Livingstone's search for the source of the Nile and Henry Morton Stanley's subsequent search for Livingstone are two of the most famous quest stories to come out of colonial Africa. Dugard's rendering of the tale is immediate and engrossing. In the late 1860s, Livingstone, seeking the elusive source of the Nile, journeyed far into the interior of Africa, eventually reaching the Lualaba River, which he was convinced was the source. Back in Victorian England, members of the Royal Geographic Society were frantic because they hadn't been able to contact Livingstone. They feared he was dead. Across the pond, the ambitious owner of the " New York Herald" got word of Livingstone's plight and decided to send daredevil reporter Stanley to find the lost explorer. Stanley journeyed to Zanzibar, where he assembled a motley group and loaded up with supplies. But the dangers that awaited them were beyond Stanley's imaginings. Drawing from the explorers' copious diaries, Dugard imbues the narrative with a keen sense of urgency that propels this compelling account along.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)