A review by yogarshi
The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuściński

5.0

Kapuściński's writing shines a bright light on the "heart of darkness", that complex, tormented, troubled, soul, that organism, that is anything but a whole of its parts. He sketches the march ahead of a continent over 3 decades, with first-hand accounts of some of the blackest moments of human history, along with small personal accounts of the people, the culture, the desert and the jungle that make up Africa. 27 revolutions, 40 imprisonments and 4 death-sentences later, this man knows enough about Africa to tell us how much we do not know about it.

The concluding essay, 'In the Shade of a Tree, in Africa', is possibly my most favorite piece of travel writing to date.