Book Description
In 1854 David Livingstone was acclaimed a hero for his discovery of the Victoria Falls. He had been able to map much of central Africa's waterways, but his later journeys appeared to be failures, although they provided the western world with vivid descriptions of the hitherto unknown interior of Africa. In 1871 the New York Herald sent one of its journalists, Henry Stanley, to find him, leading to one of the most famous meetings in exploration history. This biography provides an account of Livingstone's life, from his humble beginnings in Scotland, and his struggle to gain medical qualifications, to his employment with the London Missionary Society and his search for the source of the Nile. ... Read more

Book Description
Revered for years as a saint, David Livingstone was an interesting character--difficult, demanding, and unsympathetic but also single-minded, determined, patient, and brave. The first European to cross Africa, he discovered the Victoria Falls and survived a shipwreck, attacks by natives, and being mauled by a lion. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Victorian time-travel
This is a great book for those who would like to experience how Victorian men viewed Africa as well as what a great safari would have involved. As it is a day-by-day account, some of the geographical descriptions feel a little repetitive, but can beskimmed over without detracting from the story.It would be a great mistake to judge Stanley too critically by modern standards,however, or you may end up hating it from the beginning and getting nothing from it. ... Read more

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I had heard from passing caravans so many extremely favourable reports respecting Ugogo and its productions that it appeared to me a very Land of Promise, and I was most anxious to refresh my jaded stomach with some of the precious esculents raised in Ugogo... -from Chapter V"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Such was the greeting of Henry Stanley upon finding David Livingstone in deepest Africa... if we're to believe Stanley's own retelling of the event. In 1869, the New York Herald newspaper assigned Stanley, one of its overseas correspondents, to search for Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer presumed lost on the Dark Continent, and Stanley, appearing to appreciate full well that his expedition was history in the making, made certain to solidify his own legend with this bombastic, romanticized, and thoroughly rip-roaring chronicle. From his entourage fit for royalty-the 2,000 porters were all paid for via his Herald expense account-to his daring exploits to find the source of the Nile with Livingstone in tow, this is armchair adventure at its most exciting. Even if it may not all be entirely true.Journalist and adventurer SIR HENRY MORTON STANLEY (1841-1904) was born in Wales, emigrated to the United States as a young man, and returned to England late in life. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1895 to 1900. ... Read more

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I imagine that these ant-hills were formed during a remarkably wet season, when, possibly, the forest-clad plain was inundated. I have seen the ants at work by thousands, engaged in the work of erecting their hills in other districts suffering from inundation. What a wonderful system of cells these tiny insects construct! A perfect labyrinth--cell within cell, room within room, hall within hall--an exhibition of engineering talents and high architectural capacity--a model city, cunningly contrived for safety and comfort!Download Description
I imagine that these ant-hills were formed during a remarkably wet season, when, possibly, the forest-clad plain was inundated. I have seen the ants at work by thousands, engaged in the work of erecting their hills in other districts suffering from inundation. What a wonderful system of cells these tiny insects construct! A perfect labyrinth--cell within cell, room within room, hall within hall--an exhibition of engineering talents and high architectural capacity--a model city, cunningly contrived for safety and comfort! ... Read more

Book Description
This volume recounts Henry Stanley's search for David Livingstone, a missionary-explorer lost in Africa during the Victorian era.In 1870, the New York Herald sent journalist Stanley to track down the English missionary.In these pages the great explorer describes the famous adventure that not only led him to Livingstone, but that led to tremendous discoveries in a previously unknown land. ... Read more

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Commissioned during Britains golden age for expeditions to chart the Zambesi river for minerals and trade, David Livingstone left England in 1858 for what is today Zimbabwe and discovered an area whose sharp contrast between misery and natural beauty bewitched him. Outraged by the racial injustice he found during the eight-year expedition, Livingstone wrote this gripping account in a refreshingly contemporary style. Worthy of the best writers of the time, the book was an instant success and turned him into one of Britain's most famous public persona. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Dedicated Humanitarian
In 1857 David Livingstone accepted the position of British consul at Quilimane and, at the same time, took charge of the "Zambesi Expedition", which the British government had established to further pursue the possibilities of mineral and agricultural resources of Eastern and Central Africa. On this expedition the Zambesi was explored, and lakes Shirwa and Nyassa were discovered. Livingstone's second expedition to Africa is not only an account of exploration of the Zambesi and its waterways but also a detrailed portrait of the local tribes and the consequences of the slave trade.

