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River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best History & Biography (2022)From the New York Times bestselling author of RIVER OF DOUBT and DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC, the stirring story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time, and its complicated legacy
The Nile River is the longest in the world. Its fertile floodplain allowed for rise to the great civilization of ancient Egypt, but for millennia the location of its headwaters was shrouded in mystery. Pharaonic and Roman attempts to find it were stymied by a giant labyrinthine swamp, and subsequent expeditions got no further. In the 19th century, the discovery and translation of the Rosetta Stone set off a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe - and extend their colonial empires.
Two British men - Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke - were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton was already famous for being the first non-Muslim to travel to Mecca, disguised as an Arab chieftain. He spoke twenty-nine languages, was a decorated soldier, and literally wrote the book on sword-fighting techniques for the British Army. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton's opposite in temperament and beliefs.
From the start the two men clashed, Speke chafing under Burton's command and Burton disapproving of Speke's ignorance of the people whose lands through which they traveled. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke's great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate, Speke shot himself.
Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan's army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguistic prowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without his talents, it is likely that neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived.
In RIVER OF THE GODS Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers.
The Nile River is the longest in the world. Its fertile floodplain allowed for rise to the great civilization of ancient Egypt, but for millennia the location of its headwaters was shrouded in mystery. Pharaonic and Roman attempts to find it were stymied by a giant labyrinthine swamp, and subsequent expeditions got no further. In the 19th century, the discovery and translation of the Rosetta Stone set off a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe - and extend their colonial empires.
Two British men - Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke - were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton was already famous for being the first non-Muslim to travel to Mecca, disguised as an Arab chieftain. He spoke twenty-nine languages, was a decorated soldier, and literally wrote the book on sword-fighting techniques for the British Army. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton's opposite in temperament and beliefs.
From the start the two men clashed, Speke chafing under Burton's command and Burton disapproving of Speke's ignorance of the people whose lands through which they traveled. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke's great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate, Speke shot himself.
Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan's army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguistic prowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without his talents, it is likely that neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived.
In RIVER OF THE GODS Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers.
349 pages, Hardcover
First published May 17, 2022
About the author
Candice Millard
4 books2,526 followersCandice Millard is a former writer and editor for National Geographic magazine. Her first book, The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, was a New York Times bestseller and was named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, and Kansas City Star. The River of Doubt was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and a Book Sense Pick, was a finalist for the Quill Awards, and won the William Rockhill Nelson Award. It has been printed in Portuguese, Mandarin, and Korean, as well as a British edition.
Millard's second book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine & the Murder of a President, rose to number five on The New York Times bestseller list and has been named a best book of the year by The New York Times, Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, The Kansas City Star, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Destiny of the Republic won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the PEN Center USA award for Research Nonfiction, the One Book—One Lincoln Award, the Ohioana Award and the Kansas Notable Book Award.
Millard's work has also appeared in Time Magazine, Washington Post Book World, and the New York Times Book Review. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and three children.
Millard's second book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine & the Murder of a President, rose to number five on The New York Times bestseller list and has been named a best book of the year by The New York Times, Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, The Kansas City Star, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Destiny of the Republic won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the PEN Center USA award for Research Nonfiction, the One Book—One Lincoln Award, the Ohioana Award and the Kansas Notable Book Award.
Millard's work has also appeared in Time Magazine, Washington Post Book World, and the New York Times Book Review. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,726 reviews
June 18, 2022
An amazing book about the search for the sources of the Nile undertaken in the mid-19th century. It never ceases to amaze me how brave explorers were in the times when you could rely merely on your own abilities and courage to make journeys into uncharted territories.
Fascinating account of how Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, with the blessing of RGS, dared to travel to regions nearly unknown to Europeans. Their personal stories, especially that of Burton's, are equally incredibly captivating and compelling. Two strong individuals, fit for discovering the source of the Nile, were unfortunately not united in the goal, and I admit my heart was with Burton for the reasons so well-presented in the book. The third man in the party, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, was the man whose life is a ready script for a Hollywood film, and who, most likely, pathed the way for the success.
Another winner by Ms Millard!
OverDrive, thank you!
Fascinating account of how Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, with the blessing of RGS, dared to travel to regions nearly unknown to Europeans. Their personal stories, especially that of Burton's, are equally incredibly captivating and compelling. Two strong individuals, fit for discovering the source of the Nile, were unfortunately not united in the goal, and I admit my heart was with Burton for the reasons so well-presented in the book. The third man in the party, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, was the man whose life is a ready script for a Hollywood film, and who, most likely, pathed the way for the success.
Another winner by Ms Millard!
OverDrive, thank you!
May 17, 2022
What is the extraordinary drive within that compels individuals to venture into near death experiences and profound dangers?
Candice Millard presents the amazing quest undertaken by three men who took on the almost impossible task of finding the source of the Nile River. It is almost unimaginable to form the image of the treacherous circumstances undertaken with minimum equipment and the limited science of the day. Two of these men were both British with the third being African and a former slave.
Millard begins with setting the stage in the form of the neck and neck competition between the French and the British in finding the Rosetta Stone during the Napoleonic era in 1822. There was a frenzy for all things Egyptian. The French hid the stone with its immense tonnage, but the British were the ones who dominated in securing it along with a later deciphering of the hieroglyphics.
Richard Francis Burton was an extraordinary individual with the capacity to speak 25 languages with various dialects. He even disguised himself as a Muslim and entered into the holy city of Mecca and survived the ordeal. His tenacity led him into great competition with his fellow explorers.
John Hanning Speke came from the upper tiers of British society. He and Burton were fellow officers in the army of Britain's East India Company. They set out together with Sidi Mubarak Bombay. Along with a brigade of porters, guides, and African soldiers, the trio was attacked again and again and almost lost their lives. Disease was a constant worry and it fell upon these men in horrendous ways.
Candice Millard is known for her impeccable research which she undertook in her previous books on Theodore Roosevelt and James Garfield. I highly recommend both. Each is written much like a fast-paced novel wrapped in its history. River of the Gods takes us deep into the mindsets of these men and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding them in their quest. Speke's tale ends under some strange sets of actions still debated even now. It's a remarkable read for those who wish to pursue the mysterious and the secretive streaming alongside the vastness of the Nile River.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to the talented Candice Millard.
Candice Millard presents the amazing quest undertaken by three men who took on the almost impossible task of finding the source of the Nile River. It is almost unimaginable to form the image of the treacherous circumstances undertaken with minimum equipment and the limited science of the day. Two of these men were both British with the third being African and a former slave.
Millard begins with setting the stage in the form of the neck and neck competition between the French and the British in finding the Rosetta Stone during the Napoleonic era in 1822. There was a frenzy for all things Egyptian. The French hid the stone with its immense tonnage, but the British were the ones who dominated in securing it along with a later deciphering of the hieroglyphics.
Richard Francis Burton was an extraordinary individual with the capacity to speak 25 languages with various dialects. He even disguised himself as a Muslim and entered into the holy city of Mecca and survived the ordeal. His tenacity led him into great competition with his fellow explorers.
John Hanning Speke came from the upper tiers of British society. He and Burton were fellow officers in the army of Britain's East India Company. They set out together with Sidi Mubarak Bombay. Along with a brigade of porters, guides, and African soldiers, the trio was attacked again and again and almost lost their lives. Disease was a constant worry and it fell upon these men in horrendous ways.
Candice Millard is known for her impeccable research which she undertook in her previous books on Theodore Roosevelt and James Garfield. I highly recommend both. Each is written much like a fast-paced novel wrapped in its history. River of the Gods takes us deep into the mindsets of these men and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding them in their quest. Speke's tale ends under some strange sets of actions still debated even now. It's a remarkable read for those who wish to pursue the mysterious and the secretive streaming alongside the vastness of the Nile River.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to the talented Candice Millard.
May 24, 2022
As she did in “River of Doubt”, in this book the author combines the story of an exceptional man with a dangerous adventure. Sir Richard Francis Burton was an adventurer, author, poet and soldier. He spoke 29 languages, wrote a text book on sword fighting, was one of the first non-Muslims to reach Mecca, translated the Kama Sutra and other erotic texts and led two expeditions to discover the source of the Nile. Unfortunately for Burton, he was accompanied by John Hanning Speke. In Burton’s view, Speke was less experienced, spoke no other languages and was completely uninterested in Africa or it’s people. The only thing that seemed to interest him was hunting. Over the years, Speke amassed numerous grievances against Burton, and he wound up (figuratively) stabbing Burton in the back. There was a long drawn out public feud. To be fair, Speke did actually discover the source of the Nile, and his discovery was confirmed years after his death. The expeditions were long and grueling, punctuated by hunger and various illnesses including blindness, fevers and one really creepy incident with a beetle.
The book also describes Burton’s courtship of, and eventual marriage to, Isabel Arundell, a woman who wanted to be an adventurer even more than she wanted to be married to one. Another major participant in the expeditions was the former slave, Sidi Mubarak Bombay. Later, he also accompanied Henry Stanley on his search for David Livingstone.
One of my favorite features of this book were the quotes from Burton’s writing. I tried to transcribe this from the audiobook, so it may not be completely accurate, but this is an example of the way Burton wrote when he was particularly moved by what he saw: “Masses of brown purple clouds cover the quarter of the heavens where the sun was about to rise [he wrote]. Presently the mists, ruffled like ocean billow and luminously fringed with Tyrian purple, were cut by filmy rays. While from behind their caul the internal living fire shot forth its broad beams like the spokes of a huge arial wheel rolling a flood of gold over the light blue waters of the lake.”
Although I enjoyed this audio book very much, I’m sorry I missed seeing the bibliography (I assume there is one) because I would definitely like to read more about all of this.
The book also describes Burton’s courtship of, and eventual marriage to, Isabel Arundell, a woman who wanted to be an adventurer even more than she wanted to be married to one. Another major participant in the expeditions was the former slave, Sidi Mubarak Bombay. Later, he also accompanied Henry Stanley on his search for David Livingstone.
One of my favorite features of this book were the quotes from Burton’s writing. I tried to transcribe this from the audiobook, so it may not be completely accurate, but this is an example of the way Burton wrote when he was particularly moved by what he saw: “Masses of brown purple clouds cover the quarter of the heavens where the sun was about to rise [he wrote]. Presently the mists, ruffled like ocean billow and luminously fringed with Tyrian purple, were cut by filmy rays. While from behind their caul the internal living fire shot forth its broad beams like the spokes of a huge arial wheel rolling a flood of gold over the light blue waters of the lake.”
