The Black Nile

✍ Scribed by Morrison, Dan

• Book ID: 109190828
• Publisher: Viking
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 909 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9781101190357

✦ Synopsis

From

Morrison and a buddy embarked from Lake Victoria with the goal of descending the Nile River to the Mediterranean Sea. This was in 2006, when civil wars in countries on their route—Uganda and Sudan—had recently subsided. So prospective dangers awaiting the travelers included river rapids, wild animals, malaria, and armed and suspicious men. Solving their first problem, obtaining a boat, the duo discover that their craft is less than seaworthy; as its woes mount, Morrison merrily narrates landings at riverside villages and bargaining for food and accommodations. When his pal has had enough of equatorial Africa and returns to America, Morrison, now boatless, presses on via barge and bus. With sympathetic acuity about the personalities, tribal societies, and mechanical ingenuity of those he encounters, Morrison crafts impressions that will teach travelogue readers much about contemporary Sudan. There’s enough amusement to balance the seriousness of politics, such that when visa problems interrupt Morrison’s journey, his audience will stay to see if he reaches the sea. Recommend this title to readers who enjoyed Tim Butcher’s Blood River (2008). --Gilbert Taylor

Review

"Morrison's account transcends the travel genre to provide authentic and timely information on a complicated part of the world. Highly recommended." -Melissa Stearns, Library Journal

"Part travelogue, part crazy adventure tale, part political reportage . . . Morrison's African river journey is a paradoxical mixture of awe-inspiring discoveries, eye-opening human interactions and perilous escapes." -Chuck Leddy, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"An unorthodox travelogue . . . packed with illuminating, gritty detail." -Kirkus

"Dan Morrison takes the reader on an incredible journey in The Black Nile. Weaving together intense travel writing and history, he has produced a supremely entertaining work, and also an important one." -David Grann, best-selling author of The Lost City of Z and The Devil and Sherlock Holmes

"Dan Morrison is too young to have been part of the Gonzo movement. But if Hunter Thompson decided to travel the Nile, from its Ugandan source to Alexandria, encountering gun-toting whackos, crazed religious zealots, scary profiteers and a rich cast of characters in one of the world's most contested regions-well, I think he would have loved to share his trek with Morrison. Fasten your seat belts, readers!" -Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Coming Plague

"Part On the Road, part Fear and Loathing in Africa, Dan Morrison takes us with him on his journey down the Nile-teaching us, by example, to be explorers of both the world and ourselves." -Kevin Sites, author of In the Hot Zone

"The Black Nile reveals a traveler of dark humor and insight, equal parts Paul Theroux and Bill Buford." -Robert Twigger, author of Dr. Ragab's Universal Language and Angry White Pyjamas

"The only thing more vivid would be traveling the river yourself. Then again, you may be a little more skittish about contested borders, rampaging militias and tiny plank-board boats than Dan Morrison is. The Black Nile is eye- opening, breath-taking, heart-pounding and, frankly, all the adventure I'm up for now." -Ellis Henican, Fox News Channel