Very well researched. An excellent history of that period. It gives a good insite into the politics of the day and the general state of knowledge of Africa. It is worth reading.

Pretty decent book. There are lot of insights here into the world of the nineteenth century Sahara shortly before the era of European colonization. The casual reader may be surprised to learn (as were the European explorers discussed in this book) how knowledgeable the local and indigenous people were of both their own continent and the wider world. While both the British and the French made much of "discovering" Timbuktu, it's location was obviously well known to locals. One would think they could have simply asked someone to point it out on a map, but as Kryza shows in a roundabout way, rulers of a lot of the nearby cities and kingdoms of Northern and Western Africa were wary of European involvement--and with good reason, as history has shown.

I would say this is a good orientation for Saharan Africa, but it does get a little bit tedious at times, with a litany of sailors, surgeons, and minor functionaries all trying to get their name into history books and then dying of dysentery; this is not to mention the comical intrigue at the end surrounding Laing's mysterious journals. A ruthless editor could probably have turned this into a genuinely exciting National Geographic feature.

Interesting look at the early age of European colonization of Africa, specifically the search for Timbuktu which at the time held the same level of notoriety as El Dorado. While the base story is quite interesting, I felt the book took too many diversions with side stories making some chapters a little slow.

These expeditions make Lewis and Clark's look like a walk in the park. Where did these explorers get their grit, stamina, inspiration? ... especially those who had an idea of the hardships ahead. Thirsty, malnourished and wounded, they walk distances in 110 degrees that have killed their camels only to spend days digging a well that may or may not yield water. If you hit water, you fight with your entire caravan (man and beast) to have a crack at the sludge.

Kryza is at his best when he describes, be it a person, a relationship, dynamic or a place. His descriptions of Warrington, the Laing-Emma romance, Clapperton and Denham add dimension to the tale as do the discussions of the strange diplomacy in this Tripoli outpost.

Intriguing pictures are placed very nicely with the text they relate to. Kryza loves his material, and he gets us to love it too.

Whether you try the desert route or the Niger, the environment and the unpredictable people take toll on life itself. Fortunately, Kryza restrains description here so that this is pallatable for a general audience. While we might flinch from the page, we can read on.

I did wish for an earlier map than p. 88, and one that encompassed all routes described. Also, I didn't check the table of contents, so I wasn't aware what the race was. I kind of thought it was something that would emerge with Clapperton and Denham. The race actually begins half way through the book. The descriptions of the earlier expeditions are merely prologue. Perhaps a different title is needed, since the book is much wider than the "race".

I like having an afterward. (I've put down many books with long forwards, probably because I wasn't steeped enough in the story to appreciate the author's comments.) I also like the narrative chapter notes.

Praise for Frank Kryza for his suspenseful, intriguing and historically enlightening book, The Race for Timbuktu.

Kryza weaves a narrative that could easily have become overly didactic, witheringly dry; but to his credit it is engaging and frankly quite fun.

Kryza takes the rivalry between Laing and Clapperton and their arduous race to be the first Europeans to reach Timbuktu to quixotic heights. You never know who to root for, but ultimately, you want one of them to win.

I was enthralled by his prose. He lyrically conveys the story without being excessively flowery, but adds a patina that visually enhances the literary experience for the reader.

I highly recommend this book.


TD.

Intriguing story of real world journey

Treacherous conditions, strong characters, historical accounts, and great storytelling make this book an exciting read. Puts you there in Africa in the early 1800s.

A slice of history about the search for a fabled city to match El Dorado, or even Atlantis – except that this one really exists.

An amazing tale of adventure, exploration, shattered dreams and meddling politicians blend together to create a fabulously untold story from the great age of gentleman explorers and a time when less was known about inland Africa than the moon.

The author paints vivid portraits of the characters, social etiquette and the political environment and sets these against the hardships experienced by the explorers themselves and their driving passions.

He opens up a forgotten slice of history and an explorer who deserves more in the history books.

A fascinating and engaging read.

the trials and tribulations of the main character are fascinating to read. it is always amazing to see what so many men in history would do for a small chance at fame or gold (or both)

History is brought to life in this little gem of non-fiction about British and Scottish explorers of the early 19th century. It follows the history of attempts to locate Timbuktu and efforts to map the route of the Niger river. Goals included putting an end to slave trading and establishing new commerce. The book could also have been entitled “1001 Ways to Die a Painful Death.” Turns out, the “best” routes to get to Timbuktu were traveling through the up-to-150-degree heat and vast rocky expanse of the Sahara Desert or crossing swamps and dense forests with hordes of disease-carrying mosquitos from the coast. Death could (and did) come from numerous foul means: dysentery, malaria, dehydration, marauding bandits, territorial tribes, fanatic Islamists, and a variety of potentially lethal fevers.

The first several chapters describe previous journeys into the African interior, setting the stage for the rivalry to come, including a couple in which:

“England’s best and brightest had been wiped out in both of the expeditions (65 percent of the British contingent of 117 men died in Africa, while many of the rest were terminally ill when they landed in England).”

The middle chapters arrive at the focus of the book, primarily about two men striving to become the first to reach Timbuktu, and claim not only the prize of 10,000 francs offered by the French Geographical Society, but the accolades and prestige which would inevitably follow such an achievement:

“Until that August day in 1826 when the first white man in three centuries is known to have walked through the gates of Timbuktu, some dozen European explorers tried to find the city. For two of these, Captain Hugh Clapperton and Major Alexander Gordon Laing, winning this prize became an intensely personal competition, crossing that thin line that separates a passionate but realizable dream from an irrational and dangerous obsession.”

These chapters are filled with striking descriptions and colorful, larger-than-life people. Not simply conveying a historical record, the author inserts vivid narrative that conjures an image of place:

“Night fell quickly in the Tripolitanian desert. The sky overhead became rusty; the setting sun dimmed. As the light failed, the sky passed from copper to bronze but remained metallic as the sun’s embers were overtaken by the moon’s milky shimmer.”

This book is filled with adventure, courage, intrigue, politics, betrayal, and memorable people. The author is adept at conveying the personal characteristics of the individuals, both the admirable and the unpleasant. There’s even a love story embedded in the pages, which adds poignancy and human impact to those left behind.

The final few chapters recount the aftermath. These chapters, while necessary, were not quite as riveting as those in the heart of the book. Recommended to readers interested in exploration, African/British history, or true-life adventures of a bygone era.

Absolutely amazing

A really interesting history of European exploration into and across the Sahara desert.

Quite a story....

If you like true stories of adventure and exploration, this book is for you. My one complaint is that the author unnecessarily reveals the end pretty early in the book, which diminished the potential for drama and suspense.