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A short read and inspiring, although I do remember wishing there was more to the story.
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Bill Bryson's African Diary
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In the early fall of 2002, famed travel Writer Bill Bryson journeyed to Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to working with local communities to eradicate poverty around the world. He arrived with a set of mental images of Africa gleaned from television broadcasts of low-budget Jungle Jim movies in his Iowa childhood and a single viewing of the film version of Out of Africa. (Also with some worries about tropical diseases, insects and large predators.) But the vibrant reality of Kenya and its people took over the second he deplaned in Nairobi, and this diary records Bill Bryson's impresssions of his trip with his inimitable trademark style of wry observation and curious insight. From the wrenching poverty of the Kibera slum in Nairobi to the meticulously manicured grounds of the Karen Blixen house and the human fossil riches of the National Museum, Bryson registers the striking contrasts of a postcolonial society in transition. He visits the astoundingly vast Great Rift Valley; undergoes the rigors of a teeth-rattling train journey to Mombasa and a hair-whitening flight through a vicious storm; and visits the refugee camps and the agricultural and economic projects where dedicated CARE professionals wage noble and dogged war against poverty, dislocation and corruption.
55 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1,2002
This edition
- Format
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55 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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December 3, 2002 by Crown
- ISBN
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9780767915069
- ASIN
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0767915062
- Language
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English
About the author
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William McGuire Bryson is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the U.S. between 1995 and 2003, and holds dual American and British citizenship. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011.
In 1995, while in the United Kingdom, Bryson authored Notes from a Small Island, an exploration of Britain. In 2003, he authored A Short History of Nearly Everything. In October 2020, he announced that he had retired from writing books. In 2022, he recorded an audiobook for Audible, The Secret History of Christmas. He has sold over 16 million books worldwide.
In 1995, while in the United Kingdom, Bryson authored Notes from a Small Island, an exploration of Britain. In 2003, he authored A Short History of Nearly Everything. In October 2020, he announced that he had retired from writing books. In 2022, he recorded an audiobook for Audible, The Secret History of Christmas. He has sold over 16 million books worldwide.
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113 reviews All reviews
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Hilarious account of visiting Africa but at the same time it is a poignant introduction to the daily struggles of so many human beings to attain a better life for their families.
Some hilarious quotes from the book:
"Oh you will see plenty of Africa," Kentice assures me.."We're going to show you lots of exotic things. Have you ever eaten camel?"
"Only in my junior high school cafeteria and they call it lamb."
Taking the train from Nairobi to Mombasa:
t"The experience would not have been a great deal different if they had put us all in a large barrel and rolled us to Mombasa."
Some hilarious quotes from the book:
"Oh you will see plenty of Africa," Kentice assures me.."We're going to show you lots of exotic things. Have you ever eaten camel?"
"Only in my junior high school cafeteria and they call it lamb."
Taking the train from Nairobi to Mombasa:
t"The experience would not have been a great deal different if they had put us all in a large barrel and rolled us to Mombasa."
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This is by far the shortest of Bryson’s books I’ve read. n Bill Bryson’s African Diaryn is really little more than a colorful essay on his eight days in the country of Kenya. Do I recommend it? Absolutely! You can easily read and digest it in an afternoon. And with all things Bryson, you’ll be a better (or at least a better informed!) human being as a result.
tApart from other hardships in Kenya and, one can assume, all over Africa, we see on p. 33 the shortage of educational opportunities in Bryson’s succinct treatment of the subject: “(n)early everyone I spoke to complained of shortages of one kind or another—of work, of food, of teachers, of things to do. There are 28,000 pupils in the camp’s schools, but only 807 desks. There is only one textbook for every 20 students, one classroom for every 75. I talked to a bright young man named James Makuach, one of 357 students preparing to take the Kenyan Schools Certificate exam, a prerequisite for going on to higher education. He told me the school didn’t have the facilities, in particular the scientific equipment, that would allow them to pass the test.
t“‘You have no hope at all?’ I said.
t“‘Not much,’ he said and gave me a heartbreakingly shy smile.”
tThe above paragraph provides only a glimpse at the hardship lived—and survived, for the most part—by the people of Kenya. Read the rest of it and weep. But then be thankful (and possibly charitable) for organizations like CARE when you read what it has accomplished here and continues to accomplish every day against seemingly insurmountable odds.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
16 September 2019
tApart from other hardships in Kenya and, one can assume, all over Africa, we see on p. 33 the shortage of educational opportunities in Bryson’s succinct treatment of the subject: “(n)early everyone I spoke to complained of shortages of one kind or another—of work, of food, of teachers, of things to do. There are 28,000 pupils in the camp’s schools, but only 807 desks. There is only one textbook for every 20 students, one classroom for every 75. I talked to a bright young man named James Makuach, one of 357 students preparing to take the Kenyan Schools Certificate exam, a prerequisite for going on to higher education. He told me the school didn’t have the facilities, in particular the scientific equipment, that would allow them to pass the test.
t“‘You have no hope at all?’ I said.
t“‘Not much,’ he said and gave me a heartbreakingly shy smile.”
tThe above paragraph provides only a glimpse at the hardship lived—and survived, for the most part—by the people of Kenya. Read the rest of it and weep. But then be thankful (and possibly charitable) for organizations like CARE when you read what it has accomplished here and continues to accomplish every day against seemingly insurmountable odds.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
16 September 2019
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Bryson wrote this very short book to raise money for CARE. Funny, informative. Bryson is my favorite author and he rarely disappoints
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Africa Week
Bill Bryson does his usual great job in this book, but it rather surprised me by being so short. However, after he informs you that you have just made a donation to CARE he makes it seem that it is worthwhile.
Bill Bryson does his usual great job in this book, but it rather surprised me by being so short. However, after he informs you that you have just made a donation to CARE he makes it seem that it is worthwhile.
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I mistakenly thought this was going to be a book touring Africa, as "Sunburned Country" was of Australia. Then I saw that it was less than 100 pages! It's actually a short glimpse of Kenya that Bryson did, I believe, as a donate to CARE (a charity organization). Still very informative, vivid, and a worthwhile, if short, read.
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If there was a museum for window frames, the magical ones through which you can take a peek into different Kenyan cities and their lifestyles. That museum would be this book. Though a small one, but a good one.
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Not much to review here, since this “book” is only 3 dozen pages long, and was basically a fundraising effort for CARE. Bill Bryson, humorist par excellence, traveled to Kenya in 2002 for 8 days with the CARE organization, to tour some of their projects and get a feel for what they’re attempting to do for impoverished people there, and he kept a diary of his African adventure in order to turn it into this short book. Yes, he included some funny stuff, mostly about the potential dangers he could’ve faced, but didn’t. But the purpose was to support CARE’s humanitarian efforts with the book’s net proceeds. I hope it succeeded in doing so.
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