A Labyrinth of Kingdoms: 10,000 Miles through Islamic Africa

Nonfiction, History, Africa, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book A Labyrinth of Kingdoms: 10,000 Miles through Islamic Africa by Steve Kemper, W. W. Norton & Company
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Author: Steve Kemper ISBN: 9780393084061
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: June 25, 2012
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Steve Kemper
ISBN: 9780393084061
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: June 25, 2012
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

A true story that rivals the travels of Burton or Stanley for excitement, and surpasses them in scientific achievements.

In 1849 Heinrich Barth joined a small British expedition into unexplored regions of Islamic North and Central Africa. One by one his companions died, but he carried on alone, eventually reaching the fabled city of gold, Timbuktu. His five-and-a-half-year, 10,000-mile adventure ranks among the greatest journeys in the annals of exploration, and his discoveries are considered indispensable by modern scholars of Africa.

Yet because of shifting politics, European preconceptions about Africa, and his own thorny personality, Barth has been almost forgotten. The general public has never heard of him, his epic journey, or his still-pertinent observations about Africa and Islam; and his monumental five-volume Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa is rare even in libraries. By delivering the first biography on Barth in English, Steve Kemper goes a long way to rescue this fascinating figure from obscurity.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A true story that rivals the travels of Burton or Stanley for excitement, and surpasses them in scientific achievements.

In 1849 Heinrich Barth joined a small British expedition into unexplored regions of Islamic North and Central Africa. One by one his companions died, but he carried on alone, eventually reaching the fabled city of gold, Timbuktu. His five-and-a-half-year, 10,000-mile adventure ranks among the greatest journeys in the annals of exploration, and his discoveries are considered indispensable by modern scholars of Africa.

Yet because of shifting politics, European preconceptions about Africa, and his own thorny personality, Barth has been almost forgotten. The general public has never heard of him, his epic journey, or his still-pertinent observations about Africa and Islam; and his monumental five-volume Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa is rare even in libraries. By delivering the first biography on Barth in English, Steve Kemper goes a long way to rescue this fascinating figure from obscurity.

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