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debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
This is a trip I would only have taken by book. Tayler travels to the sub-Sahara region of Africa, an area I knew little about. During his travels, he meets ignorance and tradition head on. Poverty, disease, and filth abound. And Tayler seems little reason to hope for a better future. All in all, a grim journey. Told compellingly, however…I am now off to find Tayler’s earlier book, a book in which he travels to north Africa.
michaelnlibrarian's review
4.0
I think of Mr. Tayler as the deathwish traveler. This is the third book of his that I have read and in this one he puts himself in even more danger than in the first two.
Tayler does a good job of describing his travels through places I will never see and giving enough background to give some context without bogging the narrative down. His observations on the likely future of this region, the Sahel, aren't very hopeful but likely realistic. He doesn't shy from discussing difficult topics with people he meets, such as female circumcision - and what he reports that they say is worth reading.
This is not a fun travel book (having a blurb from Bryson, the quintessential fun travel guy, seems strange in that respect) but it's engaging and thought provoking.
I think Tayler is writing better than his earlier books. I still a newer book of his about Russia to read - good!
Tayler does a good job of describing his travels through places I will never see and giving enough background to give some context without bogging the narrative down. His observations on the likely future of this region, the Sahel, aren't very hopeful but likely realistic. He doesn't shy from discussing difficult topics with people he meets, such as female circumcision - and what he reports that they say is worth reading.
This is not a fun travel book (having a blurb from Bryson, the quintessential fun travel guy, seems strange in that respect) but it's engaging and thought provoking.
I think Tayler is writing better than his earlier books. I still a newer book of his about Russia to read - good!
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