Dark Safari
By John Bierman
He became the greatest explorer of his age, yet when Henry Morton Stanley finally found the object of his first quest, all he could think of to say was “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
This book centres on Stanley, a man who was, at his worst, ‘a bully, a braggart, a hypocrite, and a liar’ and, at his best, ‘steadfast, brave, enduring, resourceful, and an inspired leader.’
In this engrossing account of Stanley’s life, John Bierman follows the path of the abused and abandoned child who, in a turbulent adulthood, became a hero of the Victorian age, discovering the source of the Nile, charting the Congo River, finding the legendary Mountains of the Moon, and claiming the Congo Free State (now DR Congo) for Belgium.
Brimming with the vitality of a Dickens novel, ‘Dark Safari’ opens a window into both the bright and dark aspects of the Victorian Age.
“This will be the definitive life of Stanley for a long time to come.” – Quill & Quire