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To Timbuktu : A Journey Down the Niger

mark jenkins

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For nearly eight years as the monthly columnist for Outside magazine, and in his award-winning books, Mark Jenkins has held fans spellbound with his riveting accounts of expeditions to remote parts of the globe. In To Timbuktu , he sets out with three friends to attempt their first descent of the Niger River, hoping to reach the legendary city of Timbuktu. Along the way they are attacked by killer bees, charged by hippos, and stalked by crocodiles. They stumble upon a group of completely blind men living alone in the bush and dance with a hundred naked women. That Jenkins finally reaches his goal—riding alone across the Sahara on a motorcycle—stands in sharp contrast to what befell earlier explorers who tried to find Timbuktu and whose fates the author interweaves with the narrative of his own journey. A rich combination of cultural exploration, history, and gripping adventure, this beautifully repackaged edition of To Timbuktu is a journey not to be missed.

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1,1997

This edition

Format
224 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 1675 by Robert Hale
ISBN
9780709072966
ASIN
0709072961
Language
English

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About the author

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mark jenkins

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.2 / 5.0, 43 votes)
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43 reviews All reviews
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L-Man
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Mark Jenkins is a youngish writer who includes just interesting insights of where he travels. Mark worked for Outside Mag where he went on an adv per month so he is a busy guy with fascinating stories. He is a good writer.
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Ronin_Ray
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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As someone who travels, I found this to be one of the best books I've read in a while. I could picture the places described in vibrant color, almost smelling the same air. Sure, the author took risks. Sure some were a bit much. But, without risk there is not reward. Clearly he's telling a story of the things he had done and lived through. No one wants to read a story about the things one thinks of doing and never does because they're too risky!
If you've ever wanted to travel, to really travel, not just take a tour, read this book to get an idea of what it's really like to meet the people along the way.
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sixtef
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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It's a fun read, though Mr. Jenkins takes a lot of pride in offering the tales of his ability to plot out travel adventures.
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ZzzSleepzz
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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four men kayak (that's right, kayak) from the head waters of the niger river to the fabled city and describe what they see. certainly better than actually doing it.
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NotAnElk
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I loved it. Great true life adventure when the author was young.
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gissiebear
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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A true adventure story, replete with scary moments and the inevitable contention among participants with different goals. I very much enjoyed the stories of past explorers to the region, which added a heartrending historical prospective to the search for Timbuktu. I admit that I will never understand the psyche of people who make these arduous adventures, especially given the odds of making it out alive.
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SmallZwaffet
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Just couldn’t do it. After finishing The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu was excited to stay in this region of the world with a book off my shelves but just couldn’t do it. The author comes across as a pompous, entitled white guy who sees the world and its people as his own private playground to exploit as he sees fit. I usually like adventure travel stories but something about this guy and his tone grated me the wrong way. Maybe reading it aloud to my own daughter, who is too young to understand any of it, made me think more about the undertones and exploitation of this type of travel/book. Learned nothing of the land or it’s people other than some snippets from a long dead European’s journal about his ‘discovery’ of the region and far too much about how cool the author and his friend were in high school. Shelved under did not finish. Going in the donate pile.
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