Although I enjoyed this audio book very much, I’m sorry I missed seeing the bibliography (I assume there is one) because I would definitely like to read more about all of this.
July 29, 2022
This may be the best book I have read this year and I am finally in the majority of other readers! I had read one other of Millard's works which I thoroughly enjoyed and when I saw the reviews for this one, I knew that it would be equally interesting and well-written. It certainly was!
This is basically the story of two men, Sir Richard Burton and John Speke as they search for the source of the White Nile River. and the aftermath. In 1856, the British were expanding their Empire and the continent of Africa (with the exception of the coasts) was unknown and unexplored. The Royal Geographic Society was very interested and began funding various individuals to open up the "dark continent" and chose Burton to lead an expedition. Burton was a veteran of exploration, a linguist who spoke 27 languages/dialects, a decorated soldier, and an author. He was also very controversial.
Speke, on the other hand, was from the aristocracy and not particularly noted for anything. He had no experience in exploration and spoke only English, although he was a soldier in India. But he was determined to gain fame and became the second-in-command of the Burton party, an odd choice but one of which Burton approved.
The reader follows the Burton group from Zanzibar(now part of Tanzania) into the African interior and the author spares no detail of the perfect hell they encountered. Maps are included and the author, thankfully uses the African and current names of the countries for clarification.
It didn't take long for Burton and Speke to have a falling out which colored the expedition and lasted their lifetimes. I will go no further except to say that one of them found the rising of the White Nile while the other was mistaken.
I highly recommend this fine history.......it is an adventure into the world of the past and is truly fascinating.
This is basically the story of two men, Sir Richard Burton and John Speke as they search for the source of the White Nile River. and the aftermath. In 1856, the British were expanding their Empire and the continent of Africa (with the exception of the coasts) was unknown and unexplored. The Royal Geographic Society was very interested and began funding various individuals to open up the "dark continent" and chose Burton to lead an expedition. Burton was a veteran of exploration, a linguist who spoke 27 languages/dialects, a decorated soldier, and an author. He was also very controversial.
Speke, on the other hand, was from the aristocracy and not particularly noted for anything. He had no experience in exploration and spoke only English, although he was a soldier in India. But he was determined to gain fame and became the second-in-command of the Burton party, an odd choice but one of which Burton approved.
The reader follows the Burton group from Zanzibar(now part of Tanzania) into the African interior and the author spares no detail of the perfect hell they encountered. Maps are included and the author, thankfully uses the African and current names of the countries for clarification.
It didn't take long for Burton and Speke to have a falling out which colored the expedition and lasted their lifetimes. I will go no further except to say that one of them found the rising of the White Nile while the other was mistaken.
I highly recommend this fine history.......it is an adventure into the world of the past and is truly fascinating.
April 11, 2024
“I do not wish well to discoveries for I am always afraid they will end in conquest and robbery." - Samuel Johnson after the unsuccessful Arctic expedition of Captain Constantine Phipps in 1773
“By Burton's death it was clear to every European nation not only where Africa's lakes and rivers, mountains and forests lay but that it held vast, enviable natural resources, from its diamonds and gold to iron, uranium, and petroleum. In what became known as the ‘Scramble for Africa’ the continent was invaded, occupied, and colonized. By the early 1900s, seven European countries would control more than 90 percent of Africa, leaving only scattered pockets of independence - the Empire of Ethiopia in the east and Liberia in the west - on a continent of more than eleven million square miles.”
- Candice Millard, 2022
************
William Hamilton, a British officer in Alexandria during the 1801 defeat of Napoleon was charged with the seizure of the Rosetta Stone, a key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Carved in three languages, Ancient Greek, Egyptian and Egyptian Demotic, philologists Young from Britain and later Champollion from France both contributed to unlocking the language in 1832. A period of Egyptology followed and then a popular interest in the cultures of the East. Born in 1821 Richard Francis Burton became the pre-eminent figure in a burgeoning Orientalism. An eccentric genius with eclectic interests and modest means, he was expelled from Oxford in 1842 for attending a steeplechase event that was banned by Trinity College.
Enlisting in the East India Company army during the First Afghan War he studied Hindu, Sikh and Muslim religion and culture, eventually mastering twenty five languages and the art of swordsmanship. In 1853 he traveled to Mecca on the hajj in Muslim disguise, convincing his pious companions at great personal risk. Although an atheist he was unflagging in pursuit of understanding people and places he would travel to. He published his experiences, gaining fame and support of the Royal Geographical Society. While on leave in Cairo his attention turned to the most intractable mystery of the time, the source of the Nile River. After months of planning he assembled men and material for the expedition that would begin in Somalia.
An unexpected death of a chief surveyor and botanist caused Burton to select John Hanning Speke, a young aristocratic officer in the EIC as a map maker and zoologist, an avid hunter and explorer who had no interest in indigenous people. In 1854 Burton crossed the Gulf of Aden to begin his first trip into East Africa, with forty carriers and fifty camels. The first attempt ended in disaster. While camped near the shore the party was attacked by several hundred natives who left Burton transfixed through his jaws with a javelin and Speke slashed on his legs and shoulders with a complete loss of equipment. They began to despise each other and a rivalry ensued. The Crimean War broke out and both men joined in the fighting.
Later in life Burton would marry Isabel Arundell and travel together in the Mideast and Europe. She was from a noble family since the Norman Conquest, tied to royalty further back than Henry VIII who beheaded their relatives Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. When the time came to return to Africa, sponsored by the RGS, Burton invited Speke to join the expedition again. Speke accepted, but convinced he should be the leader he became increasingly disgruntled. Departing from Zanzibar, two large islands off the coast of Tanzania under British control, Burton reached the mainland in 1857 and left for the interior with 130 men. After nearly a year they arrived at Lake Tanganyika, ravaged by disease and malnutrition.
In 1834 Britain had abolished slave trading, but slavery was extant with Arab traders still operating. Burton was critical of the practice, although some of the porters were enslaved. Sidi Mubarak Bombay was a freed slave who was kidnapped from East Africa to India and returned; as caravan leader and guide he was indispensable. When Stanley later searched for Livingstone he was again in charge of the entourage. Six months into the journey, faced with starvation and rampant desertion, racked with typhoid, malaria, smallpox, dysentery and cholera, the march towards Tanganyika ground to a halt, 250 miles short of the destination and 600 miles from the coast. Speke recovered from fevers and took command as Burton fell ill.
Following five weeks rest, an eight week trek, they reached the lake. Burton was incapacitated and Speke continued on for forty five days to what he renamed Lake Victoria. Unable to survey it, he claimed correctly that it was the source of the White Nile. As they returned to Zanzibar Speke rushed off to London to lecture and publish, gaining command of a second expedition without Burton. A third expedition was planned, but in light of all the controversy the Geographical Society required a formal debate between the two. The day before it was to occur Speke suffered a self inflicted gunshot wound while hunting and died in 1864. Although it appeared to be accidental Burton spread rumors of a possible suicide, now thought unlikely.
After Burton’s death in 1890 his wife Isabel burned all of his remaining papers, journals and an unpublished translation from Arabic of ‘The Perfumed Garden’, a 15th century work of erotic literature already under contract for 6000 pounds. Her purpose was to save his soul and reputation. He had already published translations of the ‘Kama Sutra’ and ‘1001 Nights’, both received with great commercial success and widespread criticism for offending Victorian sensibilities. He had lived out his later years as a diplomat off the coast of Cameroon exploring the Congo, and in Brazil, Syria and Italy where he stayed with his wife, supplementing their income with his writing while they shared adventures and travels together until the end.
Candice Millard is a journalist-biographer who was a writer and editor for National Geographic. Her portrait of Burton and his inner circle offers smooth reading without getting bogged down in too much historical detail. There are many interesting incidents told since Burton was a prolific author and correspondent and wrote a book about this adventure, albeit in pompous Victorian prose. It’s an intriguing contrast to Graham Greene’s memoir of his voyage within, which recounts a trek through the backcountry of Western Africa in ‘Journey Without Maps’. As a third person account ‘River of the Gods’ works well and personalities of the main historic figures are vividly drawn. It may be helpful to read Ed Rice’s 1990 biography also.
“By Burton's death it was clear to every European nation not only where Africa's lakes and rivers, mountains and forests lay but that it held vast, enviable natural resources, from its diamonds and gold to iron, uranium, and petroleum. In what became known as the ‘Scramble for Africa’ the continent was invaded, occupied, and colonized. By the early 1900s, seven European countries would control more than 90 percent of Africa, leaving only scattered pockets of independence - the Empire of Ethiopia in the east and Liberia in the west - on a continent of more than eleven million square miles.”
- Candice Millard, 2022
************
William Hamilton, a British officer in Alexandria during the 1801 defeat of Napoleon was charged with the seizure of the Rosetta Stone, a key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. Carved in three languages, Ancient Greek, Egyptian and Egyptian Demotic, philologists Young from Britain and later Champollion from France both contributed to unlocking the language in 1832. A period of Egyptology followed and then a popular interest in the cultures of the East. Born in 1821 Richard Francis Burton became the pre-eminent figure in a burgeoning Orientalism. An eccentric genius with eclectic interests and modest means, he was expelled from Oxford in 1842 for attending a steeplechase event that was banned by Trinity College.
Enlisting in the East India Company army during the First Afghan War he studied Hindu, Sikh and Muslim religion and culture, eventually mastering twenty five languages and the art of swordsmanship. In 1853 he traveled to Mecca on the hajj in Muslim disguise, convincing his pious companions at great personal risk. Although an atheist he was unflagging in pursuit of understanding people and places he would travel to. He published his experiences, gaining fame and support of the Royal Geographical Society. While on leave in Cairo his attention turned to the most intractable mystery of the time, the source of the Nile River. After months of planning he assembled men and material for the expedition that would begin in Somalia.
