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Product Description
In 1795 Mungo Park, a twenty-four year old surgeon, set out from the Gambia to trace the course of the Niger, a river of which Europeans had no first-hand knowledge. Travels in the interior districts of Africa is his Journal of that extraordinary journey. He travelled on the sufferance of African rulers and soon came to depend for his survival on the charity of African villagers. Before he reached the Niger, he endured months of captivity in the camp of a Moorish chief. Yet throughout his travels, Park maintained a remarkable empathy for African societies and beliefs. He recorded what he saw as accurately as he could, and without presuming European superiority.
About the Author
Mungo Park was born on 10 September 1771, at Foulshiels, Scotland. He excelled academically, studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. His first major contribution was to be in the field of natural science, discovering eight new species of fish off Sumatra. His travels in Africa however, and his courageous attempts to map the course of the Niger river sealed his place in history. Many conflicting reports exist regarding Park's death, but it is generally accepted to have been in January 1806, on the Niger.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is Mungo Park's account of his journey into the interior of Africa, at a time (1795) when due to disease, etc. it was pretty much inaccessible to Europeans. I was grabbed from the first chapter which describes his entry into an exotic and alien land. The book tells how he had his possessions and even his clothing stolen, how he was imprisoned by the Moors and somehow found the strength and courage to keep going and eventually returned to Britain. The book does not dwell on his hardships unduly, however, but also describes the people he meets and their daily life and the environment in which they live. Generally his tone is detached and non-judgemental with regard to both Africans and Europeans alike (with the noticeable exception of the Moors). At the end of the book, the sad details of Park's second journey to Africa are also included. I had to read this for an Open University course, and I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity, as this is the best travel book I have ever read.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book was written just after 1797 and so does not flow like a modern book, but it is an amazing story and if you read between the lines it gives a great insight in to western Africa before the westerns changed things for ever.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has 388 pages,8 B/W drawings and no maps. Park was born in Selkirk, Scotland in 1771. After qualifying as a surgeon from Edinburgh Medical School, he went to sumatra. He was sent to Gambia on 22.5 1795. On 2.12.1795, he travels to the interior and was detained for 2 months. He is robbed by the moors and treated badly because he was a stranger, unprotected and a christian.
He finds river Niger flowing eastwards towards the rising Sun. After loosing his provisions, he decides to go homewards. He gets fever and is laid for 5 weeks. On 10 th June he arrives back in Pasania and takes off his beard. On 17th june, he embarks on an american ship "Charlestown". The ship doctor dies and Park resumes his role. From Antigua ,he travels to England and arrives on 22.12.1797. He travels to Scotland, writes his journals and marries on 2.8.1799.
In 1803, Park is requested by Colonial office to go back to Africa. On 30.1.1805, he starts his 2nd journey to west Africa. Because of the rainy season, most of his soldiers die of fever and dysentry. Park is attacked in his canoe, jumps into the river and drowns.
It is an excellent story of courage, suffering and expedition. Having born in Kenya,I would reccomend this beautiful book.
Read and ENJOY.
He finds river Niger flowing eastwards towards the rising Sun. After loosing his provisions, he decides to go homewards. He gets fever and is laid for 5 weeks. On 10 th June he arrives back in Pasania and takes off his beard. On 17th june, he embarks on an american ship "Charlestown". The ship doctor dies and Park resumes his role. From Antigua ,he travels to England and arrives on 22.12.1797. He travels to Scotland, writes his journals and marries on 2.8.1799.
In 1803, Park is requested by Colonial office to go back to Africa. On 30.1.1805, he starts his 2nd journey to west Africa. Because of the rainy season, most of his soldiers die of fever and dysentry. Park is attacked in his canoe, jumps into the river and drowns.
It is an excellent story of courage, suffering and expedition. Having born in Kenya,I would reccomend this beautiful book.
Read and ENJOY.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Mungo Park's Africa
This diary of Mungo's venture into the interior of Africa is a joy to read.
His voice is suprisingly modern, not at all what I expected. Read more
His voice is suprisingly modern, not at all what I expected. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2010 by D. Davies
Incredible story and honest account of West Africa in 1800
A great book, which is simultaneously a fantastic adventure and insightful anthropological study. I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in West African culture and/or... Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2009 by E. Jelinek
Mungo Park -Travels of a young man in Africa in 18th century
A story of a 24 year old Scotsman, who was recruited to explore the source and direction of flow of the River Niger, by the well known scientist, Sir Joseph Banks of the African... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2009 by A. G. Hopper
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