Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa

The first 30 pages are dry: too much description of traveling, not enough of personalities and adventures - at first. But stick with it. As pages and chapters go by, it gets fascinating. I got a real feel of what it was like to be on a safari of discovery and a real sense of the social environment of the times. This is not a child's book of wonder, however. It is a true picture of the men and their times, including the horrors of traveling where there were no resources we take for granted today. The author describes the illnesses, many awful and incurable, the head porters, the slave trade, and how the explorers brought some economic destruction for the tribal cultures in their wake. If you have an interest in how Africa was opened up to European awareness and exploration, this is a good beginning, general book.