| Description |
xiv, 522 pages (large print), 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits, photographs ; 24 cm |
| Physical Medium |
large print rda |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 425-490) and index. |
| Contents |
Prologue : obsession -- Part one. Some gallant heart. A blaze of light ; Shadows ; Bond for our blood ; The Abban ; The enemy is upon us -- Part two. What might have been, what would have been. Into the mouth of Hell ; What a curse is a heart ; Horror vacui ; Bombay ; Death was written ; An old enemy ; Tanganyika ; To the end of the world -- Part three. Fury. The knives are sheathed ; 'Twas me he shot ; An exile's dream ; Hard as bricks -- Part four. The malignant tongues of friends. The prince ; Damn their souls ; Neston Park ; The weary heart grows cold -- Epilogue : ashes. |
| Summary |
"For millennia the location of the Nile River's headwaters was shrouded in mystery. In the 19th century, there was a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe and extend their colonial empires. Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton spoke twenty-nine languages, and was a decorated soldier. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton's opposite in temperament and beliefs. From the start the two men clashed. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke's great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate, Speke shot himself. Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan's army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguistic prowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without Bombay and men like him, who led, carried, and protected the expedition, neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived. In River of the Gods Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers" -- Description provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890 -- Travel -- Nile River.
|
|
Speke, John Hanning, 1827-1864 -- Travel -- Nile River.
|
|
Bombay, Sidi Mubarak -- Travel -- Nile River.
|
|
Explorers -- Nile River -- History -- 19th century.
|
|
Explorers -- Biography.
|
|
Nile River -- Discovery and exploration.
|
|
Nile River Valley -- Discovery and exploration.
|
| Genre |
Travel writing.
|
|
Biographies.
|
|
Large type books.
|
| Added Title |
Genius, courage, and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile |
| ISBN |
9780593607817 (large print : paperback) |
|
0593607813 (large print : paperback) |
|
More Resources