An unexpected death of a chief surveyor and botanist caused Burton to select John Hanning Speke, a young aristocratic officer in the EIC as a map maker and zoologist, an avid hunter and explorer who had no interest in indigenous people. In 1854 Burton crossed the Gulf of Aden to begin his first trip into East Africa, with forty carriers and fifty camels. The first attempt ended in disaster. While camped near the shore the party was attacked by several hundred natives who left Burton transfixed through his jaws with a javelin and Speke slashed on his legs and shoulders with a complete loss of equipment. They began to despise each other and a rivalry ensued. The Crimean War broke out and both men joined in the fighting.
Later in life Burton would marry Isabel Arundell and travel together in the Mideast and Europe. She was from a noble family since the Norman Conquest, tied to royalty further back than Henry VIII who beheaded their relatives Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. When the time came to return to Africa, sponsored by the RGS, Burton invited Speke to join the expedition again. Speke accepted, but convinced he should be the leader he became increasingly disgruntled. Departing from Zanzibar, two large islands off the coast of Tanzania under British control, Burton reached the mainland in 1857 and left for the interior with 130 men. After nearly a year they arrived at Lake Tanganyika, ravaged by disease and malnutrition.
In 1834 Britain had abolished slave trading, but slavery was extant with Arab traders still operating. Burton was critical of the practice, although some of the porters were enslaved. Sidi Mubarak Bombay was a freed slave who was kidnapped from East Africa to India and returned; as caravan leader and guide he was indispensable. When Stanley later searched for Livingstone he was again in charge of the entourage. Six months into the journey, faced with starvation and rampant desertion, racked with typhoid, malaria, smallpox, dysentery and cholera, the march towards Tanganyika ground to a halt, 250 miles short of the destination and 600 miles from the coast. Speke recovered from fevers and took command as Burton fell ill.
Following five weeks rest, an eight week trek, they reached the lake. Burton was incapacitated and Speke continued on for forty five days to what he renamed Lake Victoria. Unable to survey it, he claimed correctly that it was the source of the White Nile. As they returned to Zanzibar Speke rushed off to London to lecture and publish, gaining command of a second expedition without Burton. A third expedition was planned, but in light of all the controversy the Geographical Society required a formal debate between the two. The day before it was to occur Speke suffered a self inflicted gunshot wound while hunting and died in 1864. Although it appeared to be accidental Burton spread rumors of a possible suicide, now thought unlikely.
After Burton’s death in 1890 his wife Isabel burned all of his remaining papers, journals and an unpublished translation from Arabic of ‘The Perfumed Garden’, a 15th century work of erotic literature already under contract for 6000 pounds. Her purpose was to save his soul and reputation. He had already published translations of the ‘Kama Sutra’ and ‘1001 Nights’, both received with great commercial success and widespread criticism for offending Victorian sensibilities. He had lived out his later years as a diplomat off the coast of Cameroon exploring the Congo, and in Brazil, Syria and Italy where he stayed with his wife, supplementing their income with his writing while they shared adventures and travels together until the end.
Candice Millard is a journalist-biographer who was a writer and editor for National Geographic. Her portrait of Burton and his inner circle offers smooth reading without getting bogged down in too much historical detail. There are many interesting incidents told since Burton was a prolific author and correspondent and wrote a book about this adventure, albeit in pompous Victorian prose. It’s an intriguing contrast to Graham Greene’s memoir of his voyage within, which recounts a trek through the backcountry of Western Africa in ‘Journey Without Maps’. As a third person account ‘River of the Gods’ works well and personalities of the main historic figures are vividly drawn. It may be helpful to read Ed Rice’s 1990 biography also.
March 10, 2022
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this work courtesy of NetGalley)
I will start up by honestly stating that Candice Millard’s River of the Gods admittedly wasn’t able to grip me nearly as much as her past works, River of Doubt and Destiny of the Public, were successfully able to.
Still, as per usual with her books, I found an enjoyably great deal to learn about thanks to an excellent level of historical detail. Until now I had no idea that the Nile River, despite being the foundation for some of the oldest continuously (human) inhabited places in the entire world, remained a mystery in regards to its origin point. Neither did I have any prior knowledge about Richard Burton or John Speke, the men who sought to discover these mysterious headwaters, the intense clash of pride and personalities that would shape their hazardous expeditions and the developed enmity that would shape their relationship and their legacies in the long years to come. Overall, it made for very interesting reading.
Also, I greatly appreciated how throughout the book, Millard’s narrative in regards to the “explorers” and others like them at the time is anything but a lionizing one. Far from it, from start to end she makes it perfectly clear that these colonial and imperialist exploits never “discovered” anything, and rather were ventures into places that had long been known and inhabited by other peoples for centuries. Similarly, credit is duly given to the local guides and translators who without their help, the journeys described in this book and many others like them would have ended in total failure.
Again, I unfortunately didn’t find River of the Gods to be quite as on the scale of her past works. However, to be honest that may just speak to the excellent quality of her past works. This is still a very good and also wonderfully fair historical read. There is much to learn from here - including, but not limited to, the details of several harrowing journeys taken through eastern Africa, a detailed record of a fascinatingly complex relationship between two men, and a sizable general glimpse of the forces at play in this “age of exploration.”
I will start up by honestly stating that Candice Millard’s River of the Gods admittedly wasn’t able to grip me nearly as much as her past works, River of Doubt and Destiny of the Public, were successfully able to.
Still, as per usual with her books, I found an enjoyably great deal to learn about thanks to an excellent level of historical detail. Until now I had no idea that the Nile River, despite being the foundation for some of the oldest continuously (human) inhabited places in the entire world, remained a mystery in regards to its origin point. Neither did I have any prior knowledge about Richard Burton or John Speke, the men who sought to discover these mysterious headwaters, the intense clash of pride and personalities that would shape their hazardous expeditions and the developed enmity that would shape their relationship and their legacies in the long years to come. Overall, it made for very interesting reading.
Also, I greatly appreciated how throughout the book, Millard’s narrative in regards to the “explorers” and others like them at the time is anything but a lionizing one. Far from it, from start to end she makes it perfectly clear that these colonial and imperialist exploits never “discovered” anything, and rather were ventures into places that had long been known and inhabited by other peoples for centuries. Similarly, credit is duly given to the local guides and translators who without their help, the journeys described in this book and many others like them would have ended in total failure.
Again, I unfortunately didn’t find River of the Gods to be quite as on the scale of her past works. However, to be honest that may just speak to the excellent quality of her past works. This is still a very good and also wonderfully fair historical read. There is much to learn from here - including, but not limited to, the details of several harrowing journeys taken through eastern Africa, a detailed record of a fascinatingly complex relationship between two men, and a sizable general glimpse of the forces at play in this “age of exploration.”
June 10, 2022
(3.3) I am a Millard fan. She can take some of the most popular (and even less-popular) figures in Western history and create a narrative that speaks volumes about the topic she's writing about. This book was no different, yet the subject matter was, at times, not as harrowing or thrilling as her previous subjects.
Richard Francis Burton was an interesting enough guy and John Hanning Speke, together with Burton was interesting enough, but the story as a whole?
So you get this one guy named Burton that's a polyglot and adventurer and send him on a voyage to figure out where the beginning of the White Nile section of the Nile River starts. You throw in John Hanning Speke like you would if you were baking a cake on 475 degrees and what do you get? A disaster.
Other than Sidi Murbarak Bombay (who, at times, could be an afterthought, but without him, we wouldn't have this story at all!), the characters including Burton and Speke seemed like children. I felt like I was constantly reading about men that had so much of an ego that they seemed to have the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old.
It was educational and I'm glad I read it, yet if it was anyone other than Millard, this probably would've been closer to a 2 star book. If you haven't read her before, I'd start with either Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President or The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.
Richard Francis Burton was an interesting enough guy and John Hanning Speke, together with Burton was interesting enough, but the story as a whole?
So you get this one guy named Burton that's a polyglot and adventurer and send him on a voyage to figure out where the beginning of the White Nile section of the Nile River starts. You throw in John Hanning Speke like you would if you were baking a cake on 475 degrees and what do you get? A disaster.
Other than Sidi Murbarak Bombay (who, at times, could be an afterthought, but without him, we wouldn't have this story at all!), the characters including Burton and Speke seemed like children. I felt like I was constantly reading about men that had so much of an ego that they seemed to have the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old.
It was educational and I'm glad I read it, yet if it was anyone other than Millard, this probably would've been closer to a 2 star book. If you haven't read her before, I'd start with either Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President or The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.
December 6, 2022
3.5 ☆
If perchance during your internet meanderings, you've ever looked up who "discovered" the source of the Nile, you'd find the name John Hanning Speke. His name has also been memorialized on a large obelisk standing in London's Kensington Gardens. But Speke did not make this discovery solely by his own efforts.
River of the Gods is about the 19th century explorers who sought the Nile's headwaters. Many searchers had previously been stymied by the river's 4,160 miles and its many tributaries spanning dangerous lands. Candice Millard's narrative centered around extreme personalities and long-held rivalries mirrored by the sweeping geopolitical forces of conquest and imperialism.
At the dawn of the 19th century, Britain was flushed with success from wresting the newly-unearthed Rosetta Stone from Napoleon's armies in Egypt. This was also the catalyst for expanding the investigation into humanity's ancient roots from the hitherto classical Greek and Roman perspectives. Bolstered by vast imperial fortunes, Britain assumed leadership into the quest and it had the Royal Geographical Society to be its principal organizer and advocate.
Millard's star was Richard Burton, an unconventional polyglot who was a product of the colonial British Empire. With a rare facilty for Asian languages, Burton disguised himself as a Muslim making his annual pilgrimage to Mecca. He became the first non-Muslim who not only witnessed the Hajj but who actually entered the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine.
It's an understatement to write that Burton desired adventure. With support from the Royal Geographical Society, the 33-year old Burton prepared an audacious plan to find the Nile's source. Speke, aged 27, was a last-minute replacement for Burton's friend, John Stocks, who died unexpectedly. Unlike Stocks who was a medic, Speke liked to kill animals.
Millard had established her preference for Burton over Speke early in her book. How the younger man was credited with discovery when Burton was the expedition leader was explained by Millard.
It would seem at this point that only persons with extreme traits would be remembered by posterity, but Millard also included a third member of the expedition group. Sidi Mubarak Bombay was a child in Africa when he had lost his family and had been trafficked into a life of slavery. An active and lucrative slave trade had operated on the island of Zanzibar, off of Africa's east coast. Bombay had regained his freedom before he became Burton's employee. Of these three individuals, Bombay would have the most successful career as an explorer.
