Africa Solo

I really enjoyed this book. I found myself sitting in a local drive-thru restaurant for hours just so that I could read this book. It is written in a fashion that makes you want to know where he is going next on his journey across Africa. The writer is so detailed in some parts that I felt like I was escaping and going along with him as I was reading.

I too could not put this book down. It is very engrossing and it keeps you entertained. I don't see why so many are affected/offended by its simplicity, as I don't think it was ever meant to compete with any in-depth literary accounts (The Little Prince is a simple story, yet still a thoughtful read). It is an honest tale from an innocent, often amusing, perspective. It strikes a particular chord with other travellers though. I have been to Africa but plan on doing a fairly similar, if more extensive, journey through the continent- yet, books like this one are often the only invaluable insight on street-smarts and dealings with locals. Granted it is dated, it still provides bits and glimpses into what these cultures entail. I only wish the author continued his story, with accounts of his explorations in Asia.

I was captured from the first page and found I couldn't put the book down. I have been reading as many books on Africa as I can in preparation for my own trip to the continent. Although lacking in the history and current issues facing the various countries the author visited (which have subsequently changed over the past decade) I found Arica Solo to be quite entertaining and educational from the perspective of traveling alone in a land that can still truly be called foreign. The author's trip through Africa was certainly more challenging and exciting than backpacking through Europe. The book lacks the wit of a Bryson, or the detail of Ridgeway, but it creates its own niche in the travel essay genre. Africa Solo is the author's diary cleaned up for readability and full of additioanl reflection during his post-Africa adventure. It is educational in providing anecdotes of situations future adventurers will likely encounter and the solutions that worked for the author. I enjoyed meeting the characters (most of whom would be called eccentric) who came across the author's path on his journey, and the social interaction that occurred. And I couldn't help but appreciate how lucky it is to be born and raised in a country as privileged as America. After finishing the book I was not disappointed, instead craving more, both about Afica and the author's further travels in Pakistan and India.

This is adventure/travel writing at its best. Kertscher takes us along as he hitchhikes his way across the Sahara, down the Congo River, and into the African rainforest. His smooth writing paints a vivid picture of the land and its people and his experiences along the way. Africa Solo is entertaining and enlightening, and, like any good book, left me wanting to read more.

Despite 5 years living in Nigeria, this was the African adventure I couldn't experience with kids and a wife... and I'm not really sure I'd want to experience it myself. But it was a great read, and I was so far up the Congo while on a flight from LA to Houston that I wasn't even aware of the stewardess taking drink orders. I think Kevin captures a very fair cross section of the joys and travails of Africa while not dwelling on the negatives. His contact with the people gave his account a depth and honesty that most people miss. Many were so right on target that I ended up highlighting them in the book for my wife to savor too. Thanks for allowing me to relive some very good feelings and some very good memories through the words of a talented writer.