| Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart | 
 enlarge | Author: Tim Butcher
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £1.20
You Save: £6.79 (85%)
New (46) from £1.61
Avg. Customer Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 118
Media: Paperback
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.9 x 1
ISBN: 0099494280
EAN: 9780099494287
ASIN: 0099494280
Publication Date: January 3, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Blood River June 11, 2008
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
In Blood River, Tim Butcher gives an engrossing account of his treacherous trip across the Congo following in the footsteps of Stanley who was also the Daily Telegraph's foreign correspondent. Against all advice, Butcher crosses the Congo with the support of a handful of individuals and a few aid agencies that operate in the country. As the Congo's road, rail and riverboat system has been destroyed, large parts of the journey are undertaken on the back of a motorcycle and Butcher gives vivid accounts of the people he meets and the places he stops at on the way. This book had me hooked from the start. It is a gripping read of the horror of the post-colonial collapse in one part of Africa and there are parallels with Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and "Apocalypse Now", the movie by Francis Coppola. Unlike Conrad and Coppola's characters, however, Butcher does not become savage and he returns to civilisation to reflect on the challenges Africa faces.
 Journalist has his eyes opened in Africa June 10, 2008
9 out of 22 found this review helpful
This is a terrible book, please do not bother to read it never mind to buy it. The author approaches the task which he sets himself to 'follow the footsteps of Stanley' as an ordeal and consequently the whole book takes on an extremely narrow, dismissive and almost patronising slant, in which the the writer seems to find no pleasure whatsoever and simply get to his end goal - that is out of DR Congo. The result is a negative and unhelpful book which is not reflective either of the country or its people. Worst of all - the book becomes irritating after a few pages and gets worse as it goes on.
Fascinating May 23, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
As someone who (briefly) travelled through what was Zaire and travelled for a short way up the Congo by the extraordinary riverboat system in 1990, I was fascinated and appalled in equal measure by Tim Butcher's excellent book. Highly readable, it integrates history and the author's journey extremely well... the descent towards anarchy even since 1990 is amazing. Only two small negatives: he seems to lose track of time in Kisangani (perhaps deliberately mimicking his mental state.... but a bit confusing for the reader)and I wanted to know if he got his passport back at the end....
Engaging and sincere May 11, 2008
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Throughout this book Tim Butcher neither tries to glamorise or exploit his trip; this earnest account is both sincere and enlightening. This book is travel writing at its best; Butcher is not over analytical and gives his readers space to form their own judgements and opinions. The author does not represent himself as either a hero or a victim; instead this is a humble account of an admittedly courageous and remarkable trip. Despite this reticence the book still retains the absorbing and enchanting qualities of an excellent read; it achieves this in a subtle way which is full of integrity appropriate to Butchers personality and his very personal obsession with the Congo.
An eye opener May 11, 2008
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
Blood River was a painful read because it provided insight into the very real horror that is the Democratic Republic of Congo. The book was about the author's brave adventure to cross the country navigating the mighty Congo river and every other page spoke about the misery that exists in a country where nearly 1200 hundred people die every day. The extent of the suffering and the realities of life in the DRC was very painful to read about and frankly quite an eye opener. You just do not read about this in the newspaper or see it in on television.
Some readers have criticized the author for sounding elitist or not focusing enough about the lives of ordinary people in the Congo, however I did not see it that way. Tim Butcher risked his life with this audacious attempt to cross the Congo and he deserves great recognition for bringing to light the cruelties in the DRC that the world has chosen to ignore. It seems very unfair to harshly judge someone who was brave enough to undertake a journey of this magnitude.
I found the book to be very well balanced and the history lesson plus the documentary overtone simply added more credibility into the message of the book.
|
|
|