Despite the title, the narrative neither focused on the actual key expedition nor did it provide extensive details about it. The last venture which included the three men may have been a psuedo-scientific research expedition, but it also contained all the elements of a bad trip -- ranging from the choice of companions, budgeting problems, disease, and miscommunication.
I hadn't initially planned on reading this, but the NFBC featured it and I could readily borrow it from my library. I had gone into this without any prior knowledge of African explorations. River of the Gods was part adventure story, part history, part biography, and part psychology. I believe that for readers with a stronger interest in its subject matter would rate this book 4 stars or above. But for me, it's a solid 3.5 star.
If perchance during your internet meanderings, you've ever looked up who "discovered" the source of the Nile, you'd find the name John Hanning Speke. His name has also been memorialized on a large obelisk standing in London's Kensington Gardens. But Speke did not make this discovery solely by his own efforts.
River of the Gods is about the 19th century explorers who sought the Nile's headwaters. Many searchers had previously been stymied by the river's 4,160 miles and its many tributaries spanning dangerous lands. Candice Millard's narrative centered around extreme personalities and long-held rivalries mirrored by the sweeping geopolitical forces of conquest and imperialism.
"I do not wish well to discoveries for I am always afraid they will end in conquest and robbery."
~~ 18th century British writer Samuel Johnson
At the dawn of the 19th century, Britain was flushed with success from wresting the newly-unearthed Rosetta Stone from Napoleon's armies in Egypt. This was also the catalyst for expanding the investigation into humanity's ancient roots from the hitherto classical Greek and Roman perspectives. Bolstered by vast imperial fortunes, Britain assumed leadership into the quest and it had the Royal Geographical Society to be its principal organizer and advocate.
My motto: "poco spero, nulla chiedo.” Little I hope, nothing I ask.
Millard's star was Richard Burton, an unconventional polyglot who was a product of the colonial British Empire. With a rare facilty for Asian languages, Burton disguised himself as a Muslim making his annual pilgrimage to Mecca. He became the first non-Muslim who not only witnessed the Hajj but who actually entered the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine.
Nothing for Burton was out of bounds or impure, and he never feared heavenly and certainly not early condemnation.
"The more I study religion," he wrote, "the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anyone but himself."
It's an understatement to write that Burton desired adventure. With support from the Royal Geographical Society, the 33-year old Burton prepared an audacious plan to find the Nile's source. Speke, aged 27, was a last-minute replacement for Burton's friend, John Stocks, who died unexpectedly. Unlike Stocks who was a medic, Speke liked to kill animals.
Puritanical and prim, [Speke] prided himself on his discipline, saving his money and his leave so that he could go on hunting trips...
So passionate was Speke about hunting and collecting [rare animals] that he even went out of his way to kill pregnant animals so that he could study and at times even eat their fetuses.
Millard had established her preference for Burton over Speke early in her book. How the younger man was credited with discovery when Burton was the expedition leader was explained by Millard.
It would seem at this point that only persons with extreme traits would be remembered by posterity, but Millard also included a third member of the expedition group. Sidi Mubarak Bombay was a child in Africa when he had lost his family and had been trafficked into a life of slavery. An active and lucrative slave trade had operated on the island of Zanzibar, off of Africa's east coast. Bombay had regained his freedom before he became Burton's employee. Of these three individuals, Bombay would have the most successful career as an explorer.
Despite the title, the narrative neither focused on the actual key expedition nor did it provide extensive details about it. The last venture which included the three men may have been a psuedo-scientific research expedition, but it also contained all the elements of a bad trip -- ranging from the choice of companions, budgeting problems, disease, and miscommunication.
I hadn't initially planned on reading this, but the NFBC featured it and I could readily borrow it from my library. I had gone into this without any prior knowledge of African explorations. River of the Gods was part adventure story, part history, part biography, and part psychology. I believe that for readers with a stronger interest in its subject matter would rate this book 4 stars or above. But for me, it's a solid 3.5 star.
July 10, 2022
Candice! I hate writing this review.
Millard's three previous books have been absolute nails. I had zero doubts this one would be too. But shoot.
I dithered about what (and how much) to say, knowing this is one whose release many were looking forward to. No one likes a downer. But I think it's helpful to set expectations.
Here's why I didn't like this book: It's dark. The characters are dark. The story is dark. The atmosphere is dark. And just when you think you might be approaching the end of the tunnel, when you can almost feel the first warmth of light about to break through, it just gets darker. There is nothing light-hearted about it, let alone triumphant—which is what you expect with a story about men setting out to make a great discovery, right?
Take this only for what it's worth to you. Perhaps with right expectations you'll be able to enjoy Millard's abilities as a writer. Even still, I cannot recommend it in clear conscience.
Millard's three previous books have been absolute nails. I had zero doubts this one would be too. But shoot.
I dithered about what (and how much) to say, knowing this is one whose release many were looking forward to. No one likes a downer. But I think it's helpful to set expectations.
Here's why I didn't like this book: It's dark. The characters are dark. The story is dark. The atmosphere is dark. And just when you think you might be approaching the end of the tunnel, when you can almost feel the first warmth of light about to break through, it just gets darker. There is nothing light-hearted about it, let alone triumphant—which is what you expect with a story about men setting out to make a great discovery, right?
Take this only for what it's worth to you. Perhaps with right expectations you'll be able to enjoy Millard's abilities as a writer. Even still, I cannot recommend it in clear conscience.
August 3, 2022
This book is about the nineteenth century search for the source of the Nile River. (We’re referring to the White Nile. The Blue Nile branch which originates in Ethiopia was previously found.) Finding the source required more than simply walking along the edge of the river until the end was reached. Explorers had tried that since Ancient Greek and Roman days and in the vicinity of today’s southern Sudan they encountered impassable swampland.
The nineteenth century explorers under sponsorship of the Royal Geographical Society were planning to approach the source of the Nile from the east coast of Africa in vicinity of today’s Tanzania. If the definition of a good travel story is one in which everything goes wrong, this story fits the bill. The first expedition got wiped out by bandits before it got started. The second expedition after a series of near deaths and exhausted supplies managed to reach Lake Tanganyika only to learn of another lake (today’s Lake Victoria) which was more likely to be the source. A third expedition made it to Lake Victoria but was unable to acquire use of boats capable of exploring the rivers which flowed in or out of the lake. So they were pretty sure Lake Victoria was the source, but still didn’t have definitive proof.
But the real story is not about the above described expeditions as much as it is the rivalry between the expedition leaders. The first two expeditions were led by Richard Burton with John Speke second in command. The third expedition was led by Speke. Through it all the two became outspoken enemies. Their rivalry came to a shocking conclusion in 1864 back in England …
While these white men were fighting each other and “discovering” places where humans had lived for hundreds of thousands years prior to the human occupation of England, the real hero of the story is a man named Sidi Mubarak Bombay, a native African who served as guide, translator, and negotiator who traveled with all three of the expeditions. He also was part of a later expedition led by David Livingston who was sent to find definitive proof about the source of the Nile. Sidi Mubarak Bombay was also part of a later expedition led by Verney Lovett Cameron that crossed the African Continent from east to west. Sidi lived an amazing life. He had been enslaved in India for twenty years before returning to Africa where he met Burton and Speke in Zanzibar. He is described as being a skilled facilitator of communications between Europeans and African natives. It occurs to me that a talented historical fiction writer could write a biography of his life, and his dealing with the arrogance, and sometimes stupidity, of the Europeans could make for some interesting stories. His role in various exploration expeditions was recognized by the Royal Geographical Society of London, which presented him a silver medal and a pension in 1876 for his services.
The very end of the book is what for me was a very shocking conclusion. I will describe it in the following spoiler, however if there's any possibility that you'll read this book you should NOT READ IT! If you read it you will be robbed of the reading experience it conveys after reading the preceding story.
The nineteenth century explorers under sponsorship of the Royal Geographical Society were planning to approach the source of the Nile from the east coast of Africa in vicinity of today’s Tanzania. If the definition of a good travel story is one in which everything goes wrong, this story fits the bill. The first expedition got wiped out by bandits before it got started. The second expedition after a series of near deaths and exhausted supplies managed to reach Lake Tanganyika only to learn of another lake (today’s Lake Victoria) which was more likely to be the source. A third expedition made it to Lake Victoria but was unable to acquire use of boats capable of exploring the rivers which flowed in or out of the lake. So they were pretty sure Lake Victoria was the source, but still didn’t have definitive proof.
But the real story is not about the above described expeditions as much as it is the rivalry between the expedition leaders. The first two expeditions were led by Richard Burton with John Speke second in command. The third expedition was led by Speke. Through it all the two became outspoken enemies. Their rivalry came to a shocking conclusion in 1864 back in England …
While these white men were fighting each other and “discovering” places where humans had lived for hundreds of thousands years prior to the human occupation of England, the real hero of the story is a man named Sidi Mubarak Bombay, a native African who served as guide, translator, and negotiator who traveled with all three of the expeditions. He also was part of a later expedition led by David Livingston who was sent to find definitive proof about the source of the Nile. Sidi Mubarak Bombay was also part of a later expedition led by Verney Lovett Cameron that crossed the African Continent from east to west. Sidi lived an amazing life. He had been enslaved in India for twenty years before returning to Africa where he met Burton and Speke in Zanzibar. He is described as being a skilled facilitator of communications between Europeans and African natives. It occurs to me that a talented historical fiction writer could write a biography of his life, and his dealing with the arrogance, and sometimes stupidity, of the Europeans could make for some interesting stories. His role in various exploration expeditions was recognized by the Royal Geographical Society of London, which presented him a silver medal and a pension in 1876 for his services.
The very end of the book is what for me was a very shocking conclusion. I will describe it in the following spoiler, however if there's any possibility that you'll read this book you should NOT READ IT! If you read it you will be robbed of the reading experience it conveys after reading the preceding story.
Shelved as 'abandoned'
July 3, 2022DNF at 12%.
Very dry writing and I really don't care about all these people and their lives and personalities, and what they did prior to the expedition. I just wanted to read about the expedition itself, not all this silly, boring filler.
Having trouble staying awake as it is....
Very dry writing and I really don't care about all these people and their lives and personalities, and what they did prior to the expedition. I just wanted to read about the expedition itself, not all this silly, boring filler.
Having trouble staying awake as it is....
