A beautifully written and poetic book. It captures the heart of a slice of Africa in the 1920's and 30's. Worth reading for the prose alone, and to geA beautifully written and poetic book. It captures the heart of a slice of Africa in the 1920's and 30's. Worth reading for the prose alone, and to get a sense of what Africa was like. It was horse racing, old cars, old airplane adventures, and hunting. This quote was a good summary:
I read this while in Kenya, and it really brought it to life. There is a bit of ancientness in Africa that is innate, inside us, that can be brought out even now. Such as when we heard lions roar, it does something to your insides that makes you uneasy in a way you can't explain.
My grandfather and father were both hunters, and I think there is something romantic about what hunting in Africa must have been like. But also the amount of risk (health-wise) and cost it must have taken to be an elephant hunter (let alone what we now know it did to the population) seems crazy.
This is a book that is powerful because its engrossing, fast paced, entertaining, humorous at times, and yet totally gives you a new perspective on SoThis is a book that is powerful because its engrossing, fast paced, entertaining, humorous at times, and yet totally gives you a new perspective on South Africa. Also, you have to listen to it on audio as Trevor narrates it himself and does everyone in South African accents that makes it so much more real.
South Africa is not a place I know much about, but I feel like I know it better now. Growing up in Apartheid as a coloured person (half white was apparently its own race) sounded extremely tough. As did surviving in the hood as a hustler, getting thrown in jail for "stealing" your father in laws car, and so many of the amazing adventures he described.
But what I most appreciated was how he really attributed so much to his mother, who was a tough, independent women who didn't let him believe that his destiny wasn't in his own hands. That seemed like the major thing that set him apart, and I loved reading all the build-up to that. Highly recommended! ...more
It was nice to be back in Africa, even for a short time. This was a beautifully written memoir, and a remarkable glimpse into what Africa was like a cIt was nice to be back in Africa, even for a short time. This was a beautifully written memoir, and a remarkable glimpse into what Africa was like a century ago. I fear the Africa Dinesen described is long gone.
I picked this up tainted by having seen the movie first, and was kind of glad and surprised at the differences. The fact that she almost doesn't even mention her husband, who was so prominent in the film, I think would have been strange even to those who hadn't seen the movie. Also the way she described her romances was so proper one wasn't sure for some time if they were friends or something more.
The language used to describe the culture in the early 1900's, and the relationship between the Natives and the Europeans, was very interesting. At times you'd read over sentences that just wouldn't fly today, and you'd have to remember this was describing a different time - one where slavery existed, and Kenya was still a British Colony. What was clear however was that Karen Blixen cared deeply for the Native people that she encountered.
One thing I found interesting was the legal system the Kikuyu used. Instead of attempting to judge guilt or innocence, they Kikuyu simply demanded payment from the wrong-doer for whatever damages they had done. In the book, the parents of the child who accidentally shoots another child are forced to pay for their childs mistake, even though it was as accident. In todays world, the parents of the shot child would sue the heck out of the parents of the other child, so I suppose in that case the end effect is the same. There are many places where I'm sure this system would break down, and I'd love to discuss it over a few drinks with a lawyer. But I did have to admire the simplicity of it - if you cause another person to have a loss (for whatever reason), you have to make up for it.
The novel was full of funny little tidbits, all designed to help you get a sense of the people and the world as she saw it. The Merchant of Venice story (p268) stuck out for me - it was hilarious! Here are the relevant lines: "But what else could he do?" I asked , "when he must not take one drop of blood?" "Memsahib", said Farah, "he could have used a red-hot knife. That brings out no blood." "But", I said "he was not allowed to take either more or less than one pound of flesh." "And who", said Farah, "would have been frightened by that, exactly a Jew? He might have taken little bits at at a time, with a small scale at hand to weight it on, till he had got just one pound. Had the Jew no friends to give him advice?" ...more
My safari guide gave this to me, saying the author was a friend who had lived a life similar to his own. It's a very well-written memoir style book ofMy safari guide gave this to me, saying the author was a friend who had lived a life similar to his own. It's a very well-written memoir style book of a man who is raised among a very proud people called the Maasai in East Africa. By modern standards they live very primitive lives: herding cattle, and living in dirt huts. But some of them are sent to school and enter the modern world, and the juxtaposition of the author's viewpoint on both worlds makes for a great read.
One interesting thing I noticed was that one reason the author was able to get so far in life was that as a safari guide back in the day, he met exclusively rich and powerful people as his clients. They were the only ones who could afford it back then! Just goes to show that its all about who you know!...more
I learned a lot about an area of the world I knew very little. The book was a journalistic nonfiction account of Sierra Leone, as opposed to the fictiI learned a lot about an area of the world I knew very little. The book was a journalistic nonfiction account of Sierra Leone, as opposed to the fictional movie (which I also enjoyed).
