I actually really liked this book. I put off reading it when it came from the library, not really sure if I was in the mood for a "travel story." But I finally read the book after reading several others in a pile. And was I GLAD I did. The author really is a great writer, the story just flows and you really don't want to put it down until the end. The story itself is really quite *amazing.* I mean, 600 miles by kayak to Timbuktu???? And the journey is actually quite a lot more dangerous than I expected. Now, I knew that northern Mali was dangerous and tourists are often kidnapped. But I did not know how incredibly agressive and unwwelcoming (to put it kindly) so many villages are the further north you go into Mali. I knew, yes, further north near the border. But I didn't know in central Mali.... And the effect this would have when traveling along the river. So it's a travel travel story. But also a good personal story. The kindnesses of other villages and individuals. The psychological journey. And for me, who has studied African history, the parallels between her journal and Mungo Park's journey.... how similar the 2 experiences were/are despite the centuries in between. Great book, I highly recommend.

Great book about a woman's journey into Africa. I wish I had her job! She has other books about traveling to really remote locations I hope to read someday.

Another great travel adventure from Kira Salak following Mungo Park along the Niger. Surely only those who haven't read Four Corners could doubt she made this journey herself. It has left me wondering what on earth she'll do next.

Once again, Kira Salak, you are my hero.

I was disappointed to learn how National Geographic documents explorers' adventures; it seemed like an invasion of her experience. I may be biased about this because her first book "Four Corners" through Papua New Guinea, is a favorite, although a different sort of journey.

An incredible journey in the footsteps (or, in this case, ripples) of Mungo Park’s early 19th Century exploration of the River Niger in search of the fable trading city of Timuktu.

Undaunted by being alone in a hostile environment, a woman in a man’s world and travelling in an inflatable canoe, Kira Salak weaves her own experiences with comments from her muse.

Lyrical descriptions of scenery, wildlife, political corruption and lives undisturbed by the march of civilization, this is a tremendous piece of travel writing.

Uplifting, engaging and escapism at its very best.

A great read.

Salak undertook this crazy, huge adventure and wrote such a thin account of it.

First book in awhile.

Really enjoyed this read and was completely absorbed.

Great book this. In Mali, from Bamako to Timbuktu, Kira Salak canoes solo, a physical and mental challenge following the route of Mungo Park down the Niger River.

Be amazed, very amazed, by what this woman was able to accomplish. And then wonder why you find it so hard to go get your oil changed by yourself.

Fantastic memoir about an amazing woman kayaking alone down the Niger River in Mali. I also loved her previous book, Four Corners: A Woman's Solo Journey through Papua New Guinea. She spent her nights in whatever village she happened to be nearest to when darkness fell. This woman is fearless, so brave - I wish I had her nerve. Fascinating stories about her interactions with the people who lived along the Niger.

Although perhaps it was part of her sense of adventure to be relatively unprepared, I felt that more research before she made the trip would have been in order. I couldn’t help feeling at times that her reactions to a few events or sights were uninformed. (As one Amazon reviewer points out, she mistakes a pile of rubble for the National Museum in Bamako.) Nevertheless, it is an interesting story. I couldn’t help feeling that Salak combines in herself both courage and foolhardiness.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/t...

The kind of book that makes me want to go on impossible adventures.