May 14, 2023
What can I say about Candice Millard that I haven't said before? She is a very talented writer, one who again has written a great story. This is something of a departure for Ms. Millard. Her past works have had as their subjects Presidents and Prime Ministers (Garfield, Theodore Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill). In the "River of Gods" Millard introduces a cast of characters and succeeds in making each of them unforgettable. The main part of the story revolves around explorer Richard Burton and rival Richard Speke as their ego personalities clash to find the source of African river the Nile. It was Speke who earned the discoverer’s fame and glory, though his character flaws marred his reputation and may have cost him his life. While these two would search for the source of the Nile together, and even fight battles and suffer grievous wounds together, they would never be friends, engaging as they did in a prolonged and public quarrel about who deserved credit for what. Millard spent the bulk of this new work on the personalities of Burton and Speke and Sidi Mubarak Bombay, the previously enslaved man who guided the expedition and repeatedly saved them from treachery, disease, injury and themselves, and who didn’t immediately receive recognition for being integral to their sucess.
On the same par as her other book the "River of Doubt" I expected that "River of the Gods" would be equal to its predecessor in its details of the landscape and terrors of the animal life and deprivations that must have befallen the explorers on their quest to discover the source of the White Nile. There were memorable details as a beetle burrowing into Speke’s ear, creepy crawly things that will send shivers up your spine, thieves, deserters and raiders thwarting these yearslong expeditions; diseases and infections leading to blindness, deafness and death; the hardships of Bombay, who was once traded for cloth. Millard again has given me a book that I knew little about the origins of the Nile, much less the explorers: Richard Burton and John Speke. The other reason is the author of this book was Ms. Millard and that was enough for me to pick it up and I was not disappointed, a story, vividly told by a master storyteller.
On the same par as her other book the "River of Doubt" I expected that "River of the Gods" would be equal to its predecessor in its details of the landscape and terrors of the animal life and deprivations that must have befallen the explorers on their quest to discover the source of the White Nile. There were memorable details as a beetle burrowing into Speke’s ear, creepy crawly things that will send shivers up your spine, thieves, deserters and raiders thwarting these yearslong expeditions; diseases and infections leading to blindness, deafness and death; the hardships of Bombay, who was once traded for cloth. Millard again has given me a book that I knew little about the origins of the Nile, much less the explorers: Richard Burton and John Speke. The other reason is the author of this book was Ms. Millard and that was enough for me to pick it up and I was not disappointed, a story, vividly told by a master storyteller.
July 13, 2022
Richard Burton joins the contingent of people from the past with whom I would love to have a conversation over a long dinner. Explorer, poet, linguist and translator; a man who loved to study other cultures and was not content just to hear about others experiences.
Millard's new book is not so much a book about a single expedition, but rather a study of the state of British exploration in the 1850s and its leading figures (Burton, Speke, Livingston, Murchison, etc.). The Royal Geographical Society was focused on the source of the Nile at that time, and 'River of the Gods' covers Burton and Speke's expeditions in East Africa and the implications of their complicated relationship thereafter. Some readers might complain that Millard doesn't spend enough time on the expeditions themselves, but I found that to be a strength of the book. The details of their journeys are not the point of the book; Millard wants to focus on the debate on the source of the Nile and the differences between Burton and Speke.
This is the third book by Millard that I have read, and it is by far my favorite. I loved it. Comfortable five stars.
Millard's new book is not so much a book about a single expedition, but rather a study of the state of British exploration in the 1850s and its leading figures (Burton, Speke, Livingston, Murchison, etc.). The Royal Geographical Society was focused on the source of the Nile at that time, and 'River of the Gods' covers Burton and Speke's expeditions in East Africa and the implications of their complicated relationship thereafter. Some readers might complain that Millard doesn't spend enough time on the expeditions themselves, but I found that to be a strength of the book. The details of their journeys are not the point of the book; Millard wants to focus on the debate on the source of the Nile and the differences between Burton and Speke.
This is the third book by Millard that I have read, and it is by far my favorite. I loved it. Comfortable five stars.
February 28, 2024
On a very basic level this biography is the story of three men and their exploration to find the location and headwaters of the Nile River. Richard Burton, an intellectual, who can speak over twenty-five languages and 11 dialects and who can jump back from one serious illness after the other, including a spear that goes through both sides of his jaw, and yet he continues on.
The second man, John Hanning Speke, an army officer whose main passion, besides hunting, is to find the source of the Nile and claim the prize for England and to make his mark in the world. Like Burton, he can suffer one deadly illness after another and somehow find the strength to continue on.
The third man, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, an ex-slave whose freedom is granted when his owner dies is a testimony to goodness and an extraordinary guide.
On a much higher level this is the story of the brutal colonization of the continent of Africa by the Europeans. It is in many ways the non-fiction equivalent of Joseph Conrad's classic, "Heart of Darkness." In fact, Mr. Conrad is mentioned in the book.
Myth and an up side down interpretation of Darwin's theory are used as reasons why the native Africans, mostly blacks, are captured and sold into slavery.
Ms. Candice Millard's, "River of the Gods," is a riveting, fast paced biography that takes place mostly between the 1850's to the middle and late 1860's. Sadly, the brutal colonization of Africa continued into the 1950's and its consequences can still be seen to this very day in the many wars still taking place on the continent.
I would like to thank Dmitri for recommending this book. Great choice.
The second man, John Hanning Speke, an army officer whose main passion, besides hunting, is to find the source of the Nile and claim the prize for England and to make his mark in the world. Like Burton, he can suffer one deadly illness after another and somehow find the strength to continue on.
The third man, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, an ex-slave whose freedom is granted when his owner dies is a testimony to goodness and an extraordinary guide.
On a much higher level this is the story of the brutal colonization of the continent of Africa by the Europeans. It is in many ways the non-fiction equivalent of Joseph Conrad's classic, "Heart of Darkness." In fact, Mr. Conrad is mentioned in the book.
Myth and an up side down interpretation of Darwin's theory are used as reasons why the native Africans, mostly blacks, are captured and sold into slavery.
Ms. Candice Millard's, "River of the Gods," is a riveting, fast paced biography that takes place mostly between the 1850's to the middle and late 1860's. Sadly, the brutal colonization of Africa continued into the 1950's and its consequences can still be seen to this very day in the many wars still taking place on the continent.
I would like to thank Dmitri for recommending this book. Great choice.
October 12, 2022
Ever since I first listened to The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey over a decade ago, I have been a Candice Millard fan. I also am thrilled to call her a local artist as she lives just across the state line from me in the Kansas side of the KC Metro area. At times, this new title from Millard reminded me of that Teddy Roosevelt book. The trials and tribulations of exploring the African continent had many similarities to that of the Amazon decades later. As with all of the other books I have read by Millard, the amount of research done for the book is above and beyond. I am so in awe of her discipline and diligence. That being said, this is not one of my favorites. Perhaps it was my lack of knowledge on the subject and the main players (all on me). There were parts that seemed to really drag on too long for me. At the heart of the story, though, is great drama and suspense. Also reminders of the mistakes made in the past. For me, the most fascinating figure was Isabel Arundell Burton. We have to wait quite some time to see her play a major role, but it is worth it. Sidi Mubarak Bombay is also a shining star in my opinion. The missionary David Livingstone has a supporting role in this book. For a well-researched book on the journey to return his body to his native land, be sure to check out Out of Darkness, Shining Light by Pettina Gappah.
January 18, 2023
― “The most famous early conjecturer about the source of the Nile was the legendary Egyptian mathematician, astronomer, and geographer Ptolemy. Relying largely on reports from a Greek trader named Diogenes, who had traveled twenty-five days inland from the eastern coast of Africa, Ptolemy placed the source of the Nile in two large lakes that flowed out of a snow-topped mountain range Diogenes had named the Mountains of the Moon.”
― Candice Millard, River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
Candice Millard’s latest book, River of the Gods, is about the search for the source of the Nile, the longest and most storied river in the world. To modern minds that have watched men walk on the moon, explore the depths of the Marianas Trench, or seen photographs sent from the surface of Mars, an exploration to find the source of the Nile might seem pretty tame. But in the middle of the 19th century, when most of the African continent was unknown to Europeans, it was one of the greatest unsolved mysteries. After all, the Nile had made possible one of the oldest continuous civilizations in history. Since the days of the Roman Empire, explorers had tried to follow the Nile upstream to its headwaters; they had all failed. By the middle of the 19th century, it was the holy grail of exploration. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 had resulted in an obsessive interest in Egypt and finding the source of the Nile. Those interested in the search included the newly established Royal Geographical Society.
Millard’s book tells the harrowing story of two English explorers, Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke, and their dangerous quest to discover the source of the Nile. These two men were assisted by a former African slave whose resourcefulness likely saved their lives. Burton was a brilliant linguist, gifted writer, and explorer. Raised in Europe and moving from country to country, he spoke more than 25 different languages. Disguised as a Muslim, he had been the first Englishman to enter Mecca. He was also mercurial and an atheist. Speke was an aristocratic officer in the British Indian Army and a big-game hunter.
― “By disguising himself as a Muslim, Burton was risking the righteous wrath of those for whom the Hajj was the most sacred of religious rites. Although ‘neither the Koran nor the Sultan enjoins the killing of Hebrew or Christian intruders,’ he knew, ‘in the event of a pilgrim declaring himself to be an infidel, the authorities would be powerless to protect him.’ A single error could cost him his life. ‘A blunder, a hasty action, a misjudged word, a prayer or bow, not strictly the right shibboleth,’ he wrote, ‘and my bones would have whitened the desert sand.’”
― Candice Millard, River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
In 1854, Burton was getting together his first expedition to search for the source of the Nile. While in the British port of Aden, preparing to go across to Somaliland, one of the members of his expedition died suddenly. Speke was there on a hunting trip and asked to go along. Burton agreed to his request, but the two men clashed almost from the start. While camping one night after crossing, the expedition was attacked by hundreds of Somalis. One member of the expedition was killed. Speke was stabbed 11 times, and Burton was impaled through his jaw by a javelin. The first expedition had come to a bitter end. While he hadn’t lost his life, Burton had lost all the funding and a year of preparation. Speke resented something Burton had said during the attack. Burton said don't step back, they'll think we're retreating. Speke felt that Burton was calling him a coward. The resentment festered over time.