"Dr. David Livingstone, the Scottish medical missionary, is known to history as the greatest explorer of his age and a dedicated humanitarian who devoted his life to the eradication of the African slave trade. He was a national hero to his contemporaries and time has confirmed his reputation as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the eminent Victorians, both in his achievement and in his influence." He resigned from the London Missionary Society and accepted the position of British Consul at Quilimane; at the same time he agreed to lead an expedition, financed by £5000 from the British Government, to chart the course of the Zambesi and investigate the agricultural potential and natural resources of the region. In private Livingstone had hoped that the expedition would ultimately lead to the founding of an English colony in Central Africa. The expedition was plagued by supply problems, internal disputes, sickness (Mary Livingstone died on 27th April 1862) and problems arising from the unsuitability of the steamship and inspite of all of this, Livingstone reached Murchison Falls, Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa and the Victoria Falls. The expedition carried on for approximately six years. "Other explorers we have had whose fame rose as high, but it lasted only for a few years. The influences of Dr. Livingstone's life-work, on the other hand, are so far-reaching that his fame is above the passing feelings of the time." ... Read more

Book Description
With the utterance of a single line—“Doctor Livingstone, I presume?”—a remote meeting in the heart of Africa was transformed into one of the most famous encounters in exploration history. But the true story behind Dr. David Livingstone and journalist Henry Morton Stanley is one that has escaped telling. Into Africa is an extraordinarily researched account of a thrilling adventure—defined by alarming foolishness, intense courage, and raw human achievement.

In the mid-1860s, exploration had reached a plateau. The seas and continents had been mapped, the globe circumnavigated. Yet one vexing puzzle remained unsolved: what was the source of the mighty Nile river? Aiming to settle the mystery once and for all, Great Britain called upon its legendary explorer, Dr. David Livingstone, who had spent years in Africa as a missionary. In March 1866, Livingstone steered a massive expedition into the heart of Africa. In his path lay nearly impenetrable, uncharted terrain, hostile cannibals, and deadly predators. Within weeks, the explorer had vanished without a trace. Years passed with no word.

While debate raged in England over whether Livingstone could be found—or rescued—from a place as daunting as Africa, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the brash American newspaper tycoon, hatched a plan to capitalize on the world’s fascination with the missing legend. He would send a young journalist, Henry Morton Stanley, into Africa to search for Livingstone. A drifter with great ambition, but little success to show for it, Stanley undertook his assignment with gusto, filing reports that would one day captivate readers and dominate the front page of the New York Herald.

Tracing the amazing journeys of Livingstone and Stanley in alternating chapters, author Martin Dugard captures with breathtaking immediacy the perils and challenges these men faced. Woven into the narrative, Dugard tells an equally compelling story of the remarkable transformation that occurred over the course of nine years, as Stanley rose in power and prominence and Livingstone found himself alone and in mortal danger. The first book to draw on modern research and to explore the combination of adventure, politics, and larger-than-life personalities involved, Into Africa is a riveting read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Decent Popular History
A good story, though not extraordinarilly well written. It does serve well enough as a casual introduction to the story of Stanley and Livingstone.

