This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton’s opposite in temperament and beliefs.įrom the start the two men clashed. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Burton spoke twenty-nine languages, and was a decorated soldier. Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. In the 19th century, there was a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. She is a graceful writer and a careful researcher, and she knows how to navigate a tangled tale.' - The New York Times Book Review Candice Millard has earned her legions of admirers. ' River of the Gods is a lean, fast-paced account of the almost absurdly dangerous quest. A story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers.
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