A couple of years later, the Royal Geographic Society funded another expedition to the source of the Nile, with Burton as commander and Speke as his second in command. This time, there’s a third figure, a man named Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who served as guide. Sold as a slave into India, Bombay returned to Africa as a free man after twenty years when his owner died. His knowledge of tribes and the terrain would prove indispensable. The second expedition reached Lake Tanganyika, one of the largest lakes in the world, which Burton wrongly thought was the source of the Nile. But the expedition was plagued with numerous challenges, including sweltering heat, powerful storms, insufficient food, desertions, and threats from East African tribes. Illness and injury also plagued them: malaria, smallpox, infected wounds, and near blindness from severe conjunctivitis. One night, Speke encountered a swarm of beetles, one of which burrowed into his ear canal. He used a pen knife to kill the beetle but was left deaf in that ear. Burton had such severe malaria that he was paralyzed for nearly a year, unable to walk.
Two years into the expedition, with Burton too sick to continue, Speke asked to press on. Speke found a much larger lake to the north, known locally as Nyanza in what is today Uganda. Convinced he had found the source of the Nile, Speke named it Lake Victoria. He was the first European to see the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. Unable to circumnavigate the lake, he couldn’t prove it was the source of the Nile. But he had, indeed, found the source of the White Nile.
Burton was too ill to head back to England, but Speke was well enough. He promised Burton he wouldn’t talk to anybody until he is well enough to join him. Despite his promise, Speke went directly to the Royal Geographical Society and told them he had discovered the source of the Nile. He also cruelly denounced Burton’s leadership.
Oddly enough, it took the famous explorer David Livingstone, with Henry Morton Stanley, to circumnavigate Lake Victoria and confirm that the lake was indeed the primary source of the Nile.
Candice Millard, a former writer and editor at National Geographic, has become one of my favorite historians. She has a knack for digging into unexplored corners of history and producing a gripping account that provides readers with a glimpse into a part of the past. She is a gifted writer and a careful researcher; she knows how to weave a tale. Curiously, Millard provides few of the natural history illustrations that were features of The River of Doubt,” her book about Teddy Roosevelt’s adventure in the Amazon after his failed third-party campaign for the presidency. There are hardly any mentions of elephants, only brief mention of lions and hippos. Leopards and giraffes and wildebeests turn up in only a single paragraph. Without a well-known individual, such as William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, or Winston Churchill, the story wasn’t quite as interesting as her other three book.
― Candice Millard, River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
Candice Millard’s latest book, River of the Gods, is about the search for the source of the Nile, the longest and most storied river in the world. To modern minds that have watched men walk on the moon, explore the depths of the Marianas Trench, or seen photographs sent from the surface of Mars, an exploration to find the source of the Nile might seem pretty tame. But in the middle of the 19th century, when most of the African continent was unknown to Europeans, it was one of the greatest unsolved mysteries. After all, the Nile had made possible one of the oldest continuous civilizations in history. Since the days of the Roman Empire, explorers had tried to follow the Nile upstream to its headwaters; they had all failed. By the middle of the 19th century, it was the holy grail of exploration. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 had resulted in an obsessive interest in Egypt and finding the source of the Nile. Those interested in the search included the newly established Royal Geographical Society.
Millard’s book tells the harrowing story of two English explorers, Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke, and their dangerous quest to discover the source of the Nile. These two men were assisted by a former African slave whose resourcefulness likely saved their lives. Burton was a brilliant linguist, gifted writer, and explorer. Raised in Europe and moving from country to country, he spoke more than 25 different languages. Disguised as a Muslim, he had been the first Englishman to enter Mecca. He was also mercurial and an atheist. Speke was an aristocratic officer in the British Indian Army and a big-game hunter.
― “By disguising himself as a Muslim, Burton was risking the righteous wrath of those for whom the Hajj was the most sacred of religious rites. Although ‘neither the Koran nor the Sultan enjoins the killing of Hebrew or Christian intruders,’ he knew, ‘in the event of a pilgrim declaring himself to be an infidel, the authorities would be powerless to protect him.’ A single error could cost him his life. ‘A blunder, a hasty action, a misjudged word, a prayer or bow, not strictly the right shibboleth,’ he wrote, ‘and my bones would have whitened the desert sand.’”
― Candice Millard, River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
In 1854, Burton was getting together his first expedition to search for the source of the Nile. While in the British port of Aden, preparing to go across to Somaliland, one of the members of his expedition died suddenly. Speke was there on a hunting trip and asked to go along. Burton agreed to his request, but the two men clashed almost from the start. While camping one night after crossing, the expedition was attacked by hundreds of Somalis. One member of the expedition was killed. Speke was stabbed 11 times, and Burton was impaled through his jaw by a javelin. The first expedition had come to a bitter end. While he hadn’t lost his life, Burton had lost all the funding and a year of preparation. Speke resented something Burton had said during the attack. Burton said don't step back, they'll think we're retreating. Speke felt that Burton was calling him a coward. The resentment festered over time.
A couple of years later, the Royal Geographic Society funded another expedition to the source of the Nile, with Burton as commander and Speke as his second in command. This time, there’s a third figure, a man named Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who served as guide. Sold as a slave into India, Bombay returned to Africa as a free man after twenty years when his owner died. His knowledge of tribes and the terrain would prove indispensable. The second expedition reached Lake Tanganyika, one of the largest lakes in the world, which Burton wrongly thought was the source of the Nile. But the expedition was plagued with numerous challenges, including sweltering heat, powerful storms, insufficient food, desertions, and threats from East African tribes. Illness and injury also plagued them: malaria, smallpox, infected wounds, and near blindness from severe conjunctivitis. One night, Speke encountered a swarm of beetles, one of which burrowed into his ear canal. He used a pen knife to kill the beetle but was left deaf in that ear. Burton had such severe malaria that he was paralyzed for nearly a year, unable to walk.
Two years into the expedition, with Burton too sick to continue, Speke asked to press on. Speke found a much larger lake to the north, known locally as Nyanza in what is today Uganda. Convinced he had found the source of the Nile, Speke named it Lake Victoria. He was the first European to see the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. Unable to circumnavigate the lake, he couldn’t prove it was the source of the Nile. But he had, indeed, found the source of the White Nile.
Burton was too ill to head back to England, but Speke was well enough. He promised Burton he wouldn’t talk to anybody until he is well enough to join him. Despite his promise, Speke went directly to the Royal Geographical Society and told them he had discovered the source of the Nile. He also cruelly denounced Burton’s leadership.
Oddly enough, it took the famous explorer David Livingstone, with Henry Morton Stanley, to circumnavigate Lake Victoria and confirm that the lake was indeed the primary source of the Nile.
Candice Millard, a former writer and editor at National Geographic, has become one of my favorite historians. She has a knack for digging into unexplored corners of history and producing a gripping account that provides readers with a glimpse into a part of the past. She is a gifted writer and a careful researcher; she knows how to weave a tale. Curiously, Millard provides few of the natural history illustrations that were features of The River of Doubt,” her book about Teddy Roosevelt’s adventure in the Amazon after his failed third-party campaign for the presidency. There are hardly any mentions of elephants, only brief mention of lions and hippos. Leopards and giraffes and wildebeests turn up in only a single paragraph. Without a well-known individual, such as William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, or Winston Churchill, the story wasn’t quite as interesting as her other three book.
December 21, 2022
Finding the source of the White Nile was a major challenge to 19th century adventurers. The terrain traveling south from Egypt stymied explorers as far back as the Romans, and as of the mid-1800s there was no written record of the entire course of this longest river in the world.
In 1854 a British team attempted an approach that would have them start from the coast of Somaliland and head west until they reached the Nile, then follow it south. This effort came to nothing after the group was attacked by local warriors who destroyed all their goods and killed or wounded many of their number. Two years later, after word reached Europe of one or more huge lakes in central east Africa, a new idea was born: start from the coast even farther south, near Zanzibar, travel west to find the rumored lake(s) and determine whether it/they could be the source.
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile is the story of these two enterprises, and one more that followed from them. Millard details the mechanics and obstacles related to mounting such expeditions and the physical hardships endured by all those involved, particularly a seemingly endless variety of diseases that triggered terrifying fevers.
But that is only a part of the story Millard wants to tell. Her real subject is the conflicting personalities of Richard Francis Burton, the leader of the first two, and John Hanning Speke, who participated in the first two and led the last, the one that confirmed Lake Nyanza (now Lake Victoria) as the source. Hence the "genius, courage and betrayal" of the book's title.
Burton was a celebrated adventurer even before the Nile expeditions, having documented in detail his participation in the annual hajj to Mecca disguised as an Arab. He was freakishly gifted in learning languages, wrote a manual for the English military on fencing, and was a highly knowledgeable falconer. A brilliant author (fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as well as translations) and speaker, Burton was nevertheless always ill at ease if not engaged in an adventurous undertaking. What he cherished most was to act in the role of anthropologist, observing and recording the lives and languages of the peoples he encountered. As the leader, he invited Speke to join him on the first two expeditions.
Speke, by contrast, was interested in two things only: hunting, and testing his endurance under arduous circumstances. Millard presents him as the archetypal entitled British aristocrat lacking all respect for rest of the world and, to use a current expression, having no interest in the journey, only in the destination. Over the course of the three expeditions his "destination" changed from shooting as much African wildlife as possible, to earning sole credit for having discovered the source of the Nile. Although there is no question that he was the only European on site when he reached the place where the Nile pours out of Lake Victoria, in order to achieve the glory he sought he inflated his accomplishments and destroyed his relationships with, and the reputations of, others who had supported him. It wasn't enough that he won. The others had to fail. A seriously unpleasant dude.
Millard also takes pains to include the story of a third man, without whose help none of the journeys would have had a chance of success: Sidi Mubarak Bombay. Born in Africa he had been enslaved as a child and taken to India, only to return Africa and function as a talented, good-natured and loyal expedition guide. His participation was valued by both men, although Millard suggests that Speke treated him poorly on at least one occasion.
The book presents Burton as the nobler man, whose generosity toward Speke went unacknowledged by him and was certainly unrewarded. Other scholars have seen things differently and the question is basically unanswerable. I'm just glad to have read another engaging book by Millard on a topic about which I previously had only a limited understanding!
p.s. for audio readers: The narration by Paul Michael is excellent. Because he uses an American accent for the narrative sections, when he is reading quotations, either from the principals or others, their social and cultural status is delicately reinforced by his spot-on characterizations.
