River of the Gods, Candice Milliard

Candice Millard hit a home run again with River of the Gods.  One of my favorite genres of literature is historical adventure and this book is full of both history and adventure.  I have also read Hero of the Empire and River of Doubt by Millard and they are all excellent reads.

This book covers the expeditions of Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke as they set off to find the location of the headwaters of the Nile.  Milliard details the hardships, illnesses, and ruthless attacks these men endured during these expeditions.  She also pays homage to Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved in India and returned home to Africa to become the most traveled guide in the history of African exploration.  Without Bombay it is unlikely the Englishmen would have ever found the headwaters of the Nile. 

I found this book to be the perfect complement to Martin Dugard’s book Into Africa about the expeditions of Stanley and Livingstone.  Of course, there are mentions of Stanley and Livingstone in Milliard’s book as these expeditions are interwoven in the history of early exploration into the interior of Africa.  I was excited to learn Millard had written this book because I had read Dugard’s book first, and River of the Gods was the perfect complement to Into Africa as I feel it completed the story of the search of for the headwaters of the Nile.  For me, these stories about the early exploration into the interior of Africa are the best adventure stories available and are examples of extreme endurance and hardships overcome against the greatest odds.

In addition to the subject matter being riveting, Milliard is especially talented when it comes to narrative nonfiction, and she shows great skill in crafting the stories and covering well researched details. I would greatly recommend all her books.  They certainly do not disappoint.