Key takeaways: - Human beings can be pretty indecent to each other when the economic incentives are right, and when there are no checks on those in charge. The RUF murdered and mutilated thousands. - There is *no* way to verify a diamond is not a conflict diamond. No matter what a diamond seller says, stones are untraceable and black market stones can be added in at any of a dozen of places on the way from the mine to the store. Only stores like DeBeers, who control their own mines and stores, can approach such a guarantee. - The guy who started DeBeers was impressive. He bought up as many mines as he could instead of mining them, and eventually controlled the market. DeBeers has had some shady practices as the worlds biggest diamond buyer and mine owner. - DeBeers has a monopoly on diamonds, and as such can't have more than 3 executives in the US at any time or they will be arrested for prosecution by the SEC. - DeBeers has a stockpile of diamonds in London worth billions. Selling it would flood the market. - In late 2001, a Washington Post reporter broke a story that Osama Bin Laden had been buying conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone for a the past year to convert his money to a liquid form. This was in preparation for Sept 11, as he knew the US would seize his funds after the attack. Its very likely the scheme worked, and conflict diamonds are what is funding him today. ...more
Very fascinating take on how Leopold was able to obtain a colony many times bigger than Belgium with pure politics, and maintain it with forced slaverVery fascinating take on how Leopold was able to obtain a colony many times bigger than Belgium with pure politics, and maintain it with forced slavery and mercenaries.
There are lots of business lessons to be learned from Leopold:
- Perception is reality. The reality was forced slavery, and unspeakable cruelty by Leopold's agents. But in Europe Leopold told over and over the story that he was a humanitarian, and had the best interests of the Congo people in mind. - You can control reality. Leopold wined and dined, and even bribed anyone with the ability to hurt the perception he spun of the Congo. Harder to do today, but not impossible. For instance a web startup just has to get cozy with Arrington and funding is around the corner. Leopold wasn't a king - he was a master at PR. - History is written by the victors. Most published accounts of the era came from Leopold or his agents. Thus most people had no idea what was happening. I've seen this in current times: an authoritative article by a prominent newspaper that gets things wrong - then for people later researching the subject it becomes a source, and the myth builds. Thats what good PR can do! - Economic incentive without proper checks can result in just about anybody becoming corrupt. Lots of "good" people in the book did unspeakable things to the natives for the sake of meeting their quota of ivory or rubber, or because they were ordered to. Similar stories have been told of American soldiers in Vietnam. In my view this pretty much proves man is neither inherently good or evil, but is entirely motivated by peer pressure and/or money. Joseph Conrad captured this well in Heart of Darkness...more
I heard this book described as interesting but a little dry, so I was fully planning on just skimming a lot. But I ended up reading almost the whole tI heard this book described as interesting but a little dry, so I was fully planning on just skimming a lot. But I ended up reading almost the whole thing! I have two biases though: one was I was in Africa at the time I read it, and the other is my grandfather did a lot of hunting in Africa in the 1960's, so I could almost picture him hanging out with the wild characters in the book.
What I loved were all the stories of hunts and the pioneer type hunters that led them. Numerous maulings and close calls dealing with all sorts of animals. Surprisingly, the most dangerous animals in Africa are (in order): Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino. Unless you wound the Lion then he's #1. Don't mess with Simba.
That phrase was buried in my mind somewhere. It was familiar, yet I knew not how nor who this Livingstone person was. This"Dr Livingstone, I presume!"
That phrase was buried in my mind somewhere. It was familiar, yet I knew not how nor who this Livingstone person was. This book explained it, and was very entertaining in the process. Highly recommended if you ever travel to East Africa.
A friend recently wrote an interesting piece about how the types of creative people that rise to be famous have changed over the years. Livingstone was an explorer in the mid-1800's, and was a Michael Jordan of England. He explored much of Africa, often being the only white man in the expedition. He abhorred slavery, which was then rampant, and fought against it. His quest was to find the source of the Nile river, which evidently was a big thing back then (today we just keep looking for 'dark matter' and other such stuff).
But the most interesting part of the book to me was that the reason we know that famous phrase, is that its an early example of newspaper sensationalism. The New York Observer paid a reporter (Stanley) to take ridiculously large and expensive expedition into the middle of Africa that lasted for years, just to be able to have the exclusive on the story. But it was worth it: millions of Americans were entertained for years by the articles on Stanley's quest. And England wasn't happy its superstar was found by an American either, a fact not lost on the Observer....more
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