In 1854 a British team attempted an approach that would have them start from the coast of Somaliland and head west until they reached the Nile, then follow it south. This effort came to nothing after the group was attacked by local warriors who destroyed all their goods and killed or wounded many of their number. Two years later, after word reached Europe of one or more huge lakes in central east Africa, a new idea was born: start from the coast even farther south, near Zanzibar, travel west to find the rumored lake(s) and determine whether it/they could be the source.
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile is the story of these two enterprises, and one more that followed from them. Millard details the mechanics and obstacles related to mounting such expeditions and the physical hardships endured by all those involved, particularly a seemingly endless variety of diseases that triggered terrifying fevers.
But that is only a part of the story Millard wants to tell. Her real subject is the conflicting personalities of Richard Francis Burton, the leader of the first two, and John Hanning Speke, who participated in the first two and led the last, the one that confirmed Lake Nyanza (now Lake Victoria) as the source. Hence the "genius, courage and betrayal" of the book's title.
Burton was a celebrated adventurer even before the Nile expeditions, having documented in detail his participation in the annual hajj to Mecca disguised as an Arab. He was freakishly gifted in learning languages, wrote a manual for the English military on fencing, and was a highly knowledgeable falconer. A brilliant author (fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as well as translations) and speaker, Burton was nevertheless always ill at ease if not engaged in an adventurous undertaking. What he cherished most was to act in the role of anthropologist, observing and recording the lives and languages of the peoples he encountered. As the leader, he invited Speke to join him on the first two expeditions.
Speke, by contrast, was interested in two things only: hunting, and testing his endurance under arduous circumstances. Millard presents him as the archetypal entitled British aristocrat lacking all respect for rest of the world and, to use a current expression, having no interest in the journey, only in the destination. Over the course of the three expeditions his "destination" changed from shooting as much African wildlife as possible, to earning sole credit for having discovered the source of the Nile. Although there is no question that he was the only European on site when he reached the place where the Nile pours out of Lake Victoria, in order to achieve the glory he sought he inflated his accomplishments and destroyed his relationships with, and the reputations of, others who had supported him. It wasn't enough that he won. The others had to fail. A seriously unpleasant dude.
Millard also takes pains to include the story of a third man, without whose help none of the journeys would have had a chance of success: Sidi Mubarak Bombay. Born in Africa he had been enslaved as a child and taken to India, only to return Africa and function as a talented, good-natured and loyal expedition guide. His participation was valued by both men, although Millard suggests that Speke treated him poorly on at least one occasion.
The book presents Burton as the nobler man, whose generosity toward Speke went unacknowledged by him and was certainly unrewarded. Other scholars have seen things differently and the question is basically unanswerable. I'm just glad to have read another engaging book by Millard on a topic about which I previously had only a limited understanding!
p.s. for audio readers: The narration by Paul Michael is excellent. Because he uses an American accent for the narrative sections, when he is reading quotations, either from the principals or others, their social and cultural status is delicately reinforced by his spot-on characterizations.
September 15, 2022
An ancient riddle. Characters larger than life. Adventure full of hardship and danger. Epic personal conflict. Sweeping drama between triumph and despair, fame and oblivion. The search for the source of the Nile and the complex and tortured relationship between Burton and Speke who pursued it is the stuff of fiction, yet is every word true. Candice Millard is a superb storyteller, and in her hands this extraordinary history becomes edge of your seat reading.
If you happen to be an aficionado of the great Sir Richard Francis Burton, you won’t find much new here. I’ve read four Burton biographies, and already knew most every detail this book covered. Even knowing every twist and turn of the tale I still found it riveting.
Millard did add one dimension that, while not completely original, is often neglected in the telling. She gave as much space as the limited biographical material allowed to the importance and contributions of Sidi Mubarak Bombay, the indispensable African guide who was on both the Burton/Speke and the Speke/Grant expeditions. Burton called him, “the gem of the party.” Bombay later was chief of Henry Stanley’s caravan on his search for Livingston. Millard focused on his achievements (along with others) to make the often neglected point that exploration of the world’s hidden places was much more than the achievement of a few European men. Their native guides were essential participants in the process, and should be viewed as partners in discovery.
River of the Gods is an incredible, true story. If you already are familiar with it, I promise that you will enjoy it again in Millard’s skilled prose. If you’ve never before encountered it, what are you waiting for? Read the book already!
If you happen to be an aficionado of the great Sir Richard Francis Burton, you won’t find much new here. I’ve read four Burton biographies, and already knew most every detail this book covered. Even knowing every twist and turn of the tale I still found it riveting.
Millard did add one dimension that, while not completely original, is often neglected in the telling. She gave as much space as the limited biographical material allowed to the importance and contributions of Sidi Mubarak Bombay, the indispensable African guide who was on both the Burton/Speke and the Speke/Grant expeditions. Burton called him, “the gem of the party.” Bombay later was chief of Henry Stanley’s caravan on his search for Livingston. Millard focused on his achievements (along with others) to make the often neglected point that exploration of the world’s hidden places was much more than the achievement of a few European men. Their native guides were essential participants in the process, and should be viewed as partners in discovery.
River of the Gods is an incredible, true story. If you already are familiar with it, I promise that you will enjoy it again in Millard’s skilled prose. If you’ve never before encountered it, what are you waiting for? Read the book already!
November 24, 2022
Interesting, though not as good as Candice Millard's other books, all of which I've read. I suspect that she had less material to work with on this one as far as characters and subject matter. The story is also a bit depressing throughout. That said, Millard is an excellent writer, and there are a wealth of fascinating stories contained in these pages. The book does get off track at times by following the personal stories of its main subjects, even in areas totally unrelated to the search for the Nile. It was worth the read, but don't have overly high expectations.
January 12, 2023
It was painful giving a book by Millard two stars, but here we are.
I absolutely loved Destiny of a Republic and River of Doubt but this book was just...boring. It's about two completely unlikable guys named Speke and Burton who liked to brag about how much better and smarter they were than everyone around them.
The title made me think the book would focus purely on the Nile and that there would be lots of exploration and adventure, like in River of Doubt, but instead it was about two of the most boring men to exist bragging about themselves.
There were some really yucky stories that stood out because they were so gross. Including killing pregnant animals to feast on the fetuses and a bug getting stuck in someone's ear. I also enjoyed learning about their guide, Bombay. I wish we could've had a whole book on him. He was a lot more interesting than either Burton or Speke.
I absolutely loved Destiny of a Republic and River of Doubt but this book was just...boring. It's about two completely unlikable guys named Speke and Burton who liked to brag about how much better and smarter they were than everyone around them.
The title made me think the book would focus purely on the Nile and that there would be lots of exploration and adventure, like in River of Doubt, but instead it was about two of the most boring men to exist bragging about themselves.
There were some really yucky stories that stood out because they were so gross. Including killing pregnant animals to feast on the fetuses and a bug getting stuck in someone's ear. I also enjoyed learning about their guide, Bombay. I wish we could've had a whole book on him. He was a lot more interesting than either Burton or Speke.
September 18, 2022
True story of the mid-1850s expeditions to discover the source of the White Nile. Led by Richard Burton, accompanied by John Hanning Speke and Sidi Mubarak Bombay, the team traveled through eastern Africa from Zanzibar to Lake Tanganyika. They encounter many obstacles – they are almost killed by warriors and disease, navigate extremely treacherous terrain, and experience shortages of supplies. The historical context before and after their journeys is incorporated into the narrative.
Aside from the exploration aspect, the storyline covers the larger-than-life personalities involved and the conflicts that arose between Burton and Speke, which eventually ended their friendship. The main area of conflict involved recognition for identifying the source of the White Nile. Millard also gives credit to a lesser known, but equally important, African, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, whose contributions had been neglected in favor of the Europeans. Millard clearly articulates the critical roles played by Bombay, African guides, and porters in the successes of European expeditions.
This is well-written and well-researched non-fiction. It not only tells a compelling historic story, but also provides insight into the characters of the people involved. It is the second book I have read by Candice Millard, and I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to reading more of her works.
Aside from the exploration aspect, the storyline covers the larger-than-life personalities involved and the conflicts that arose between Burton and Speke, which eventually ended their friendship. The main area of conflict involved recognition for identifying the source of the White Nile. Millard also gives credit to a lesser known, but equally important, African, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, whose contributions had been neglected in favor of the Europeans. Millard clearly articulates the critical roles played by Bombay, African guides, and porters in the successes of European expeditions.
This is well-written and well-researched non-fiction. It not only tells a compelling historic story, but also provides insight into the characters of the people involved. It is the second book I have read by Candice Millard, and I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to reading more of her works.
December 26, 2022
This book describes the characters of the explorers who sought and found a major source of the Nile at the Nyanza/Lake Victoria. The characters of the explorers Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were described in detail. It was like reading an unruly convoluted moral inventory in many ways. I want the restraint of Oscar Wilde as seen in his De Profundis.
The restraint here lies in beating the broken-back horse of 19th-century prejudices. Millard shows prejudices toward for Catholics, women, 'lesser" sciences, and non-Europeans. She shows them for what they are, letting us decide how to process. No need complicating the text.
Also the restraint here lies with the handling of the vast amount of geographical data. As Burton and Speke explored and ventured through African geographical and climate changes, the changes were described, never in great detail. The text is about the character of the explorers as can be seen in the subtitle above. The subtittle does an adequate/good job of describing the biographical nature of the text.
Overall I see how this book might follow a histiographers' theory of Biography as History. Overall well done.
The restraint here lies in beating the broken-back horse of 19th-century prejudices. Millard shows prejudices toward for Catholics, women, 'lesser" sciences, and non-Europeans. She shows them for what they are, letting us decide how to process. No need complicating the text.
Also the restraint here lies with the handling of the vast amount of geographical data. As Burton and Speke explored and ventured through African geographical and climate changes, the changes were described, never in great detail. The text is about the character of the explorers as can be seen in the subtitle above. The subtittle does an adequate/good job of describing the biographical nature of the text.
Overall I see how this book might follow a histiographers' theory of Biography as History. Overall well done.
