The White Nile

I love reading history and fancy myself to be quite well read on a variety of historical topics, however I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that much of what I read in this book was completely new to me.

This book deals with the Upper Nile region of Sudan and Central Africa, primarily in the latter half of the 19th century. Parts of the book dealing with Speke, David Livingstone and Henry Stanley were somewhat familiar to me, however historical characters such as Burton, Gordon, Emin, the Mahdi and various of the other Pashas and Khedives were new and absolutely fertile ground.

This book is extremely well written and at almost all times captivating. The descriptions of the Sudd region of the Nile raised visions of Humphrey Bogart show more dragging the African Queen and Kathrine Hepburn through the reed choked channels of another African river. The chapters on the fall of Khartoum and the struggles of Emin in Equatoria were riveting.

I highly recommend this book, if for no other reason than the fact that unless you are a student of central Africa, you have probably never been exposed to much of this history. For anyone seeking a more detailed treatment of specific African explorations, I recommend Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard. Another captivating read from this period would be King Leopold's Ghost, dealing with colonization of the Belgian Congo. show less

Alan Moorehead wrote a delightful pair of books dealing with the exploration of the Nile basin. they are well written and decently illustrated. Though we are dealing completely with the British Explorers this was a very popular book in its day, and is a good description of the efforts to find out what lay upstream from Egypt. There is also, for the time, an attempt at relating to the effects of European expansion upon the local population.

This is exciting history and the book, as is normal with this author, is also exciting and engaging to read. Extremely well written (see his other Nile account The Blue Nile http://www.librarything.com/work/87178 ) is very deeply researched (notes, resource and bibliography are included) and Moorehead is always at his best in bringing alive his selected characters from history.

And what a cast … from Herodotus as probably the first explorer, and the broadest outline of a map of the sources of this most famous river by Ptolemy, we explore the river springing from “fountains among the Mountains of the Moon” with Burton, Speke, Baker, Livingstone (and therefore, of course Stanley) Gordon, the Generals Wolseley, Kitchener and members show more of the Wingate family of Arabists, explorers and war leaders – and remarkably still alive at the book’s publishing – Sir Winston Churchill. Any account of this period in African history would also have to include the slaver, Tippu Tib, the Islamic “new prophet’ and leader El Mahdi, his brave successor the Khalifa leading his almost medieval troops under his black flag to paradise and glory against the maxims and artillery guns of a modern army. The prominent and successful African chiefs and kings, Khartoum, Omdurman, Cairo and the Sudan, the Congo, and Egypt complete the listing and are as thoroughly detailed in this work as the great river itself.

In support of his research Moorehead also visited many of the significant points around the Nile’s source, describing their current – and often remarkably unchanged – views and their further role in history. In his epilogue he tracks the explorers, kings, chiefs and Generals of his fascinating story, truly until the completion and mapping of the source only at the close of the 1900’s ”… the greatest geographical secret after the discovery of America.”

A recommended read for all history buffs or even those who just like a good story – and a great entry-point for further reading on African history and exploration and to this author’s marvelously well researched and written books. show less

The White Nile has been a popular book since its release in 1960 but it's now of a different age and eclipsed by better books. Tim Jeal's Explorers of the Nile makes this seem a light and amateur effort. If I had not already read Jeals book I would have been confused by Moorehead's telling. With that said, Moorehead's writing is colorful and it has some wonderful poetic sentences.

One of my favourite books by an Australian author is actually an illumination of Englishmen exploring what is today Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan more than 150 years ago. This was published in 1960 and the author travelled through these regions, starting in Zanzibar. A compelling and exciting work of history.

A good history but sprinkled with an anti-colonialist perspective current at the time of its writing by the Australian writer Alan Moorehead.

Variable quality. Some parts are fascinating and atmospheric, and other parts are very tedious. The maps are insufficient. The author assumes a basic familiarity with the characters and their stories that I did not have.