Reviews

I really liked this book; it is atmospheric and captures the essence of the Congo really well. I enjoyed his approach and found it a lot easier to read than I anticipated.

tgmiles's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring medium-paced

4.25

emilieonthemove's review against another edition

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3.0

Honestly, reading this book triggered a bit of PTSD from my one year spent in Eastern DRC. Tim Butcher does a better job than most writing an "I tried to travel the whole length of the Congo River but it almost killed me" book. He knows his history, he has interesting quotes from and experiences with locals. But, just as with the Congo travel book "Facing the Congo," he peters out at the end, deciding to take a helicopter to get to Kinshasa and coming to a rather understated realization that Henry Morton Stanley, the man whose footsteps he wished to retrace, may have been the catalyst for a colonial regime that was one of the most brutal in the world - followed by a legacy of pilferring dictators, corruption, civil war, and a general disregard for human life. It's totally fascinating, but depressing. And that mirrors my experience having lived there: there is no easy fix, right answer, clear path forward. Incredibly fascinating, incredibly rich in natural resources, incredibly tragic.

toomi_p's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

bookswithboo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative inspiring

4.25

kashyapm94's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.25

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