The premise is better than the story

I found this to be highly anecdotal. This felt like the majority of the book consisted of Congolese history and Congolese accounts of daily life from the people he had met. Despite being entertaining in part by the sheer feat of travelling along the Congo river, the same message is reiterated throughout - The Congo is the only place in the world where conditions are worse in the 21st century than the middle of the 20th

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2 people found this helpful

Compelling and insightful

Firstly, this is my one opinion which may differ to others.
Listening to the authors adventure through the heart of the Congo was interesting and I was eager to keep reading. I had little knowledge of the Congo’s history before this and thus found it insightful and the Congo’s history saddening.

I enjoyed how easy it was to picture myself with the author and benefited from being able to search for the places visited and use Google Earth to see pictures of what was described in the book, such as the port of Kisangani.

I liked how we also learnt about parts of Stanley’s trip, hundreds of years before, through the Congo as the author passed similar places and experiences.

One improvement I would note though is that the chapter division via the app is not fully synced. I.e. sometimes the actual chapter starts in the centre of the chapters on the chapter selection list on the app.

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Good travel book

enjoyed this book which is well paced and well narrated. It provides some keen insight into a country most will be unfamiliar with i suspect.

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great African story

great story especially the overland sections to east and the pirogue adventure, gets quieter once the motorboat river journey starts. narrator is the author who comes across as a shy englishman

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Fascinating account

a fascinating account but read quite fast (I slowed to 0.75 speed). good mix of culture, history and adventure.

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Great book but please slow down!

This is actually a great read for anyone wanting to understand Africa, and why it is what it is. I just wish the narrator would slow down and pause for breath. Sometimes he was talking SO fast that I actually missed what he said.

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2 people found this helpful

Blood River - Crossing The Congo

Tim Butcher showed almost foolhardy bravery in taking this journey. I have travelled ( as a heavily armed soldier ) in neighbouring countries and my heart was in my mouth ,reading some of his exploits. A well written , well read book. The state of the Congo is dire and they need help. THIS is what we should be protesting about , how to save the lives of millions of innocent Africans. Tim Butcher has endured and risked his life in highlighting the problems.

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the guy reads too fast... fascinating nevertheless

very interesting story even though already 14 years old. one thing I kept wondering about was what the purpose of the trip was! the book is a beautiful result and tells an important story, but somehow I felt the need for a purpose beyond that of solely following Stanley's trail.

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6 people found this helpful

Amazing adventure.

An amazing adventure of a very brave man. Very sad story of Africa. A great read (I have read this book twice).

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perspective

eye opening in some aspects and helped broaden my understanding on the "undeveloped" world .

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