September 12, 2022
This is not what I was expecting. I loved her The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey and thought this would also focus on the expeditions to discover the source of the Nile. While there was some of the deprivations the men experienced, this was mostly about the personality clashes between Richard Burton (always thought of the actor) and John Speke. Burton had enough ego to serve half the planet. Speke also had some ego, but it seemed he also suffered occasionally from an inferiority complex which he tried to hide by proclaiming his superiority.
All that aside, I learned a few things having nearly nothing to do with searching for the headwaters of the Nile. The cardigan sweater and the raglan sleeve were each named for a British officer, last names being Cardigan and Raglan. That Millard would have inserted this bit of trivia into her book makes me believe she was as surprised and amused as was I.
The other piece of information I found absolutely astounding. Vasco de Gama "discovered" the island of Zanzibar sometime near 1500. I placed discovered in quotes because she wrote that the island had been inhabited for 17,000 years. (Wikipedia says 20,000 years.) I wondered how they even know that! The earth is such a fascination (and then there are all those other planets, too)!
But raglan sleeves and thousands of years of human habitation don't make this creative nonfiction any better than 3-stars. Still, I like the things Millard thinks and writes about and will definitely find her in my future.
All that aside, I learned a few things having nearly nothing to do with searching for the headwaters of the Nile. The cardigan sweater and the raglan sleeve were each named for a British officer, last names being Cardigan and Raglan. That Millard would have inserted this bit of trivia into her book makes me believe she was as surprised and amused as was I.
The other piece of information I found absolutely astounding. Vasco de Gama "discovered" the island of Zanzibar sometime near 1500. I placed discovered in quotes because she wrote that the island had been inhabited for 17,000 years. (Wikipedia says 20,000 years.) I wondered how they even know that! The earth is such a fascination (and then there are all those other planets, too)!
But raglan sleeves and thousands of years of human habitation don't make this creative nonfiction any better than 3-stars. Still, I like the things Millard thinks and writes about and will definitely find her in my future.
September 13, 2022
Having just been in Cairo, Luxor, and the West Bank a few months ago, Millard’s trip back in time to the Nile region felt oddly familiar. I spent hours in the archeological museum in Cairo (tidbit for Brendan Fraser fans - they filmed scenes from The Mummy there) and learned not just about ancient Egypt, but the type of explorers who were obsessed with learning more and more, often at risk of peril. At risk of death.
The two men in this outstanding read were, to me, not especially likeable, but as usual for her detailed work, Millard portrayed them as they were. Maybe because of my hours in the old museum in Cairo and in having been underground myself in the tunneled tomb network of pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings, my curiosity about the type of men and women who’d go to wild lengths to learn and document made me the perfect reader-match for this book. Who would go miles deep underground with only torches? Why would they risk asphyxiation and structural collapse?
The same could be asked here. This crazed tenacity for finding the true headwaters of the Nile also reminded me of the repeat-offenders who explored Antarctica. Injury by spear, tropical illness, dehydration, sabotage, and wild animals could not deter them from looking for the Nile’s source - for years! Was it fame and acclaim or natural curiosity or an intense sense of competition or companionship or a desire to kill trophy animals that drove them? What are the internal ingredients that fuel obsession and achievement? Is that any different to today’s explorers since most don’t risk physical harm?
This is a fascinating and outstanding work! It has inspired my college aged son to return to the African continent to study this summer, and puts that wanderlust in me too. Millard is a diamond.
The two men in this outstanding read were, to me, not especially likeable, but as usual for her detailed work, Millard portrayed them as they were. Maybe because of my hours in the old museum in Cairo and in having been underground myself in the tunneled tomb network of pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings, my curiosity about the type of men and women who’d go to wild lengths to learn and document made me the perfect reader-match for this book. Who would go miles deep underground with only torches? Why would they risk asphyxiation and structural collapse?
The same could be asked here. This crazed tenacity for finding the true headwaters of the Nile also reminded me of the repeat-offenders who explored Antarctica. Injury by spear, tropical illness, dehydration, sabotage, and wild animals could not deter them from looking for the Nile’s source - for years! Was it fame and acclaim or natural curiosity or an intense sense of competition or companionship or a desire to kill trophy animals that drove them? What are the internal ingredients that fuel obsession and achievement? Is that any different to today’s explorers since most don’t risk physical harm?
This is a fascinating and outstanding work! It has inspired my college aged son to return to the African continent to study this summer, and puts that wanderlust in me too. Millard is a diamond.
May 28, 2022
NEW CANDICE MILLARD!!???!! *slams pre-order button*
Edit: a somewhat qualified 4 stars for me. This was a good, well-researched work of nonfiction, and I’m nearly as fascinated by Burton and as infuriated by Speke as the author intends us to be. I do love reading perilous exploration narratives, and this one is peppered up with lots of juicy rivalry and betrayal. Millard is very careful to put Burton’s and his contemporaries’ writings and travels in context and to decry the racist, colonialist aspects of their work and even to mention (albeit in an afterword) the immeasurable harm they did, and to give some credit to the Black guides and fellow explorers who made these trips possible and survivable.
But. The whole book is really about these terrible wealthy white men and their egos and their petty quarrels and their money and their sufferings. It doesn’t glorify them, exactly, not even Burton (I do feel like the author might have almost as much of a crush on Burton as Bram Stoker clearly did, though), but I am left feeling kind of like I would prefer to have read the whole thing from Bombay’s point of view - infeasible, perhaps, as he didn’t leave behind the massive body of writing that Burton did. I just wonder if we really need more books about white explorers pillaging continents. Even really good and well-written ones.
Edit: a somewhat qualified 4 stars for me. This was a good, well-researched work of nonfiction, and I’m nearly as fascinated by Burton and as infuriated by Speke as the author intends us to be. I do love reading perilous exploration narratives, and this one is peppered up with lots of juicy rivalry and betrayal. Millard is very careful to put Burton’s and his contemporaries’ writings and travels in context and to decry the racist, colonialist aspects of their work and even to mention (albeit in an afterword) the immeasurable harm they did, and to give some credit to the Black guides and fellow explorers who made these trips possible and survivable.
But. The whole book is really about these terrible wealthy white men and their egos and their petty quarrels and their money and their sufferings. It doesn’t glorify them, exactly, not even Burton (I do feel like the author might have almost as much of a crush on Burton as Bram Stoker clearly did, though), but I am left feeling kind of like I would prefer to have read the whole thing from Bombay’s point of view - infeasible, perhaps, as he didn’t leave behind the massive body of writing that Burton did. I just wonder if we really need more books about white explorers pillaging continents. Even really good and well-written ones.
May 17, 2022
Interesting, but sometime a wee bit too in the weeds about the participants rather than furthering the narrative along.
June 9, 2022
Candice Millard does it again. The queen of historical narrative non-fiction. Excellent summer read.
April 10, 2022
Fabulous history! Millard has a gift for taking the real facts and making it read like a novel. She makes the history come alive! Loved it!
May 19, 2023
The egos and eccentricities of the explorers of the Victorian era are very wild, they were definitely people who lived large, fast, and loud. The thing is, as this book explains very well, they didn’t often do the exploration alone.
As interesting as the explorers are, I think the inclusion and exploration of the other people who made these expeditions happen really elevated this book. The story of the woman who wants to be an explorer, the story of a former slave who’s explorations put the greatest European explorers to shame, and many others who are essential to understanding this movement in this period of time.
The context here makes a difference, both relative to the norms of the time, and to the world we live in today.
As interesting as the explorers are, I think the inclusion and exploration of the other people who made these expeditions happen really elevated this book. The story of the woman who wants to be an explorer, the story of a former slave who’s explorations put the greatest European explorers to shame, and many others who are essential to understanding this movement in this period of time.
The context here makes a difference, both relative to the norms of the time, and to the world we live in today.
June 12, 2022
As a boy there was time when I was reading about many famous explorers. Ferdinand Magellan, Ponce de León, Balboa, and of course Christopher Columbus. I had never even heard of Richard Francis Burton. In the 19th century he was famous. He was the first non-Muslim to travel to Mecca, disguised as an Arab chieftain and he spoke twenty-nine languages.
Also in the 19th century there was a heightened interest in ancient Egypt following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. The Royal Geographical Society sent Burton along with John Hanning Speke to find the source of the Nile river. The Nile river is the longest in the world and it's fertile floodplain allowed for rise of the ancient Egyptian empire. But it's headwaters was a mystery. Speke was a young Army officer, avid hunter, and explorer. From the start the two clashed. There were also many hardships and illnesses during the expedtion.
There was a third man on this expedition, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was largely forgotten and ignored. Without him it is unlikely that Burton or Speke would have gotten as far as they did or even have survived. But as is often the case when it comes to non-Europeans he is largely forgotten and gets little credit for his contributions. He became a slave as a boy, wound up in the local Sultan's army, and eventually traveled back to Africa where made a living as a guide. His was an extraordinary life.
Many people have heard of Lake Victoria. It was given that name by Speke after Queen Victoria but it has many local language names. As is often the case in history Europeans "discovered" something and gave it a new name. The new European name may be the one we are familiar with but it is not always a new discovery. And in it's disvoery there are native people who helped the Europeans. People who have been ignored or forgotten when the explorers returned.
Altogether a very interesting read and an eye opener about a chapter in history that I knew little about.
Also in the 19th century there was a heightened interest in ancient Egypt following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. The Royal Geographical Society sent Burton along with John Hanning Speke to find the source of the Nile river. The Nile river is the longest in the world and it's fertile floodplain allowed for rise of the ancient Egyptian empire. But it's headwaters was a mystery. Speke was a young Army officer, avid hunter, and explorer. From the start the two clashed. There were also many hardships and illnesses during the expedtion.
There was a third man on this expedition, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was largely forgotten and ignored. Without him it is unlikely that Burton or Speke would have gotten as far as they did or even have survived. But as is often the case when it comes to non-Europeans he is largely forgotten and gets little credit for his contributions. He became a slave as a boy, wound up in the local Sultan's army, and eventually traveled back to Africa where made a living as a guide. His was an extraordinary life.
Many people have heard of Lake Victoria. It was given that name by Speke after Queen Victoria but it has many local language names. As is often the case in history Europeans "discovered" something and gave it a new name. The new European name may be the one we are familiar with but it is not always a new discovery. And in it's disvoery there are native people who helped the Europeans. People who have been ignored or forgotten when the explorers returned.
Altogether a very interesting read and an eye opener about a chapter in history that I knew little about.
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