Into Africa by Martin Dugard

Even if you’re familiar with the story of how the journalist Henry Morton Stanley was sent to find the ‘lost’ British explorer David Livingstone in the unmapped interior of Africa, you’ll enjoy this retelling which reads like an adventure story, tracing the journeys of the two men in alternate chapters until they meet up.

The finding of the explorer David Livingstone by the journalist Henry Morton Stanley is one of the great adventure tales of all times. How Livingstone had disappeared into the interior of Africa and no word had been received from him for two years. How an American newspaper tycoon decided to use the opportunity to boost his paper sales by sending a reporter to find Livingstone.

The book traces the journeys of the two men in alternating chapters, as Livingstone struggles to continue his exploration and Stanley gradually gets closer and closer to finding him. It’s a pity that there isn’t a map with each chapter to show you the position of each man.

Author Martin Dugard has written up the travels of the two explorers in a way that reads more like an adventure story than historical biography. The tale never gets bogged down in detail for detail’s sake, moving along swiftly through the pages. But if you stop to analyse a page, you’ll see how much detail there is, in the descriptions of places and events, diary extracts, attitudes of the porters and people encountered, and reconstructed dialogue (Stanley often recorded his conversations).

This book is not the definitive guide to Livingstone or Stanley, nor does it set out to be. Rather it’s a window into the golden age of exploration which will have you suffering along with Livingstone and falls for the grandeur of the continent with Stanley. Whether you’ll also end up with a life-long love of the continent remains to be seen.