Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa

A very well-written travel narrative by Scottish missionary, physician, and explorer David Livingstone. The story covers about three years of Livingstone's trek from northeastern South Africa west to Luanda in Angola and then east again to Mozambique, across what are now Zambia, Zimbabwe, Congo and Namibia, including some of the earliest written descriptions of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River. While Livingstone's observations are often very much of the day- for instance believing that heathenism was inherently bad and that negroid racial characteristics were negative- he does not dwell on theology or race and is deeply engaged with the Africans he meets, attempting to improve their lives by campaigning against the slave trade and show more healing the sick. He finds their customs odd yet fascinating, learns their languages, and interacts with them as intelligent people. He also catalogs the wildlife and terrain in great detail, often for the first time in writing. Some may find it a bit long and filled with too much minutiae, but I enjoyed his humble and curious approach, not to mention his bravery. show less

This is THE BOOK for anyone wishing to learn about David Livingstone. This is his own personal account of his very first travels through Africa. The sketches are amazing. The narrative is sometimes hard to read through, sometimes overly wordy, but the good doctor left very little out in his recording of his adventure.

David Livingstone 1857 Narrative of his Travels in Africa includes many lithographic plates of animals and people. This particular copy was library rebound and found at the Friends of the Library book sale for $1-. Worth a lot more for sure because it's one of the earlier printings of the book. It could be original printing from England or possibly first American printing.

Central Africa

Angola Zambia Zimbabwe Malawi Mozambique Missionaries Slavery