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Many of you followed my recommendation to read Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild last winter, a frightening tale of a man who left behind all his worldly possessions to go live off the land in Alaska.  While living off the land by killing squirrels for meat and trying to find non-toxic plants and berries for nourishment didn't sound like my idea of fun, the description of the land made me want to visit Alaska all that much more and actually inspired me to take a back country camping trip with a couple of friends of mine in the Shenendoah National Forest in Virginia.

Africa Solo brought out those exact same travel yearnings in me, this time for a land I never though I would ever have passion to visit.  From the first pages, describing his arrival in Oran to the trips he took among the silverback gorillas in East Africa, Mr. Kertscher paints a wondrous tale of a faraway land that almost (but not quite) makes you wonder if this story really takes place in the present day.

Of course, this is a true story about a young filmmaker who packed up his bags and decided to travel across the Sahara desert, primarily by hitchhiking (!) and then across central Africa from West to East, through a wide variety of modes of transportation, from bus to truck to barge.  His interaction with the native peoples is fascinating, particularly after reminding oneself that Mr. Kertscher spoke only fractured French and very few of the natives speak English.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has little knowledge of life in Africa - it will widen your horizons.  I also recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for travel, no doubt our paths will cross again on the Dark Continent one day.

Happy Reading!

Please take a minute to thank Peg Menzel who I work with for recommending this book and lending it to me.  I think I'll buy my own copy right now by clicking on the link at the top of the page!