Congo (Bradt Travel Guide)

By Sean Rorison

The Congo is synonymous in most people s imagination with exploration, deepest jungle and an escape from the Western world." This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841622338
• ISBN13: 9781841622330
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Best Source Available

I am planning a trip to the DR Congo in the spring. This book is the only real source for up to date travel information that is available. This guide goes to great lengths to prepare the traveler for the ordeal that is moving about in the heart of Africa. The author is forthright about some of the dangers that exist, yet by the depth of his knowledge proves that even out of the way places are accessible to the intrepid vagabond. From the history of one of Africa's most troubled nations, to the maps and language guides, I gleaned as much as I could from this text. This is a must read for anyone planning to take a leap into the heart of darkness.

fan of author

I am familiar with this author from his website, blog and other writings. I love his work and find it very detail oriented. A sure read for a Congo visitor or passionate armchair traveller.........

Accurate Writing on a Moving Target

Without a doubt, writing about a locale as either of the Congos is a daunting task. Rorison does so with aplomb. The book, one of the few I have ever found on the area, covers general background and history and local logistical details well. It is clear from the details that the author has actually traveled to the area he is writing about - a small but critical fact that has sadly been forgotten by other travel writers of late. I was drawn to the writing about Pointe Noir and other travel to cities and villages along the Congo River. While certainly, the author makes a strong argument for getting into the interior of the country, I was sold on the idea of exploring the Congos simply by way of the river. My only criticism is that two large large diverse countries is a bit much for a single author and a single book. However, someone had to do it and Rorison has. Furthermore, with any area of the world with the amount of instability that exists in Central Africa is going to be a hard target to hit, as a great deal of the information from the area will be disposable, at best. Rorison produced a solid travel book on an often neglected area of the world. To get the background information and small details that would be indispensable to travel to the area, you couldn't do better than the Brandt guide.

Great Companion for The Congos

Sometime back, when preparing for my maiden voyage to DR Congo, I wrote about the Bradt Congo guidebook. It has the distinction of being the only recently-printed guidebook on Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as the Republic of Congo. It's also the only one in English that is current, being that Lonely Planet's 'Zaire' guide is a bit out of date. Now that I am back from gallivanting around DR Congo, I can give the book its due. The author, Sean Rorison has done a fine job of covering a massive area with poor transportation and next to no infrastructure. As I mentioned in the previous article, he doesn't mess around when talking about the situation there. He goes in to great detail of all the restaurants, hotels, and history really well. The background provided in the book is a great summation of the history and current situation of DR Congo that prepares the traveler for what they are about to experience once setting foot in the country. Of course, DR Congo it's not for the easygoing traveler who thinks that Prague is really crazy to visit because it's "scary" Eastern Europe. Unlike a book on say, Hawaii, Rorison doesn't work to sell the reader the destination but actually prepare them for the trip. In essence, it does what a lot of guidebooks are missing the point of doing these days (I'm looking at you, Fodors). It lays out pretty much everything that's touristic to see in any of the towns, which is not that much. It also gets in to the practical aspects of getting around the country, which are not easy. This is one point that might need to be developed more in a future edition (if there is one) is that one of the only airlines that was safe to fly on, Hewa Bora, has not really ever been that safe to fly on and got a whole lot less safe in April and should not be flown on if one enjoys living. Other basics are covered well, including hospitals (try not to go), women travelers (not advised to go solo), embassies (register with yours there), and Article 15 (a remnant of Mobutu times that is an unstated law essentially allowing mass corruption). But in closing, despite my small nitpicks, this is a great guide to the Congos. Rorison and Bradt could have easily have done a halfwit job since they're heading in to a region that has next to no competition, but in the end, they produced a very worthy guide that is a gleaming example of what Bradt does best in that they cover regions that are undiscovered.