A More Realistic View of African Exploration
Henry Morton Stanley, who's real name was John Rowlands- he was left at a horrible Victorian workhouse after his grandfather died (his mother having abandoned him), was a remarkable man.He certainly had his flaws, but considering his lack of family from age five, he did rise to a prominence that would certainly make a Horatio Alger book pale by comparison.By contrast the missionary David Livingston, was a crusading anti-slavery activist who became distracted by the then popular obsession- the source of the Nile.Despite his more prim upbring Livingston had his flaws, which emerge in his journals and letters.He was also a remarkable man and certainly endured (as Stanley did) hardships that should have killed him before they finally did.

This fascinating story, including many details I had never encountered in earlier books, are well recounted in "Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingston" by Martin Dugard.This is a real page-turner and a story that is not censored to make either man look better than he was.I did find several errors in fact (elephantiasis is not a form of leprosy and one GENUS of mosquitoes transmit malaria, not one species as implied by the author!)However, despite such lapses and an occasional purple passage, Dugard has written a most interesting account of the famous expedition to find Livingston. The reader will also start to realize why Africa is in its current state, what with inter-tribal warfare, Arab and other slave trading, constant raids, murder, endemic disease and colonialism, it is hard to see how anything else could have resulted.The wonder is that any African states are stable at all after their fairly recent history.

A good read and a worthwhile examination of two lives that unexpectedly intertwined.

Compelling History Story
This book is way too much fun. The story is so compelling, and so much fun to read, that I am left with one complaint:

I have difficulty using this book as a research tool. It's fabulously entertaining, but the depth is hidden in the footnotes, and I am thusly forced to turn to other sources for the research that I wish to do by reading the book in the first place.

Still, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in post-Colonialism for a lively read.

An Unusual Meeting in Central Africa
Dugard is one of the new breed of biographer, in that he knows that every- mans life is made up of truth and fiction.At his best he gives us the more interesting side of both but is always faithful in explaining what has become myth and what can be documented.The life of David Livingstone has become so entangled with his myth that even after reading his diaries it's hard to tell how much is true and how much was perceived as true.

When it comes to Stanley, who reinvented himself so many times not to mention his change of name, always leaves the impression that he has taken the time to edit his journals and diaries.He is very seldom shown to be introspective, except when he uses those emotions to further his own myth.He was a driven man who could never settle for what he had done before, and had to do more than anyone else.The story of Livingstone being found by Stanley at a little village in the Lakes Region of Africa would have been so much more powerful if it had not been deconstructed and rebuilt so many times.

In this format, Stanley finds Livingstone sitting on the front porch of his house/hut and goes over to introduce himself.They are both civilized men who have been beaten down by the nature of Africa and have past the point of exhaustion.Livingstone is on the edge of starvation and has been for the last year.Stanley has crossed parts of Africa which Africans and Arab Slavers fear to go into.I can see Stanley (who idolized Livingstone) being uncertain of how to say hello, and therefore being as differential as possible.

Dugard does a wonderful job of putting both men into the context of the societies they lived in and the people they depended on.It's a fine and interesting story.

tremendous
I learned about Livingstone and Stanley briefly in my middle-school years. The details that I remember from that learning experience are sparse, and do nothing to describe the characters in the story.

This book fleshed out the lives of two men in marvelous detail. I never understood the humanity of Livingstone (I knew he was a missionary, a detail that tends to deify someone in my mind). I never understood the nature of Stanley and what drove him to find Livingstone when no one else could. These men were larger than life - both an inspiration to persevere where no one else can or will. Their accomplishments are worlds apart, but equally remarkable. ... Read more

Book Description

Launch emergent readers into the wonderful world of Christian Heroes through this comprehensive reading program.

Level 2 books teach letter combinations and more sight words. Use Rocket Reader Level 2 if your child: uses phonic skills, knows consonant blends, and knows common vowel combinations.

Books in this Set:

1. A Lion Bite: David Livingstone is bitten by a lion in Africa

2.Got Food?: George Mueller prays and God provides breakfast for lots of children

3. Run Sam Run: Samuel Morris escapes from his persecutors

4. Sing a Song: Gladys Aylward helps orphans

5. Flea Bites: Corrieten Boom doesn't get caught